Author: Boulton, Thomas
Biography:
BOULTON, Thomas (d 1777: Hollis)
A native of Liverpool, he published his comedy The Sailor's Return there in 1768 but incurred debts and went to America, where he established a medical practice in Salem MA. His poem The Voyage was published in Boston in 1773. He fought as a loyalist in the Revolution, was wounded at Bunker Hill, and was later posted to Quebec. In 1776 he petitioned successfully for financial aid from the British government and returned to his family in England, where he died. According to the correspondence related to the petition, he had been tarred and feathered and imprisoned by rebels in Salem on account of his "active and unwearied endeavours in favour of His Majesty and his many writings in support of Government." His wife Ellen (later Ellen Edgar) was granted a loyalist pension. (Alfred Jones, Loyalists of Massachusetts . . . [1930], 42-3) HJ