Boston Tea Party participants

On 16 Dec 1773, those listed below were participants in the Boston Tea Party (initially referred to by John Adams as "the Destruction of the Tea in Boston") was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, on December 16, 1773. The demonstrators, some disguised as indians, in defiance of the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company. They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor. This is a partial list only.

Participant Anonymity[]

Many of the participants were members of prominent Boston families and kept their identity secret for years fearing both government reprisals and shipping company lawsuits.

The names of those who destroyed the tea during the Boston Tea Party were veiled in secrecy for years afterwards. Participants in the destruction of the tea swore themselves to secrecy and did not acknowledge each other even when boarding the ships, breaking open the chests and dumping the tea. Had their names become known to British authorities, they would have been arrested and punished. Even years later, some retained secrecy for fear of lawsuits possibly being brought by the British East India Company. Some of the participants' families had become well to do and were not proud of identifying with this act of "civil disobedience," although today it is seen as one of the most significant acts leading to the American colonies' break with Great Britain.

Two ships in a harbor, one in the distance. On board, men stripped to the waist and wearing feathers in their hair throw crates of tea overboard. A large crowd, mostly men, stands on the dock, waving hats and cheering. A few people wave their hats from windows in a nearby building. — This iconic 1846 lithograph by Nathaniel Currier was entitled "The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor"; the phrase "Boston Tea Party" had not yet become standard. Contrary to Currier's depiction, few of the men dumping the tea were actually disguised as Native Americans.

16 Dec 1773[]

On this day, 16 Dec 1773, some nearly 7000 residents of the greater Boston area gathered at meeting of the Sons of Liberty led by patriot Samuel Adams (1722-1803) to discuss action to stop the British ships from unloading their tea. That evening some 30-130 men, some disguised as indians boarded the three ships of the East India Tea Company and dumped all 342 chests of tea into the harbor.

Loyalists[]

Richard Clark (1711-1795) - principal of the firm Richard Clark & Sons that was a co-signer to the incoming shipment of British East Indian tea.

A[]

Francis Akeley (-)

B[]

Nathaniel Barber (-)
Samuel Barnard (1737-1792)
Henry Bass (-)
Joseph Bassett (-)
Edward Bates (-)
Adam Beals, Jr. (-)
Thomas Bolter (-)
Capt. David Bradlee (1742-1811), captain in the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, freemason of St. Andrew's Lodge in Boston.
Pvt. Josiah Bradlee (1754-1798), private in militias through out the American Revolutionary War, Founder of the shipping firm of Josiah Bradlee & Company.
Nathan Bradlee (1746-1813), soldier in the American Revolutionary War
Sarah Bradlee (Fulton) (1740-1835), was dubbed the "Mother of the Boston Tea Party."
Thomas Bradlee (1744-1805), soldier in the American Revolutionary War
James Brewer (-)
John Brown (-)
Seth Ingersoll Browne (-)
Stephen Bruce (-)
Benjamin Burton (-)

C[]

Nicholas Campbell (-)
George Carleton (-)
Thomas Chase (-)
Nathaniel Child (-)
Benjamin Clark (-)
Jonathan Clark (-)
John Cochran (-)
Gilbert Colesworthy (-)
Gersham Collier (-)
Adam Collson (-)
James Foster Condy (-)
Daniel Coolidge (-)
Joseph Coolidge (-)
Samuel Coolidge (-)
Samuel Cooper (-)
William Cox (-)
Thomas Crafts (-)
John Crane (-)
Obadiah Curtis (-)

D[]

Thomas Dana, Jr. (-)
Amasa Davis (-)
Robert Davis (-)
John Decarteret (-)
David Decker (-)
John Dickman (-)
Edward Dolbear (-)
Samuel Dolbeare (-)
John Dyar, Jr. (-)

E[]

Joseph Eaton (-)
Joseph Eayres (-)
Benjamin Edes (-)
Willieth Etheridge (-)

F[]

Samuel Fenno (-)
Samuel Foster (-)
Nathaniel Frothingham, Jr. (-)
John Fulton (-)

G[]

John Gammell (-)
Eleazer Gay (-)
Thomas Gerrish (-)
Samuel Gore (-)
Moses Grant (-)
Nathaniel Greene (-)
Timoth Guy (-)

H[]

Capt Benjamin Hallowell (1725-1799) - British Naval Officer who served as Commissioner of the Port during the Boston Tea Party. His wife, Mary Boylston (1722-1795), was a cousin to John Adams (1735-1826). Their family had to flee to England during the War.
Samuel Hammond (-)
Peter Harrington (-)
William Haskins (-)
Willim Hendly (-)
George Robert Twelves Hewes (-)
John Hicks (-)
Samuel Hobbs (-)
John Hooten (-)
Elijah Horton (-)
Elijah Houghton (-)
Samuel Howard (Hayward) (-)
Edward Compton Howe (-)
Jonathan Hunnewell (-)
Richard Hunnewell (-)
Richard Hunnewell, Jr. (-)
Thomas Hunstable (-)
Abraham Hunt (-)

I[]

Daniel Ingersol (-)
Daniel Ingoldson (-)

J[]

Charles Jameson (-)
Robert Jameson (-)
Jared Joy (-)

K[]

David Kinnison (-)

L[]

Robert Lash (-)
Amariah Learned (-)
Joseph Lee (-)
Nathaniel Lee (-)
Amos Lincoln (-)
John Locke (-)
Mathew Loring (-)
Joseph Lovering (-)
Joseph Ludden (-)
David Lyon (-)

M[]

Thomas Machin (-)

S[]

Col. James Swan (1754-1830), paid the American debt to France after the American Revolutionary War