Unidentified Artist - Daniel Leonard - NPG

Daniel Leonard (May 18, 1740 – June 27, 1829) was a lawyer from colonial Massachusetts and a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

Biography

Born in

Norton, Massachusetts Norton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, and contains the villages of Norton Center and Chartley. The population was 19,202 at the 2020 census. Home of Wheaton College, Norton hosts the Dell Technologies Championship, a ...

, Leonard was a member of a prominent family who made their fortune from their iron works in

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 censu ...

. After graduating from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

, Leonard began to practice law in Taunton. During the Revolutionary crisis, the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...

passed the

Massachusetts Government Act The Massachusetts Government Act (14 Geo. 3 c. 45) was passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, receiving royal assent on 20 May 1774. The act effectively abrogated the 1691 charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and gave its royally-app ...

, which, among other things, abolished elections for the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Council ...

and instead called for the councilors to be appointed by the royal governor. Leonard accepted an appointment by Governor Thomas Hutchinson to this new royal-controlled Council. Massachusetts Patriots were outraged, and attacked Leonard's house. He fled to British-occupied

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

for safety. In 1774 and 1775, Leonard, writing under the name "Massachusettensis," wrote a series of letters in support of royal government that were published in a Loyalist Boston newspaper, the ''Massachusetts Gazette''.

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

, writing as "Novanglus," answered the letters in the ''

Boston Gazette The ''Boston Gazette'' (1719–1798) was a newspaper published in Boston, in the British North American colonies. It was a weekly newspaper established by William Brooker, who was just appointed Postmaster of Boston, with its first issue release ...

''. The exchange ceased with the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concor ...

. Many, including Adams, erroneously believed that Jonathan Sewall had written the Massachusettensis letters. During the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which resi ...

, Leonard left with the British when they evacuated Boston in 1776. His property, like that of other Loyalists, was confiscated. Exiled from Massachusetts, he served as

Chief Justice of Bermuda The Chief Justice of Bermuda is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Bermuda. Chief Justices *2018–present Narinder Hargun *2012–2018 Ian Kawaley *2004–2012 Richard Ground *1993-2004 Sir Austin Ward *1977-1993 Sir James Rufus Astwood ...

from 1782 to 1806, and later retired to London. In 1821, he revealed himself to be "Massachusettensis."

References

External links

* * *Berkin, Carol. "Leonard, Daniel". ''

American National Biography Online The ''American National Biography'' (ANB) is a 24-volume biographical encyclopedia set that contains about 17,400 entries and 20 million words, first published in 1999 by Oxford University Press under the auspices of the American Council of Le ...

'', February 2000. *Massachusetts Historical Society, ''The Adams Papers''
The Letters of Novanglus
accessed on March 2, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Daniel 1740 births 1829 deaths Customs officers American Loyalists from Massachusetts Harvard College alumni Harvard College Loyalists in the American Revolution Members of the colonial Massachusetts Governor's Council Politicians from Taunton, Massachusetts Chief justices of Bermuda