Jonathan L. Austin

Jonathan Loring Austin (January 2, 1748 – May 10, 1826) was an American revolutionary, diplomat and politician who served as the second Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth and the tenth Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts. He was the father of Massachusetts Attorney General James T. Austin.

Personal life Austin was born on January 2, 1748, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the father of James T. Austin.

Diplomatic mission Franklin soon afterwards sent him on a secret mission to England, where he met many members of the opposition and furnished them with much information concerning American affairs. The trip was full of incident, and, says one of Franklin's biographers (Morse), "brings to mind some of the Jacobite tales of Sir Walter Scott's novels." He carried dispatches to Congress from the United States Commissioners in Paris early in 1779, and in January 1780, was dispatched to Europe to secure loans for Massachusetts in Spain and Holland.