08/28/2026
Boston Tea Party Participant Edward Proctor was born August 28, 1733.
Proctor was a merchant in the North End of Boston and an active Son of Liberty at the time of the Boston Tea Party of 1773. In early November of that year, just weeks before the "destruction of the tea," Proctor, along with 500 other North End Caucus members, gathered at the Liberty Tree to pressure tea Consignee merchant Richard Clarke not to sell the East India Company Tea. When Clarke did not comply, Edward Proctor helped lead a mob to the Clarke's warehouse. After a short parley with the tea merchants, who once again refused the demands, the mob stormed the building, forcing the Consignees to barricade themselves in the second-floor counting room. A couple of weeks later, Mr. Proctor volunteered to help guard the ships carrying the tea at Griffin’s Wharf to prevent the unloading of the cargo. He then took up the command of the boarding party aboard the vessel Dartmouth on the night of December 16, 1773.
During the Revolutionary War, Edward Proctor served in several official roles in the Massachusetts militia, eventually reaching the rank of Colonel. After the war, he went on to serve in additional civic positions, including the prominent role of Overseer of the Poor in Boston.
Are you descended from a Boston Tea Party participant or want to learn more about the people who made history in 18th-century Boston? Visit our Boston Tea Party Descendants Program here! https://bit.ly/3MiOrlC
