Charity Britton

1720-1790

I owned a tavern that was in harm’s way during the Revolution.

I was born in Trenton into the prominent Tucker family, in 1720. I married Henry Bellerjeau and our first son, Samuel Tucker Bellerjeau, was born in 1738. Henry died in 1746, so I remarried a shoemaker name Joseph Britton. I had a second son named Isaac.

Trenton is halfway between New York City and Philadelphia, and stagecoaches often passed through the town. There were about a dozen taverns that offered meals for visitors, or even a room if they needed to stay overnight. My home was a large, two-story frame house with four rooms on each floor and a large kitchen building attached to it. So I began to operate our home as a tavern, and called it Indian King. I ran it with my husband, and then on my own after he died in 1755.

In 1776, during the two Battles of Trenton, the Indian King got caught in the crossfire. It was situated on King Street right in the center of town. So we suffered when the British occupied Trenton, and again when George Washington’s army attacked the town. And, since my sons served in the militia, I was treated poorly by the British.

We survived the battles, and Isaac took over the business in July 1779. He kept it up until 1783, when we had to sell it. I remained involved in the Trenton community until I died on April 13, 1790.

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