Jonathan Odell

Odell, Jonathan

Jonathan Odell, doctor, clergyman, spy, poet, politician (b at Newark, NJ 25 Sept 1737; d at Fredericton 25 Nov 1818). He was trained in medicine but entered the Church of England ministry. He served as parish priest at Burlington, NJ, until his LOYALIST political sympathies forced him to flee to New York in 1776 during the AMERICAN REVOLUTION. There he worked for the Loyalist cause as an administrator and satiric poet-propagandist. He was also a secret go-between in the espionage activities of Benedict ARNOLD and John André. In 1784 Odell immigrated to New Brunswick, having been appointed provincial secretary as a reward for his loyalty. He was influential in NB politics.