Jonathan Odell
1737-1818
Jonathan Odell (poet) was born in 1737 in Newark, New Jersey, and died in 1818 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Odell attended Princeton University, where he studied to become a teacher, graduating in 1754. He then returned to Princeton to study medicine, and graduated with an MA in medicine in 1759, later signing on with the British Army as a surgeon in the West Indies. After his service with the British Army, Odell studied theology; he was ordained in the ministry of the Church of England in 1766 and became rector of Burlington, New Jersey. Odell moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1784. His loyalty to Britain was demonstrated in his “Ode for the New Year”: “Shine Britannia, Rise and Shine! / To Bless Mankind the Task Be Thine!” Odell published three of his major verse satires in a New York newspaper: “The Word of Congress” (1779), “The Congratulation, a Poem” (1779), and “The Feu de Joie, a Poem” (1779). Many of his Revolutionary War poems appeared in Rivington’s New-York Gazette and the Royal Pennsylvania Gazette. One of Odell’s best-known works, The American Times (1780), was also published in New York and London as a pamphlet. Odell held many titles throughout his lifetime, such as Deputy Chaplin of the Royal Fuzileers, Chaplain to the First Battalion of Pennsylvania Loyalists, Superintendent of the Printing Presses and Periodical Publication, Secretary to the Corporation for the Relief of Widows and Orphans of Deceased Clergymen, Assistant Secretary to the Board of Associated Loyalists, Chaplain to the King’s Army, Assistant Secretary to Sir Guy Carleton, and Provincial Secretary to New Brunswick.
Innes, Janice. "Jonathan Odell." New Brunswick Encyclopedia, Winter 2008. Accessed 19 May 2023.
Predominant New Brunswick Residences:
Fredericton
Archival Material
Papers related to Jonathan Odell can also be found at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Many related records can be found on microfilm in the University of New Brunswick Libraries Loyalist collection in addition to the collection listed below.
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Odell family
⌄LocationNew Brunswick Museum ArchivesWebsite/Catalogue RecordRetrieval Number3735Date Range of Material1732-1935Extent
1.2 m of textual records
Scope and Content NoteThis fonds consists of family and business correspondence, estate records, property deeds and other records. The records of Jonathan Odell include his poetry and literary correspondence, his sermons, general correspondence, and accounts. There are also records of his church appointments and some notebooks.
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Jonathan Odell Papers
⌄LocationFredericton Region MuseumWebsite/Catalogue RecordRetrieval NumberMS14Date Range of Material1784-1829Extent
1 cm of textual records
Scope and Content NotePapers consists of correspondence regarding personal business dealings.
Jonathan Odell
"Jonathan Odell." Portrait courtesy ofew Brunswick Museum, Saint John, N.B; W1294 via New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia, Winter 2008. Accessed 19 May 2023.
See the New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia entry.