Thomas Spear (1753)

(December 1753 – April 15, 1812) 

Thomas Spear was a blacksmith’s apprentice under his father at the time of the Boston Tea Party.           

It is inconclusive whether both Spear and his father, also named Thomas, were present for the “destruction of the tea” at Griffin’s Wharf on December 16, 1773. Historian Francis S. Drake, in his 1884 book Tea Leaves, describes a Thomas Spear as a participant. In the account, it is stated that Spear “ran into his master’s blacksmith shop.” This seems to imply that the young Spear is more likely to have been the Boston Tea Party participant.  

By 1796, Spear had become the keeper on Rainsford Island. This island, also known as Hospital Island, served as a quarantine station for ships and sick persons entering Boston Harbor. The health status of the ship’s crew would be inspected and assessed to prevent disease outbreaks. The final ship delivering the East India Company tea to Boston, the brig Beaver, arrived at Boston’s harbor with sick crew members and was therefore quarantined for eight days at Rainsford Island before docking at Griffin’s Wharf on December 15, 1773, the day before the fated event. 

Thomas Spear died on April 15, 1812, and is buried on Rainsford Island in Boston Harbor.