Jonathan Loring Austin (January 2, 1748 – May 10, 1826) was a Massachusetts revolutionary, diplomat and politician who served as the second Secretary of the Commonwealth and the tenth Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts. Austin was the father of Massachusetts Attorney General James Treacothie Austin.
==Early life==
Austin was born on January 2, 1748 in Boston, Massachusetts. Austin graduated from Harvard College in 1766. After he graduated from Harvard, Austin moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and became a merchant there.
==American Revolutionary War==
When the war started Austin became a Major in Langdon’s Regiment, and later an aid to General John Sullivan.
==Massachusetts Board of War==
Austin was the secretary to the Massachusetts Board of War until October 1777.
==Capture and release==
In January 1780 Austin was captured by the British while on a mission to Europe to secure a loan for Massachusetts. Austin was later released. He failed to secure the loan and he returned in the autumn of 1781.
==Marriage==
Austin married Hannah Ivers, the daughter of James & Hannah (Trecothick) Ivers, in Boston, on April 4, 1782.
==Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth==
Austin served as Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth for two years, from 1806 to 1808.
==Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts==
Austin served as Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts from 1811 to 1812.
Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_L._Austin