Jonathan Greeley

Jonathan Greeley (or Greely) (December 9, 1741 – 1781) was an American sea captain. He was captain and co-owner of the schooner Speedwell, which was scuttled by a British frigate off the coast of Marblehead, Massachusetts, in 1781, during the American Revolutionary War.

Jonathan Greeley
BornDecember 9, 1741
North Yarmouth, Province of Massachusetts Bay
Died1781 (aged 39 or 40)
Marblehead, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting placeCentral Burying Ground, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
OccupationSea captain
SpouseMary Hitchborn (1768–1781; his death)

Life and career

Greeley was born on December 9, 1741, in North Yarmouth, Province of Massachusetts Bay (now in Maine), to Philip and Hannah.[1] His father was killed by Native Americans in North Yarmouth in 1746, when Jonathan was five years old.

Greeley married Mary Hitchborn (1742–1819) on December 15, 1768. They had six children, each of whom were born in Boston: Anna (born 1769), Mary (1771), Hannah (1773), Isannah (1775–1800), Frances (1777) and Elizabeth (1778).[1]

Death

Greeley was killed in 1781, when his privateer, Speedwell,[2][3] was scuttled by a British frigate off the coast of Marblehead, Massachusetts, during the Revolutionary War. The ship was carrying eight guns (another source says ten),[4] twelve swivels and 70 men. His commander sent his body and his sword to his family.[1] Greeley was formerly a commander of the vessel, a petition for his installment being signed by Thomas Melvill in 1776.[5]

References
  1. Genealogy of the Greely-Greeley Family, George Hiram Greeley (1905), p. 103
  2. History of Plymouth County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 1, p. 472
  3. History of the Town of Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement, Benjamin Hobart (1866), p. 136
  4. Naval Documents of the American Revolution: American theatre: Mar. 1, 1777-Apr. 30, 1777. European theatre: Jan. 1, 1977-May 31, 1777. American theatre: May 1, 1777-May 31, 1777, United States Naval History Division (1964), p. 1007
  5. Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revoluntionary War: A Compilation from the Archives, Volume 6, Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of State (1899), p. 791


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