Samuel Quincy
Samuel Quincy was a notable figure born in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1735, who pursued a career in law after graduating as valedictorian from Harvard College in 1754. He established a law practice in Boston and became a successful lawyer, ultimately serving as the solicitor-general of Massachusetts. Quincy is best known for his role in the aftermath of the Boston Massacre, where he prosecuted British soldiers, despite a family divide in political allegiance, as his brother Josiah defended the soldiers. Over time, Quincy aligned himself with the loyalist cause, leading him to leave the colonies for England in 1775 due to rising tensions. His personal life was marked by a love for social activities, which he documented in a diary published posthumously. Later, he moved to Antigua in 1780, where he resumed practicing law, and his wife joined him before her passing in 1782. Quincy himself died at sea in 1789, mirroring the fate of his brothers, with whom he shared both familial and tragic ties.
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Samuel Quincy
Poet
- Born: April 23, 1735
- Birthplace: Braintree, Massachusetts
- Died: 1789
- Place of death: At sea, near English coast
Biography
Samuel Quincy was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1735, the second son of Colonel Josiah Quincy and Hannah Sturgis Quincy; his parents had two other sons, Edmund and Josiah, as well as a daughter. Colonel Quincy ran a commerce and shipbuilding business in Boston. Samuel Quincy graduated as valedictorian from Harvard College in June, 1754, and proceeded to study law. He joined the Suffolk bar in 1758, opened a law practice in Boston, and on June 16, 1761, married Hannah Hill.
Only two publications are ascribed to Quincy, and the only one published during his lifetime was an elegiac poem written upon the death of his older brother, Edmund. A Monody Inscribed to Benjamin Church, Jun. M.D. in Memory of Mr. Edmund Quincy, published in 1768, was a heartfelt and emotional tribute to Edmund, who had died on board a ship in the Caribbean during a trip he hoped would restore his failing health.
A successful lawyer, Quincy later became solicitor-general of Massachusetts. In that capacity, Quincy in 1770 prosecuted Captain Preston and the other British soldiers who fired on a crowd of colonists during the Boston Massacre; Quincy’s brother, Josiah, Jr., defended the soldiers. Ironically, as tensions between Britain and the colonists mounted, the brothers reversed roles: Samuel became a British loyalist, and Josiah dedicated himself to the patriot cause. Indeed, Samuel Quincy’s salary as Crown-appointed solicitor-general and justice of the peace was funded by the tea tax, and he understandably hid that information while still in the colonies.
In May, 1775, Quincy left the Massachusetts colony for England, loving his home but not wanting to be embroiled in the fight in which he dangerously sided with Britain. His wife, however, disagreed with his loyalist views, and she chose to stay behind with their children and her brother. During his time in London and other parts of England, Quincy enjoyed himself, frequently taking in plays, operas, and balls and recording intricate details of his social life in a diary that he kept between October, 1776 and March, 1777. The Massachusetts Historical Society published this diary in 1882.
A few years after his trip to England, Quincy was appointed comptroller of customs in Antigua, and he moved to that West Indies island in February, 1780. Once in Antigua, he began practicing law again and his legal career largely overshadowed his position as comptroller. Around 1780, his wife and two of their three children joined him in Antigua. Hannah Quincy died on November 2, 1782, and Quincy remarried five years later. His second wife, the widow M. A. Chadwell, was with him aboard a ship sailing for England in 1789 when he died; like his brother Edmund, Quincy had been traveling in the hopes of improving his health. Indeed, all three Quincy brothers died at sea; Josiah was killed in 1776 during a battle off the coast of Gloucester.