Captain James Jauncey

James Jauncey Jr. was a ship captain, merchant, and most notably a loyalist in the New York General Assembly.

Early career

He originally started off his career as a merchant captain in Bermuda. He traded between the Caribbean and New York and eventually settled in New York in 1743 as a merchant/business man.

He kept his connections with many goods coming from the Caribbean and subsequently found himself funding many privateers, including owning his own privateer fleets. With his major successes as a merchant in New York, Jauncey became the Warden of the Port in 1758 (an office he held until 1774). John Morin Scott, the candidate facing Jauncey, was an adamant supporter of the Stamp Act.

Election to New York General Assembly

On March 11, 1768, Jauncey (having nominated himself a month earlier) had been elected into the New York General Assembly. The dispute here was about an "unjust" imprisonment of a man over a debt owed by a Henry Lane. There had existed a 155-pound debt for Henry Lane and instead of having Jauncey take the house as sufficient payment (which would have proven more than sufficiently capable), he wanted to have the Rousby's and Widow of Lane pay off the debt instead. Subsequently, a newsletter was written thanking/acknowledging those who had supported and did not falter to the false slanders against James Jauncey. With their triumphs, each of the men donated 200 pounds to the poor, of which there was great public praise. Subsequently, there were public slanders against supposed political opponents who questioned the generosity of those individuals like Jauncey; however there were subsequent political campaign flyers/pamphlets that mentioned secret dealings of generosity of men like Jauncey. Jauncey's popular standing amongst the populace ensured his position to last until his dismissal in 1775. In addition, due to a being connected by marriage to Sir Gilbert Elliot, a prominent figure in Parliament who advocated against American revolutionary efforts, the Jauncey family was labelled as a suspicious group undermining the colonial government authority. On December 20, 1776, the Jauncey family was given parole.

On October 22, 1779, Jauncey was banished from the new American States because of his fervent support of the British sovereign.

Jauncey's living sons (William and John) wrote up a petition on January 22, 1790, to allow James Jauncey to return to New York. Jauncey died February 6, 1790, even though it would be passed a couple months later to allow Jauncey to return to New York.