John Ury (died August 29, 1741) was a white itinerant teacher who was suspected of being a Catholic priest and a Spanish spy during the New York Slave Insurrection of 1741. His ability to read Latin was cited as proof of this. Which denomination he actually belonged to is uncertain. The Catholic Encyclopedia mentions him as "a Catholic priest, who had exercised unostentatiously his sacred ministry in New Jersey, and had been engaged for about twelve months in teaching at Burlington, New Jersey." He is said to have been opposed to the Glorious Revolution of 1689.
He was the son of a former Secretary of the South Sea Company and a non-jurist.
He was named by Mary Burton, the prosecution's main witness, as "the real power behind the slave conspiracy." Based on this, he was taken into custody on June 24, 1741. He was arraigned on July 15 and July 22.
Having no lawyer willing to defend him, he defended himself at the trial. Throughout, Ury expressed his innocence. The chief prosecutor was Attorney General Richard Bradley.
He was officially found guilty of conspiracy.
He was convicted on July 29, 1741 and hanged on August 29, 1741.
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