Born September 25, 1737
Newark, New Jersey
Died November 25, 1818
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

Clergyman, physician, essayist, satirist, spy

"Thou hast supported an atrocious cause Against thy King, thy country, and the laws."

Jonathan Odell, a multitalented American who stayed loyal to England during the American Revolution, is best remembered for the poetry he wrote in support of England. A strong believer in the authority of the church and state in society, Odell feared that the leaders of the American Revolution (1775–83) were bringing evil on America. He was a stern and serious man with strong opinions, and he wrote about the Revolution with grimness and bitterness.

Jonathan Odell was born in New Jersey in 1737 to John Odell, a carpenter, and Temperance Dickinson, the daughter of the first president of the school that became Princeton University in New Jersey. He was a descendant of William Odell, one of the founders...