Category Archives: Treaty of Paris

The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Westchester and Dutchess Counties, NY, Conclusion

1766 Tenant Riots, Abraham, Abraham O'Dell, African American Genealogy, African American Loyalists, African Diaspora, African-Americans in Westchester County, African-Native, Afro-Indigenous, Afro-Indigenous historic erasure, Afro-Indigenous Loyalists, Amegah, Amegah Londonderry, American Indians, Amos Moss, Ancestry.com, AncestryDNA, Anna, Annapolis, Austin Graham, Benjamin Bartley, Betsey, Black Pioneers, Carleton, Cato Prime, Cuffie, David Matthews, Dinah Griffin, Duryea, Duryee, Ebenezer Beaman, Ephraim Jarrett, Esther Smith, Family, Fort Niagara, Francis Griffin, Francois Fournier, Frank Marshall, Gabriel Fowler, Gabriel Ludlow, Greenburgh, Hernet Farmier, Hudson River Valley, Isaac Ecker, Isaac FRost, Jack Powell, Jackey, Jacob Duryea, James, Jane, Jane Marshall, Jemima, Jenny, John Brown, John Cooper, John Potter, John Smith, John Townsend, Joseph Bartlett, Joseph Clarke, Joseph Foster, Joseph Goff, Leonard Van Kleek, Livingston Manor, London Derry, Londonderry, Lucy Potter, Lydia Johnson, Mary, Matthews, Maugerville, Moses Thompson, Ned, Nero, New Amsterdam, New Hampshire Grants, New Jersey, New York, New York City, Nine Partners, Patience Hopefield, Peter Matthews, Philipse Manor, Piggott, Port Roseway, Quebec, Revolutionary War, Richard Hopefield, Richard Pierpoint, Richard Vanderburgh, Robert Potter, Rose Fortune, Rye, Sal Griffin, Sally, Sambo, Samuel Ver Planck, Sarah, Slavery in NY, Stacia, Stratford, Sukey Lefferts, tenant farmers, Thomas Wolverton, Timothy Whetmore, Titus Knapp, Treaty of Paris, United Empire Loyalists, Upper Canada West, Van Cortlandt, Van Cortlandt Manor, Verplanck, War of Independence, Westchester County, White Plains, William Etherington, Willian Thomas, Yonkers, York

This blog post is dedicated to Nora Gavin, the outgoing editor of Connecticut Ancestry. It was both an honor and a pleasure to have her edit all five of my articles on Black Loyalists. I applaud her steadfast commitment to advocating for a more inclusive understanding of American history.

As the Revolutionary War drew to a close a close in 1783, thousands of Black Loyalists from Westchester and Dutchess Counties faced the agonizing uncertainty of what freedom might mean beyond the battlefields they had once known. Some had fled bondage in the chaos of war, others had served in Loyalist militias or sought refuge behind British lines. Many clung to the promises made by the Crown—that freedom, land, and safety awaited them in British-held territories. Yet, as this third and final installment of The Fate of the Black Loyalists reveals, the journey to freedom did not end with evacuation.

For those who boarded ships bound for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and beyond, freedom was fragile, conditional, and often undermined. Some were re-enslaved or indentured. Others disappeared from the record entirely, leaving behind only fragments of testimony in documents like The Book of Negroes. Through the stories of individuals and families —Statia, the Marshalls, the Jarrett brothers, and many others —we trace the haunting afterlife of war, where the line between liberty and captivity was perilously thin.

In documenting these lives, we are reminded that freedom was not a singular moment but an ongoing struggle—one that continues to echo across generations.

The conclusion to this 3-part series can be read here by clicking on the link: Black Loyalists of Westchester and Dutchess Counties, New York – Conclusion

The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Fairfield County, CT, Part 2

