James Foster Condy, a bookseller with a shop on Union Street in Boston, Massachusetts, participated in the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773.
Condy, a successful businessman, sold stationery, inkpots, account books, large and small slates, mathematical instruments, and other useful items. Following the “destruction of the tea”, Condy and Stephen Bruce were spotted with Joseph Pearse Palmer upon his return home by Palmer’s wife, Betsey.
Prior to his involvement in the Boston Tea Party, Condy had already made his feelings on the growing discontent with Boston’s administration known. As a member of the Corps of Cadets, he refused to show respect to visiting Customs Commissioners in May of 1773. It was noted that he and fellow Cadet Moses Grant joined the crowd who were jeering and throwing mud at the Commissioners. The Commissioners were much hated among the populus by that time for their perceived complicity in following the tax policies enacted upon the colonies by Parliament.
During the Revolutionary War, Condy served in the Boston Independent Company under the command of Colonel John Hancock. Later in life, Condy reportedly moved to Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he taught as a teacher.
James Foster Condy died in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on July 12, 1809.
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