Travels with Jeremy & Rexanna in the Maritimes

John Adams

At left, John Adams from the collection of Famous Clip Art.

The friendship of Jonathan Sewall and John Adams is chronicled in David McCullough's "John Adams." Both men had been educated at Harvard University. Jonathan Sewall was one of John Adams' closest friends.

According to David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Truman," Esther Quincy and Jonathan Sewall suddenly burst into the room where John Adams was about to propose to Hannah Quincy. "The moment passed, never to be recovered."

John Adams' diary is available on-line, as a transcription and as images. In his own hand, you can see where he wrote:

See: John Adams diary 3, 1759 [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

Fifteen years later, in July of 1774, John Adams and Jonathan Sewell climbed a hill in Portland, Maine overlooking Casco Bay during a break from court. Adams had been chosen by the legislature as one of five delegates to the First Continental Congress at Philadelphia. Sewell was attorney general of the Province of Massachusetts. Sewell pleaded with Adams not to attend the Congress.

The Casco Bay Mailboat

At right, the Casco Bay mailboat plies the waters beneath the hill where John Adams and Jonathan Sewell argued in July of 1774.

The following is McCullough's description of that fateful moment:

"As long as they lived, neither man would forget the moment. Adams told Sewall he knew Great Britain was "determined on her system," but "That very determination, determined me on mine." The die was cast, Adams said, "Swim or sink, live or die, survive or perish, [I am] with my country...You may depend on it.""

A more familiar variation of this quote was used by Daniel Webster in his Aug. 2, 1826 Congressional eulogy, "Eulogy of Adams and Jefferson:" "Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and my heart to this vote." President Adams and Jefferson both died on the same day, July 4th, Independence Day.

In the interveaning years, John Adams had rejected an offer of royal appointment. "...Jonathan Sewall, who had become attorney general of the province, called on Adams at the request of governor Francis Bernard to offer him the office of advocate general in the Court of Admiralty, a plum for an ambitious lawyer, Adams had no difficulty saying no."

Of this event, John Adams wrote:

See: John Adams autobiography, part 1, "John Adams," through 1776, sheets 10 and 11 of 53 [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

"In his preface to the Novanglus in the Works of John Adams, Mr. Adams characterizes his friend professionally, as follows: "Mr. Sewall had a soft, smooth, insinuating eloquence, which gliding imperceptively into the minds of a jury, gave him as much power over that tribunal as any lawyer ought to posess. He was also capable of discussing before the court any intricate question of law, which gave him at least as much influence there as was consistent with an impartial administration of justice. He was a gentleman and a scholar, had a fond of wit, humor and satire, which he used with great discretion at the bar, but poured out with unbounded profusion in newspapers.""

In a letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams of March 17, 1776, he wrote:

See: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 17 March 1776 [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/.

When John Adams was America's minister to the Court of St. James, he hunted up Jonathan Sewell. It was to be their final reunion. "...[Adams] would forever think of Sewall as one of the casualties of the [Revolutionary] war. According to Adams, when Sewall died in New Brunswick a number of years later, it was of a broken heart."

""Adams has a heart formed for friendship, and susceptible of its finest feelings," declared the loyalist Jonathan Sewall, who was highly gratified by the hearty greeting which Adams gave him in London after the Revolutionary War."

Jonathan Sewell's

At left, the skyline of Saint John, formerly known as Carleton and Saint John, is shown. This is the harbour that the Sewells sailed into at the end of their exile from North America. The left arrow points to the location of Jonathan Sewall's New Brunswick home. The right arrow points to the location of Ward Chipman's home.

It would appear that Jonathan Sewell sailed to Saint John with another infamous former American colonist, Benedict Arnold.

From vol. 53, the March 1963 edition of the Atlantic Advocate:

See: Benedict Arnold in New Brunswick - A Collection Of Articles And Essays. Canada Summer Works Grant, Material Gathered by N. Schell, M. Gormley, and S. Dimock. 1983. 971.024/Arn at the Saint John Free Public Library.

In an ironic twist, Jonathan Sewell's son would marry Henrietta Smith, grandson of William Smith I, father of Joshua Hett Smith. "Joshua Hett Smith...married 1st Elizabeth Gordon and 2nd Ann Midleyon. Joshua Hett Smith appears to be the first to spell the name "Hett". He was an accomplice of Benedict Arnold who spent the night of September 22, 1780 at Smith’s house. Joshua Hett Smith was subsequently tried by a military court for his connection with the affair, and was acquitted, but taken into custody by the civil authorities and committed to jail. After several months’ imprisonment he escaped in woman’s dress and made his way to New York, where he was protected by the loyal population. He went to England at the close of the war, but subsequently returned to the United States."

It would appear that Jonathan Sewell's sister died while he was in England. In a "Letter from Ward Chipman to Edward Winslow, June 6, 1784," Ward Chipman wrote:

"I have just received a letter from Judge Sewell in which he informs me of the death of his Sister, Aunt Jenny, as we us'd to call her, — it is a circumstance not greatly to be regretted as her mind was impaird to a great degree, she was a good woman & I believe is gone to Heaven."

The life of Jonathan Sewell's son is as fascinating as that of his father's. Click here for Jonathan Sewell Jr.'s story.

That last line of McCullough's description of the final reunion between Jonathan Sewell and John Adams embarked me on an Internet voyage of discovery.

