sears, isaac

Sears, Isaac (1730-1786) Revolutionary Mob Leader: Sears commanded a privateer against the French in 1758-61, but lost his vessel in the latter year, and then engaged in the West Indian and European trade, using New York City as his home base. When the Stamp Act was passed, he joined the patriot cause. Sears was involved in nearly every mob violence incident in New York City during the crisis of British-American relations following the French and Indian War. He was called "King Sears" for his authority over patriot mobs, and was a prominent leader of the New York Sons of Liberty. In 1775, he took a troop of horses to a printing establishment, destroyed the presses, and carried off the type, using it to make bullets. Sears became a member of the provincial Congress of New York and of the Provincial Assembly in 1785. After losing his fortune in the war, he became a supercargo on a merchant ship in 1785, but died of a fever on his first passage to China.