Unidentified Artist - Daniel Leonard - NPG

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

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

Biography

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

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

. After graduating from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, Leonard began to practice law in Taunton. During the Revolutionary crisis, the British Parliament passed the Massachusetts Government Act, which, among other things, abolished elections for the Massachusetts Governor's 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 is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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 a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

, writing as "Novanglus," answered the letters in the '' Boston Gazette''. The exchange ceased with the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

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

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

, 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