Son of Edmund Quincy (b.Oct 14, 1681-d.Feb 23, 1737 London England)and Dorothy Flint {b.May 11,1678 Boston Mass-d.Aug 27, 1737 Braintree Mass); related to Colonel John Quincy an ancestor of President John Quincy Adams.
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Col. Josiah Quincy's legacy lives on in hometown
Born in 1709 at the Dorothy Quincy Homestead, a historical landmark at Butler Road and Hancock Street, Col. Josiah Quincy served in the American Revolutionary War and spawned a line of six namesakes, including mayors, congressmen and state representatives who were active in national and state politics for more than a century.
When the British occupied Boston and George Washington was laying siege to the city, the colonel spent hours a day at the attic window of his Wollaston home, a historical landmark on Muirhead Street, spying on warships sailing in and out of the harbor, Uhlar said. Quincy then sent his reports to Washington. Letters between Washington and Quincy, in which the general thanks the colonel for his contribution, still exist.
Josiah Quincy Jr., a lawyer whose contemporaries called him "The Patriot," gained the disfavor of the loyalist Colonial governor after delivering an impassioned speech on the subject of liberty at Harvard's commencement ceremony.
Though Quincy strongly opposed British occupation of the city, he agreed to help John Adams defend the British accused of the Boston Massacre, despite objections from his friends and family, including his father.
"Josiah's response was that if they truly believed in liberty and the rights of men, then these men deserved a fair trial," Uhlar said. Adams and Quincy won the case.
The opposing legal team included Quincy's older brother Samuel, a loyalist who had been appointed solicitor general by the crown and was thereby obligated to prosecute the case. "They went at each other in the courtroom arguing what was politically opposite their own beliefs," Uhlar said.
Ailing with tuberculosis, Quincy traveled south in an attempt to restore his health. While he was there, he helped establish Committees of Correspondence in the Southern colonies, which paved the way for the First Continental Congress. "If that had not happened, our history would be vastly altered," Uhlar said.
Col. Josiah Quincy is buried at the base of his son Josiah's tomb. One of the pictures shows Josiah Jrs. tomb within the fence near his father's grave. (Josiah Jr's wife Abigail is buried with him in the tomb)
The understanding is that Josiah Jr. wanted his father buried next to him as well, but his father, out of respect for his son's patriotism and ultimate sacrifice requested to be buried where he now rests.
-------------------------------------
Col. Josiah Quincy's legacy lives on in hometown
Born in 1709 at the Dorothy Quincy Homestead, a historical landmark at Butler Road and Hancock Street, Col. Josiah Quincy served in the American Revolutionary War and spawned a line of six namesakes, including mayors, congressmen and state representatives who were active in national and state politics for more than a century.
When the British occupied Boston and George Washington was laying siege to the city, the colonel spent hours a day at the attic window of his Wollaston home, a historical landmark on Muirhead Street, spying on warships sailing in and out of the harbor, Uhlar said. Quincy then sent his reports to Washington. Letters between Washington and Quincy, in which the general thanks the colonel for his contribution, still exist.
Josiah Quincy Jr., a lawyer whose contemporaries called him "The Patriot," gained the disfavor of the loyalist Colonial governor after delivering an impassioned speech on the subject of liberty at Harvard's commencement ceremony.
Though Quincy strongly opposed British occupation of the city, he agreed to help John Adams defend the British accused of the Boston Massacre, despite objections from his friends and family, including his father.
"Josiah's response was that if they truly believed in liberty and the rights of men, then these men deserved a fair trial," Uhlar said. Adams and Quincy won the case.
The opposing legal team included Quincy's older brother Samuel, a loyalist who had been appointed solicitor general by the crown and was thereby obligated to prosecute the case. "They went at each other in the courtroom arguing what was politically opposite their own beliefs," Uhlar said.
Ailing with tuberculosis, Quincy traveled south in an attempt to restore his health. While he was there, he helped establish Committees of Correspondence in the Southern colonies, which paved the way for the First Continental Congress. "If that had not happened, our history would be vastly altered," Uhlar said.
Col. Josiah Quincy is buried at the base of his son Josiah's tomb. One of the pictures shows Josiah Jrs. tomb within the fence near his father's grave. (Josiah Jr's wife Abigail is buried with him in the tomb)
The understanding is that Josiah Jr. wanted his father buried next to him as well, but his father, out of respect for his son's patriotism and ultimate sacrifice requested to be buried where he now rests.
