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Jonathan Odell, doctor, clergyman, Loyalist, spy, poet, politician (born 25 September 1737 in Newark, NJ; died 25 November 1818 in Fredericton, NB). Odell was the first provincial secretary of New Brunswick (1784–1812). He was designated a National Historic Person in 1959.
Jonathan Odell was trained in medicine but entered the Church of England ministry. He served as parish priest at Burlington, New Jersey, until his Loyalist political sympathies forced him to flee to New York in 1776 during the American Revolution. There, he worked for the Loyalist cause as an administrator and satiric poet-propagandist.
Odell was also a secret go-between in the espionage activities of Benedict Arnold and John André. In 1784, Odell immigrated to New Brunswick, having been appointed provincial secretary as a reward for his loyalty. He was influential in New Brunswick politics.
