Date: August 18, 2026 Time: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM Location: Brewster Ladies' Library, 1822 Main Street, Brewster, MA and via Zoom

Josiah Quincy, Jr. (Son of Hannah Sturgis of Yarmouth): First American Spy

Guest Speaker: Janet Uhlar

Josiah Quincy, Jr.’s impact in the birth of our nation was pivotal. The young attorney’s zeal for liberty denied him the traditional robe of a barrister yet earned him entrance into Boston’s inner circle of resistance to British oppression. Fellow members referred to Quincy as “the Patriot.” When all Tory attorneys refused to defend the British soldiers following the Boston Massacre  - Quincy accepted, demonstrating his belief in the inalienable rights of all men. Quincy fostered the establishment of the inter-colonial committees of correspondence which paved the way for the First Continental Congress. Quincy accepted a secretive mission to England in an attempt to gather and share accurate information to better direct the American colonists in averting or advancing hostiles between the American colonies and Great Britain.

Janet Uhlar’s fascination with the American Revolution began as a child upon reading Esther Forbes’ acclaimed Johnny Tremain. Uhlar began her research on the life of Dr. Joseph Warren and Josiah Quincy, Jr. in 1986, culminating in the publication of her first book, Liberty’s Martyr in 2001, with a second edition published in 2025, to include newly realized documentation and refute debasing, unsubstantiated narrative asserted by contemporary authors. Uhlar is involved in two DNA projects pertaining to blood on artifacts reported to have been on Warren’s body when he was killed in action at the Battle of Bunker Hill

In 1990, Uhlar started her study on the life of General Nathanael Greene, with the first edition of Freedom’s Cost published in 2011. A second edition was published in 2023. She served on the Board of Trustees of the Nathanael Greene Homestead, and on the advisory board of the Mulberry Grove Foundation (General Greene’s home in Savannah, GA). Her lecture on Greene which presented his omitted vital role by historians in saving the Continental Army at Valley Forge inspired the Nathanael Greene Monument Project by the General Society of the Sons of the Revolution of which she took an active part. A full-size bronze statue of General Greene was created and placed at Valley Forge in 2015 (up until that time, Greene was not mentioned on the website of the Valley Forge National Historical Park.

Uhlar continues her research on Warren and Greene with recent publications presenting newly realized information in various periodicals. She was interviewed for the Rev250 Boston podcast on Quincy, Warren, and Greene and is eager to begin research on a new book about the Quincy family.

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