Story: Divided Loyalties

Prime

I was one of very few enslaved persons who gained freedom by serving in the Revolution. And it wasn’t easy. Not much is known about my origins, the story of

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Absalom Bainbridge

1742-1807 I was a doctor who chose to stay loyal to Britain, and paid a heavy price. I was born in 1742 in Maidenhead – now Lawrence Township – and

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Colonel Tye

1754 – 1780 I was a leader of a Black Brigade of Loyalist raiders. Before the Revolution, I was one of many New Jersey slaves who were farm laborers, living

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Theodosia Prevost

1746-1794 I was a loyal English woman who had to work hard to save her home. In 1746 I was born the daughter of Theodosious Bartow – from whom I

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Joseph Murray

???-1780 I was a Patriot who lost his life in the cause. I was born in Northern Ireland to a Scotch-Irish family. Sometime before 1767 my mother Elizabeth and I

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Joshua Jack Huddy

1735-1782 I was a zealous Patriot militiaman who sparked a famous diplomatic bonfire. I was born into a Quaker family in Salem County on November 8, 1735. We Quakers were

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William Franklin

c1730 – 1814 I became the Governor of the Colony of New Jersey, and that tore my family apart. My father was Benjamin Franklin, but I was his illegitimate son.

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Robert Drummond

c1733 – 1789 I was a soldier who chose loyalty over the prospect of independence. I was a successful merchant from Essex County who also served as a militia captain.

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Jemima Condict

1754-1779 I wrote an interesting diary of the events leading up to and during the Revolution. I was born in 1754, the daughter of Daniel Condict, a farmer from Pleasantdale,

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John Vought

1750-1803 I was an influential farmer who fought for the Loyalist cause. I was born in 1750 into a family of German immigrants and by 1759 my family lived on

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Sarah Hancock Sinnickson

1748 – ???? I was from a Patriot family, whose father died in a British massacre. I was born in 1748 into an influential family in Salem County. Our house

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John Rattoon

1744-1823 I was a tavern owner with some deadly secrets. I was born in Perth Amboy near New York Harbor in 1744. I married Isabella Dunham in 1768 and we

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