  • The Robert Sewell Page - A Great X5 grandson of Jonathan Sewall/Sewell andEsther Quincy

    http://www3.sympatico.ca/robert.sewell/sewell.html#gen7

  • COLONIAL FAMILIES OF AMERICA By Frances M. Smith

    http://www3.sympatico.ca/robert.sewell/sewallfamily.html

  • Links to Notable Members of the Sewall/ Sewall Clan

    http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/6378/

    Loyalist Burial Grounds

    At left, Saint John's Loyalist Burial Grounds is shown.

    Jonathan Sewall/Sewell, the Loyalist, was the last Royal Attorney General for the Colony of Massachusetts. He was exiled from the American Colonies to England in 1775. Jonathan Sewell and his wife Esther Quincy eventually settled in Saint John (It was spelled as St. John then.), New Brunswick. "They changed the spelling of their name to Sewell while “visiting”, i.e., in exile, in England."

    It 1883, J. W. Lawrence in Footprints; or Incidents in Early History of New Brunswick that "Mrs. Sewell was a sister of the wife of John Hancock, the first signer of Independence. Mr. Sewell died at St. John, 1796, at the age of 68 years."

    Esther Quincy was related by marriage to John Adams, the second President of the United Sates of America and father of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States.

    As Attorney-General of Massachusetts, Jonathan Sewall commenced a significant legal suit in American legal history.

  • Lechmere-Riedesel House 149 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA

    http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~walkersj/lechmere.htm

    - and -

  • Samual Sewall

    http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~walkersj/lechmere.htm

    "1769; A suit was commenced against Judge Lechmere by Jonathan Sewall, Attorney-General of Massachusetts in favor of a negro demanding his freedom. The suit was terminated in favor of the negro. This is said to be the first case in which the question was settled abolishing slavery in that state. (200 Years Ago, or, A Brief History of Cambridgeport and East Cambridge.)"

    There are conflicting stories about the death of Jonathan Sewall.

    A Pathway in the Loyalist Burial Grounds

    At right, a walkway in Saint John's Loyalist Burial Ground.

  • JONATHAN SEWALL. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MASSACHUSETTS.

    http://robertsewell.tripod.com/loyalmass.htm

    There is a great deal of information about the homes of Jonathan Sewell on the Internet.

    Even after the deaths of Jonathan Sewell and Judge Putnam, the lives of their sons remained intertwined on account of speculation with regard to the origins of John St. Alban Sewell.

    Martello Tower

    At right, Martello Tower is shown.

    Carleton Martello Tower overlooks the former residence of Jonathan Sewell. Martello Tower was originally built during the War of 1812 to guard the land approaches to the city, but it was not completed until after the war.

  • Carleton Martello Tower - National Historic Site

    http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nb/carleton/index_e.asp

    In 1809, President Madison appointed John Quincy Adams, the son of the former friend of Jonathan Sewell and future president of the United States of America, minister to St. Petersburg. He helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent in 1814 that ended the War of 1812.

    Award drom the IODE

    At left, I was awarded "The Invasion of Canada" by Pierre Burton, the Grade VIII Soical Studies prize from the IODE (International Daughter of the Empire), an incredible irony when you really think about it!

    Carleton Martello Tower overlooks the former residence of Jonathan Sewell. Martello Tower was originally built during the War of 1812 to guard the land approaches to the city, but it was not completed until after the war.

    Henry Clay was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1810 and soon was chosen its speaker. As the leader of the aggressive, midwestern "War Hawks," Clay helped push President Madison into war with Great Britain in 1812. In 1814, Clay resigned from Congress after Madison chose him to be one of the American delegates to the peace conference. Henry Clay became Secretary of State to President John Quincy Adams.

    The friendship of Jonathan Sewall and John Adams is still recalled. See the Remarks of Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle to the National Convention of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America on Sunday, July 20, 2003, and "Stand Firm," Charles L. Harrell's Sermon of September 15, 2002 at Faith Methodist United Church.

    As an aside, Jonathan Sewall has connections to the current presidency. His aunt, Susanna Sewall, married Aaron Porter. He is the 2x great-grandchild of John Stanley and Susan Lancock, the 9x great-grandparents of President George Bush. They are 3rd cousins, 7x removed. Susana Sewall is also the 3x great-grandmother of Stephen GROVER CLEVELAND (1837-1908), US President, and the 3x great-grandaunt of one of my favourite authors, WILLIAM SYDNEY PORTER ("O. HENRY") (1862-1910), author.

    We know snippits of the life of Jonathan Sewell from the letters of Edward Winslow. His mother's home, The Historic Winslow House in Marshfield, Massachusetts, still stands.

    For further reading, see also:

  • Monday, November 20, 2006: Revolutionary History Makes the Boston Globe
  • Historical House Plants: Tried-and-True Varieties Still Popular By DEBBY PECK

    "On a recent trip back in time to rural life in 19th century New Brunswick at King's Landing Historical Settlement I found myself thinking about the stories that might go with some of our more popular house plants. It seems the ones we know today as easy-to-grow, tried-and-true and persistent through all forms of neglect, are the very ones that appealed to our ancestors."

  • The Loyalist Life: Creating a Living Museum by Janet McKinney and Linda Dodge
  • Dr. Richards, specificlly Choosing Loyalty.
  • Borzoi Reader, specificlly Revolutionary Mothers Women in the Struggle for America's Independence.
  • The Loyalist Parkway: Your Route Through History

    Although this parkway is not in New Brunswick, it is an example of how a region's Loyalist heritage can be capitalized upon.

    Send an e-mail Send Jeremy or Rexanna an e-mail!

    Optimized for Netscape 2.0 or better. Last Updated June 10, 2003.

    Copyright Rexanna M. Keats 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. All Rights Reserved.

    Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

    1 1