Son of Edmund Quincy (b.Oct 14, 1681-d.Feb 23, 1737 London England)and Dorothy Flint {b.May 11,1678 Boston Mass-d.Aug 27, 1737 Braintree Mass); related to Colonel John Quincy an ancestor of President John Quincy Adams.
-------------------------------------
Col. Josiah Quincy's legacy lives on in hometown
Born in 1709 at the Dorothy Quincy Homestead, a historical landmark at Butler Road and Hancock Street, Col. Josiah Quincy served in the American Revolutionary War and spawned a line of six namesakes, including mayors, congressmen and state representatives who were active in national and state politics for more than a century.
When the British occupied Boston and George Washington was laying siege to the city, the colonel spent hours a day at the attic window of his Wollaston home, a historical landmark on Muirhead Street, spying on warships sailing in and out of the harbor, Uhlar said. Quincy then sent his reports to Washington. Letters between Washington and Quincy, in which the general thanks the colonel for his contribution, still exist.
Josiah Quincy Jr., a lawyer whose contemporaries called him "The Patriot," gained the disfavor of the loyalist Colonial governor after delivering an impassioned speech on the subject of liberty at Harvard's commencement ceremony.
Though Quincy strongly opposed British occupation of the city, he agreed to help John Adams defend the British accused of the Boston Massacre, despite objections from his friends and family, including his father.
"Josiah's response was that if they truly believed in liberty and the rights of men, then these men deserved a fair trial," Uhlar said. Adams and Quincy won the case.
The opposing legal team included Quincy's older brother Samuel, a loyalist who had been appointed solicitor general by the crown and was thereby obligated to prosecute the case. "They went at each other in the courtroom arguing what was politically opposite their own beliefs," Uhlar said.
Ailing with tuberculosis, Quincy traveled south in an attempt to restore his health. While he was there, he helped establish Committees of Correspondence in the Southern colonies, which paved the way for the First Continental Congress. "If that had not happened, our history would be vastly altered," Uhlar said.
Col. Josiah Quincy is buried at the base of his son Josiah's tomb. One of the pictures shows Josiah Jrs. tomb within the fence near his father's grave. (Josiah Jr's wife Abigail is buried with him in the tomb)
The understanding is that Josiah Jr. wanted his father buried next to him as well, but his father, out of respect for his son's patriotism and ultimate sacrifice requested to be buried where he now rests.
-------------------------------------
Col. Josiah Quincy's legacy lives on in hometown
Born in 1709 at the Dorothy Quincy Homestead, a historical landmark at Butler Road and Hancock Street, Col. Josiah Quincy served in the American Revolutionary War and spawned a line of six namesakes, including mayors, congressmen and state representatives who were active in national and state politics for more than a century.
When the British occupied Boston and George Washington was laying siege to the city, the colonel spent hours a day at the attic window of his Wollaston home, a historical landmark on Muirhead Street, spying on warships sailing in and out of the harbor, Uhlar said. Quincy then sent his reports to Washington. Letters between Washington and Quincy, in which the general thanks the colonel for his contribution, still exist.
Josiah Quincy Jr., a lawyer whose contemporaries called him "The Patriot," gained the disfavor of the loyalist Colonial governor after delivering an impassioned speech on the subject of liberty at Harvard's commencement ceremony.
Though Quincy strongly opposed British occupation of the city, he agreed to help John Adams defend the British accused of the Boston Massacre, despite objections from his friends and family, including his father.
"Josiah's response was that if they truly believed in liberty and the rights of men, then these men deserved a fair trial," Uhlar said. Adams and Quincy won the case.
The opposing legal team included Quincy's older brother Samuel, a loyalist who had been appointed solicitor general by the crown and was thereby obligated to prosecute the case. "They went at each other in the courtroom arguing what was politically opposite their own beliefs," Uhlar said.
Ailing with tuberculosis, Quincy traveled south in an attempt to restore his health. While he was there, he helped establish Committees of Correspondence in the Southern colonies, which paved the way for the First Continental Congress. "If that had not happened, our history would be vastly altered," Uhlar said.
Col. Josiah Quincy is buried at the base of his son Josiah's tomb. One of the pictures shows Josiah Jrs. tomb within the fence near his father's grave. (Josiah Jr's wife Abigail is buried with him in the tomb)
The understanding is that Josiah Jr. wanted his father buried next to him as well, but his father, out of respect for his son's patriotism and ultimate sacrifice requested to be buried where he now rests.
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