Jonathan Odell Biography

Jonathan Odell (25 September 1737 – 25 November 1818) was a Loyalist poet who lived during the American Revolution.

Odell was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1737 to John and Temperance Odell. He graduated from the College of New Jersey in New Jersey in 1754. While he was trained in medicine instead of pursuing a career as a doctor he joined the Church of England ministry. As a minister he preached at parish priest at Burlington, New Jersey and Mount Holly, New Jersey.

When the revolution broke out Odell became a strong loyalists and wrote poetry promoting the loyalist cause. He was brought before the New Jersey Provincial Congress for such actions and on July 20, 1776 he was ordered to sign a loyalty oath and remain within eight miles of the Burlington County courthouse. In December of that year he fled to New York and served as an administrator and satiric poet-propagandist for the British cause. After the war in 1784 he emigrated to New Brunswick, Canada where he received the post of provincial secretary as a reward for his loyalty. He remained in New Brunswick and died in Fredericton.