Abraham Hammond, Aesop Moses, African American Loyalists, Afro-Indigenous Loyalists, Alexander Stewart, Andrew Bush, Andrew Izzard, Annapolis, Anthony, Anthony Barton, Benjamin Marston, Benjamin Stanton, Benjamin Thompson, Birchtown, Black Settlements in Canada, Brindley Town, Bush-Holley House, Canada, Captain James Hughston, Captain James Lyon, Catherine, Cato Cannon, Charity Morris, Charles Francis, Charles Richards, Colonel Perry, Connecticut Loyalists, Connecticut Merchant Marine families, CT Loyalists, Cuff Bush, Cuff Fairchild, David Bush, David Coley, David Raymond, Digby, Dr. Francis Forgue, Dr. William Bush, Eanus Deaton, Ebenezer Coley, Edward and Mary Ann Morris, Edward Godfrey, Edward Lloyd, Edward Morris, Emmanuel Jarvis, Enslaved People, Francis Clements, Free Blacks, Fyler Dibblee, Gabriel DeVeber, General Birch Certificates, General William Howes 1777 Order, Genetic Genealogy, George Fairfield, George Leonard, George Stevens, Glasglow Griggs, Guysborough, Henry and Phebe Lyon, Horseneck, Hoyt, Hubbard, Hyde, II, Indigenous Loyalists, Isaac Johnson, Ishmael Coley, Jack Coley, Jack Hide, James Grayson, James Jackson, James Legree, James Nicols, Job Bartram, John Cannon, John Ketcham, John Lloyd, John Prior, Jonathan Buckley, Joseph Cromwell, Joseph Taylor, Judith Griggs, Judith Stewart, Kate and daughter, Kemble Manor, Ketcham, King American Dragoons, Liverpool Slave Trade, Lloyd's Manor, Long Island, Lord Dunmores Proclamation, Loyalist Transporters, Malagasy Diaspora, Malagasy Roots, Malagasy Roots Project, Mary Legree, Michael Cox, Milkish Settlement, Morris-Bush Family, Moses, Nancy and Flora Bartram, Nathaniel Hubbard, Nathaniel Hubbell, Native American Loyalists, Ned Morris, New Brunswick, New Castle, New York City, Nova Scotia, Peter Cock, Peter Cox, Phillip Nichols, Phyllis Ketcham, Phyllis Lyon, Polly Dibblee, Port Mouton, Preston, Prince Buckley, Prince Perry, Revolutionary War, Robert Gibson, Rogers, Rose Fortune, Samuel Brothers, Samuel Ives, Samuel Ketchum, Shelburne, Sierra Leone, Silas Holley, Simon White, Sir Guy Carlton, Sir Henry Clinton's 1779 Phillipsburg Proclamation, Slavery in NJ, Slavery in NY, son of Charity Morris, St. John, Stephen Kemble, Suffolk County, Sukey, The Black Brigade, The Black Pioneers, The Book of Negroes, The Byram African-American Cemetery, The Ethiopian Regiment, Thomas Francis, Thomas Lagare, Thomas Marren, Thomas Rogers, Titus Cornelius, Tom Hide, Toney Barton, Toney Bartram, Tracadie, Transatlantic Slave Trade, Treaty of Paris, Unus Deaton, Venus Legree, War of Independence, West Indies Trade, William and Diana Carden, Zimri Armstrong

Here is Part 2 of a 2-part article on The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Fairfield County, CT. Part 1 of this article series lays the groundwork to understanding the position that Black Loyalists found themselves in while serving the British Crown. Part 2 tells the individual stories of what happened to some of the Black Loyalists from Fairfield County, Connecticut, after they arrived in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada, and Sierra Leone. I approach this topic as a family historian-genealogist and a descendant of enslaved/formerly enslaved African and Indigenous peoples who served as Black Patriots and Black Loyalists in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. I believe that their remarkable contributions to both the United States and Britain have been overlooked. It is important to recognize that their acts of resistance and agency positioned them as the
“Founding Fathers” in the US and Canada.

While this article does not provide a comprehensive overview of Connecticut Loyalists’
involvement in the War, it offers a snapshot of the significant events that Black Loyalists of Fairfield County faced. Their fates highlight how the promises made to them by the Loyalists ultimately turned out to be grand gestures that led to a false sense of freedom. While some may view Black Loyalists as “the losers’ losers,” we regard them as heroes for pursuing liberty, freedom, and justice in the face of great odds. The decision they all made to ta The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Fairfiled County, CT Part 2ke a chance on freedom is perhaps the most American of all stories.

The full article can be read here: The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Fairfield County, CT Part 2

The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Fairfield County, CT, Part 1

African American Loyalists, Afro-Indigenous Loyalists, Black Loyalists, Black Patriots, Captain James Hughston, Captain James Lyon, Connecticut Loyalists, Connecticut Merchant Marine families, CT Loyalists, Cuff Bush, David Bush, General Birch Certificates, General William Howes 1777 Order, Glasglow Griggs, Grigg, Hagar Thomson, Horseneck, Hoyt, Hubbard, Hyde, Indigenous Loyalists, Ketcham, Lord Dunmores Proclamation, Mary Thomson, Native American Loyalists, New Brunswick, New York City, Nova Scotia, Revolutionary War, Rogers, Sierra Leone, Sir Guy Carlton, Sir Henry Clinton's 1779 Phillipsburg Proclamation, The Black Brigade, The Black Pioneers, The Book of Negroes, The Ethiopian Regiment, Thompson-King, Titus Cornelius, Treaty of Paris, War of Independence

Here is Part 1 of a 2-part article on The Fate of the Black Loyalists of Fairfield County, CT. Part 1 of this article series lays the groundwork to understanding the position that Black Loyalists found themselves in while serving the British Crown. Part 2 will tell the individual stories of what happened to some of the Black Loyalists from Fairfield County, Connecticut, after they arrived in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada, and Sierra Leone. I approach this topic as a family historian-genealogist and a descendant of enslaved/formerly enslaved African and Indigenous peoples who served as Black Patriots and Black Loyalists in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. I believe that their remarkable contributions to both the United States and Britain have been overlooked. It is important to recognize that their acts of resistance and agency positioned them as the
“Founding Fathers” in the US and Canada.

While this article does not provide a comprehensive overview of Connecticut Loyalists’
involvement in the War, it offers a snapshot of the significant events that Black Loyalists of Fairfield County faced. I do mention Black Patriots throughout because both groups served under similar conditions and faced similar outcomes. These events highlight how the promises made to them by the Loyalists ultimately turned out to be grand gestures that led to a false sense of freedom.

The full article can be read here: The Fate of Black Loyalist of Fairfield County, CT, Part 1

Part 2 will be published in the next issue of Connecticut Ancestry.

 

Connecticut Ancestry, 66:1 (Aug 2023), 1-9