Jonathan Loring Austin (January 2, 1748 – May 10, 1826) was an American revolutionary, diplomat and politician who served as the second

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth is the principal public information officer of the government of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The Secretary of the Commonwealth oversees the Corporations Division, the Elections Division, the ...

and the tenth

Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts The Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts (commonly called the "treasurer") is an executive officer, elected statewide every four years. The Treasurer oversees the Office of Abandoned Property, escheated accounts, the State Retirement ...

. Austin was the father of

Massachusetts Attorney General The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected Constitution of Massachusetts, constitutionally defined executive officer of the Government of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement offic ...

James Treacothie Austin.

Early life

Austin was born on January 2, 1748, in Boston, Massachusetts. Austin graduated 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 ...

in 1766. After he graduated from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, Austin moved to

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...

and became a merchant there.

American Revolutionary War

When the war started Austin became a Major in Langdon's Regiment, and later an aid to General John Sullivan.

Massachusetts Board of War

Austin was the secretary to the Massachusetts Board of War until October 1777, when he was sent to Paris by Massachusetts to announce to

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

and his associates the news of John Burgoyne's surrender at the

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne led an invasion ...

Diplomatic mission

Franklin soon afterwards sent him on a secret mission to England, where he met many members of the opposition and furnished them with much information concerning American affairs. The trip was full of incident, and, says one of Franklin's biographers (Morse), "brings to mind some of the Jacobite tales of Sir Walter Scott's novels." He carried dispatches to Congress from the United States Commissioners in Paris early in 1779, and in January 1780, was dispatched to Europe to secure loans for Massachusetts in Spain and Holland.

Capture and release

That same month Austin was captured by the British while on this mission. He was later released. He failed to secure the loan and he returned in the autumn of 1781.

Marriage

Austin married Hannah Ivers, the daughter of James & Hannah (Trecothick) Ivers, in Boston, on April 4, 1782.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth

Austin served as

for two years, from 1806 to 1808.

Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts

Austin served as

from 1811 to 1812.

References

* Julie Helen Ott, "Lydia and Her Daughters: A Boston Matrilineal Case Study," ''NEHGS Nexus'', Vol. IX, No. 1, pg. 25 (1992).

* Cutter, William Richard, ed., ''Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts,'' Volume IV (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1908), 1717.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Jonathan L. 1748 births 1826 deaths American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain Continental Army officers from New Hampshire Harvard College alumni Massachusetts state senators Politicians from Boston Politicians from Portsmouth, New Hampshire Secretaries of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts State treasurers of Massachusetts American spies during the American Revolution People from colonial Boston Military personnel from Massachusetts