Dana, Francis, 1743-1811

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DANA, Francis, a Delegate from Massachusetts; born in Charlestown, Mass., June 13, 1743; was graduated from Harvard College in 1762; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Boston in 1767; delegate to the Provincial Congress in 1774; spent two years in England endeavoring to adjust differences between Great Britain and the American Colonies; State councilor 1776-1780; Member of the Continental Congress 1777-1778, and was one of the signers of the Articles of Confederation July 9, 1778; elected September 28, 1779, secretary to accompany John Adams, who was appointed a commissioner to negotiate a treaty of peace with Great Britain and a treaty of commerce with Holland; appointed December 19, 1780, Minister Resident to Russia, but was never received as such; again a Member of the Continental Congress in 1784; judge of the supreme court of Massachusetts 1785-1791; appointed chief justice November 29, 1791, and served for fifteen years; member of the State convention which adopted the Federal Constitution in 1788; a founder of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; died in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Mass., April 25, 1811; interment in Old Cambridge Cemetery.

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<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li> 11/02/1792 MA Presidential Elector - District 01 Won 11.00% (+0.00%)</li>
<li> 04/02/1792 MA Governor Lost 4.89% (-81.70%)</li>
<li> 10/04/1790 MA District 3 Lost 0.50% (-59.04%)</li>
<li> 01/29/1789 MA District 3 - 2nd Trial Lost 0.05% (-61.01%)</li>
<li> 01/07/1789 MA Presidential Elector - District 03 Won 23.96% (+9.80%)</li>
<li> 12/17/1788 MA District 3 - 1st Trial Lost 0.54% (-35.85%)</li>
<li> 12/31/1783 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li> 12/31/1782 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li> 12/19/1780 US Ambassador to Russia Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li> 12/31/1777 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li> 12/31/1776 MA Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>

<p>Francis Dana (June 13, 1743 – April 25, 1811) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, jurist, and statesman from Massachusetts. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1777–1778 and 1784. He signed the Articles of Confederation. His wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Ann Remington and William Ellery, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was also the father-in-law of Washington Allston, a noted painter and poet.</p>

<p>Francis was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the son of lawyer Richard Dana. He was educated at Harvard where he graduated in 1762, then read law and was admitted to the bar, after which he built a successful legal practice in Boston.</p>

<p>Being an opponent of the British colonial policy, he became a leader of the Sons of Liberty and was first elected to Massachusetts' provincial (revolutionary) Congress in 1774. In 1775 the Continental Congress dispatched him to England in an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the differences leading to the Revolutionary War. He returned the following year, convinced that a friendly settlement of the dispute was impossible, and was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1777, where he signed the Articles of Confederation in 1778. As a member of the latter body, he became chairman in January 1778 of the committee appointed to visit General George Washington at Valley Forge and confer with him concerning the reorganization of the Continental Army. This committee spent about three months in camp and assisted Washington in preparing the plan of reorganization which Congress in the main adopted. In this year, he was also a member of a committee to consider Lord North's offer of conciliation, which he vigorously opposed.</p>

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<p>Among the framers of the Articles of Confederation, the following delegates represented Massachusetts : John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Elbridge Gerry, James Lovell, and Samuel Holten. We have already given biographies of Hancock, Adams, and Gerry, among those of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Francis Dana was born in Massachusetts in 1743. His parents were wealthy and respectable, and gave him the benefit of an excellent education. Young Dana graduated at Harvard College in 1762, and then turned his attention to the study of the law. On being admitted to the bar, Mr. Dana went to England, where he remained one year, and then returned and began the practice of his profession. His learning and ability secured him speedy success.</p>
<p>At the commencement of the troubles occasioned by the arbitrary and oppressive measures of the British Parliament, Mr. Dana manifested a decided partiality for the cause of the colonists, and was a valuable acquisition to the ranks of the patriots. In 1776, he was elected to a seat in the Continental Congress, and he continued to be an active member of that body until 1779. He was one of the committee appointed by Congress to consider the conciliatory propositions of the British commissioners, Messrs. Johnson and Eden; but nothing was effected by the negotiation.</p>

<p>In 1779, Mr. Dana accompanied John Adams to France as secretary of legation. In 1780, he was appointed minister to Prussia, and although not publicly received as such, he remained there until the close of the war. He then returned to America, and in 1784 was elected to a seat in Congress. In 1792, Mr. Dana was appointed chief-justice of Massachusetts, and he continued to discharge the grave duties of that office until 1806, when he resigned. This eminent servant of the public died in 1811, at the age of sixty-eight years. His character was estimable in every respect;--it was that of a firm patriot, an upright judge, and a cheerful domestic companion.</p>