Col. Josiah Quincy I (1710–1784) was an American merchant, planter, soldier, and politician. He was the son of
Col. Edmund Quincy III and Dorothy Flynt Quincy. He was named after his grandfather, Rev. Josiah Flynt. After graduating 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 ...
in 1728, he returned to
Braintree, Massachusetts
Braintree (), officially the Town of Braintree, is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a towBraintree is a city, with a mayor-council government, mayor-council form of government, and i ...
(Quincy). In 1735 he moved to
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 ...
and engaged in commerce and shipbuilding. He returned to Braintree in 1748. Josiah was an American Patriot and supporter. He wrote to General
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
about British troop movements and was a friend of
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 ...
.
[Pages 1-17 The life of Josiah Quincy, by Edmund Quincy, Little, Brown and Company Boston 1874 6th Edition]
Life
He was in business with brother Edmund. He and his father traveled in Europe making contacts and contracts to promote the business. When his firm's ship, ''Bethel'', captured the Spanish ship ''Jesus Maria'' and ''Joseph'' in 1748, he retired from that business and went back to Braintree. He was a local magistrate and a colonel of the Suffolk Regiment who made investments. He went to
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
as a commissioner in 1755 to ask for assistance in a proposed expedition to
Crown Point in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
. Benjamin Franklin helped him and remained a friend.
In retirement, Franklin assisted Quincy and Joseph Palmer in several speculative business ventures involving glass, candle and chocolate making.
[Page 178, ''Where American Independence Began: Quincy, Its famous Group of Patriots'' by Daniel Munro Wilson, Houghton, Miffin 1902 Quincy]
Family
He married Hanna Sturgis in 1733. They had: Edmund, Samuel, Hannah, and Josiah. Hanna died in 1755. Josiah married Elizabeth Waldron and they had Elizabeth. He married Ann Marsh after his second wife died and they had Nancy and Frances. Josiah Quincy died in 1784.
Josiah's sons Samuel and Josiah took part in the trial of
Captain Thomas Preston for the murders committed at the
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre (known in Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain as the Incident on King Street) was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers shot five people out of a crowd of three or four hu ...
. Samuel, who was a
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
, was in charge of the prosecution as the solicitor-general. His younger brother
Josiah Quincy II
Josiah Quincy II (; February 23, 1744April 26, 1775) was an American lawyer and patriot. He was a principal spokesman for the Sons of Liberty in Boston prior to the Revolution and was John Adams' co-counsel during the trials of Captain Thomas ...
, an outspoken critic of the British and proponent for an
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 Revolut ...
, and
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 ...
were the defending counsel.
See also
*
Quincy political family
The Quincy family was a prominent political family in Massachusetts from the mid-17th century through to the early 20th century. It is connected to the Adams political family through Abigail Adams.
The family estate was in Mount Wollaston, firs ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quincy, Josiah
Harvard University alumni
Quincy family
1710 births
1784 deaths