Unidentified Artist - Daniel Leonard - NPG

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

colonial Massachusetts Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 ...

and a Loyalist 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 Revoluti ...

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 ...

, 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 cen ...

. 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 lea ...

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

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

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-appo ...

, 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. Counc ...

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 state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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 Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

, 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. Many, including Adams, erroneously believed that

Jonathan Sewall Jonathan Sewall (August 24, 1729 – September 27, 1796) was the last Colonial attorney general of Massachusetts. He was born in Boston on August 24, 1729 to Jonathan Sewall Sr. and Mary (Payne) Sewall. Sewall's father was an unsuccessf ...

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. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

, 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 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'', 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