James Lovell (delegate)
| James Lovell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1737-10-31 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died |
1814-07-14 (aged 76) Windham, Massachusetts (now Maine) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | educator, statesman |
| Signature | |
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James Lovell (October 31, 1737 – July 14, 1814) was an American educator and statesman from Boston, Massachusetts. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1782. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation.
James was born in Boston and had his preparatory education at the Boston Latin School. His father, John Lovell (1710–1778) was the school's headmaster from 1738 until 1775. James attended Harvard and graduated in 1756. He then joined his father and taught at the Latin School, while continuing his own studies. He received an MA (Master of Arts) degree from Harvard in 1759. Father and son continued their work in the Latin School until it was closed in April 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the American Revolutionary War.
While the school produced a number of revolutionary leaders, including John Hancock and Samuel Adams, the approaching revolution split father and son. John wrote and endorsed loyalist or Tory positions, while James became aligned with the Whigs and associated growing rebel sentiment. He was chosen to give an to the town the first year after the Boston Massacre, which he delivered at the Old South Church Following the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775, the new military Governor William Howe, ordered the arrest of likely dissidents in Boston. James Lovell was picked up in the sweep and spent nine months in the Boston Stone Jail
General Howe evacuated Boston in March 1776, taking all British troops and Loyalists. James was transported with the British fleet as a prisoner and taken to Halifax (former city), Nova Scotia, where he spent nine months in the jail on Hollis Street. His father also sailed with the British fleet to Halifax in March 1776, as part of the general exodus of Loyalists when British forces abandoned the city. In November 1776, James was exchanged for Colonel Philip Skene. When he got back to Boston in December, he was elected to be a delegate to the Continental Congress. He would serve in Congress until 1782.
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