The Fourth Cousin Named Jonathan

Back in October, I wrote about “Three Cousins Named Jonathan.”

At the time, I was trying to sort out two of those cousins, both named Jonathan Williams, along with the father of one of them, John Williams, who was brother of an older Jonathan Williams.

In that research, the third cousin, Jonathan Williams Austin (1751–1779), kept getting in the way.

I now realize I actually understated the situation. Because on his father’s side Jonathan Williams Austin had another cousin named Jonathan Loring Austin (1747–1826).

Both Jonathan Williams Austin and Jonathan Loring Austin served in the Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of major.

Both Jonathan Williams Austin and Jonathan Loring Austin delivered official orations for the town of Boston, the first on 5 Mar 1778 and the second on 4 July 1786.

And to confuse things further, the Independence Day oration included this passage, which would have fit right into a Massacre remembrance:

WE, my fellow townsmen, can early date the aera of British slaughter, witness the 5th of March 1770—and though succeeding years have enlarged the field of melancholy contemplation, yet from this period we open the bloody scroll, and begin our tale of DEATH—yonder street can witness the sanguinary purposes of Britain; there, our brothers blood stained the foot-steps of the murdering soldier—there, our eyes were first pained with garments rolled in blood, and our ears pierced with the reiterated groans of dying citizens.

Fortunately, both of those cousins went through some interesting episodes, so now that you have them sorted out I can tell their stories over time.