Oxford Historical Society

501(c)3 | Oxford, Connecticut

Tories in Oxford?

by Gordon Markiewicz (12/10/02)

As children, most of us studied the American Revolution in school. We learned that after quite a struggle, the colonists triumphed over the British. Many historical events became legend; some legends became myth. Children still learn that the colonists were not united in their political feelings. There were the rebels, or Patriots. Opposing them were the loyalists, or Tories.1 But the loyalists are not mentioned much; popular lore does not credit them with substantial opposition. After all, they were on the losing side.

Fortunately, historians have always ensured that events are recorded, but oft times the huge volume of raw data gets generalized in order to broaden our understanding by recognizing trends. As a result, some provocative statements await discovery. These pique an interest in the reverse direction, i.e., examining a general statement and digging for the corroborating details. In a report for the observance of the Connecticut Tercentenary in 1934, Epaphroditus Peck boldly states that "the line of separation (in Connecticut) between the patriots who supported the revolution and the loyalists who supported the King was more clearly marked than anywhere else and coincided generally with the line of denominational cleavage."2 He does qualify this by admitting that "there were exceptions, perhaps more frequent in the Congregational majority than in the Anglican minority."3 Could this be verified locally?

The histories of my home town of Derby, along with that of my current home of Oxford, acknowledge a Tory presence. Both stop short of agreeing with Peck, equivocating over the number of people belonging to that faction.4 Here was an opportunity to do some reverse verification. Would investigation of the old town of Derby (of which Oxford was a part during the Revolution) verify Peck's assertion? Would research suggest a different atmosphere in this New England town? Since "records are extant that some of the Oxford people were suspected of Toryism,"5 my endeavor is to identify them and see what face the Tory scourge in Oxford wore.

Known as the "Land of Steady Habits," Connecticut in the pre-Revolutionary years was in something of a ferment. Despite a traditional sense of social conformity and unity, the colony had some serious divisions. Just a few short years before, connecticut, like most other colonies, endured the movement known as the Great Awakening. This religious revival not only shook up the majority Congregationalist6 churches, but introduced hints of evangelicalism and strengthened the tiny Anglican presence. Connecticut seemed to be split into eastern and western regions. politically, and the western Congregationalists had to make room for a steadily increasing number of Anglicans. Some confirmation of this can be found in the court record. Fairfield and New Haven counties had the majority of "Tory" cases during the Revolution; but for the eastern counties, legal cases involving "Tories" are very rare.7

Just who were these Tories?8 Evidence suggests that the term can be a misnomer, with different shades of the meaning. The most obvious (and convenient) association of the term "Tory" is with the Anglican Church. The Congregationalists represent the faction that escaped to England to pursue religious freedom in the New World. By far the majority, they detested and resented the later incursion of the Church of England, or Anglican Church, into the colonies. The most intense emotions were expressed in New England. Other Tories got their labels by resisting the authority of the Continental Congress, refusing to change allegiance from their king. Many of these men confirmed these sentiments by joining Loyalist regiments; many suffered ruin and exile at the end of hostilities.9 Still others could be said to be only political conservatives, who "were so for practical reasons. They subscribed to the injustices of Parliament, but thought the colonies could not overcome against the power and resources of the British realm. Furthermore, they felt the colonies had privileges enough without seeking a separation."10

One estimate had the number of Tories in Connecticut to be two thousand men.11 With the state having just under an estimated two hundred thousand people at the time,12 the Tory presence was not especially prominent. Even if the vast majority were found in the western counties (including New Haven Colony), the distribution throughout Connecticut is roughly ten to thirteen percent. With allegedly one quarter of Fairfield County's population said to be Tory,13 this would dilute the Tory "pool even more.

Where does Derby fit into this scheme? At the time of the Revolution, the Town of Derby included what is now Derby, Ansonia, Seymour, Oxford, and parts of Beacon Falls and Naugatuck. The area of the "North Farms' is today generally defined by the town of Oxford (established in 1798), along with the above-mentioned odd pieces of Beacon Falls, the Gunntown section of Naugatuck, and a small piece of Southbury, now known as Southford. In 1766, when the whole Town of Derby was laid into school districts, there were 256 families reported. By 1775, this number was increased another twenty, giving a total of 276 families. This leaves the Congregationalists majority with one hundred and sixty-six families.14 Not a very big majority, indeed.

It is very difficult to segregate the number of Anglican families of St. James Church (in Derby proper) from St. Peter's Church15 (in what is now Oxford), just as it is to tally the members of the Oxford parish from the Congregationalists from Derby. (If comparisons based on land area is assumed, with Oxford being a little more than one-third of Derby, then the number of Anglican families in the North Farms is roughly thirty-six. It follows then that there would be roughly fifty-five Congregationalist families in Oxford.16) Musing over the evidence of cheerful support to the patriotic cause after independence was declared, town historians feel that "not...over thirty families...definately assumed the tory platform. It is quite certain that quite a number of the most influential Episcopalian families were true patriots to their native country."17 The Reverend Richard Mansfield, probably Derby's most prominent (and notorious) Tory gives grudging confirmation when he wrote prior to December 1775, that "one hundred and ten (families)...detest(ed) the 'unnatural rebellion.' Five or six person...plunged themselves into it (the rebellion) guided...by the influence of Captain John Holbrook."18

A glance at church records, however incomplete, shows that St. Peter's (Anglican) Church was established in Oxford in 1764, the same year as the infamous Stamp Act. This church was also serviced by Rev. Mansfield, in addition to the existing St. James in East Derby. A sampling of members' families include Davis, Bunnell, Chatfield, Twichel, Gunn, Wooster, Osborn, Hawking, Hawkins, Johnson, Nichols, Bates, Lumm, and Foot.

Confirming the religious freedom available in the colonies, one finds many family names in both "camps." The most prominent example is that of John Twichel, who deeded a parcel of land to St. Peter's. This Twichel, a "staunch Church of England man"19 was the son of the John Twichel "who signed the petition for the separation of Oxford Congregational Society (in 1741) from that of Derby."20 Other "overlapping" Oxford Congregationalist family names include Hawkins, Wooster, Osborn, and Johnson.

In any event, as the revolution and patriotic support gained vigor, the Anglican churches found it more and more difficult to function. Even before the Declaration of Independence, Derby, like many other towns, began its persecution of the Anglican church. In 1775, local militias sought to suppress Tories in towns (including Derby and Oxford). Usually they forced the Loyalists to sign the articles of Association. Failing that, they extorted a bond (money) not to take up arms against the colonies as well as not to discourage enlistment in the American forces.21 A roster of a Committee of Inspection formed in Derby lists thirty-two names.22 Of these, fully over one-third are men living in Oxford. Of these, only one is positively known to have been a member of St. Peter's Church. John Holbrook withdrew from the Anglican church and returned to the Congregational church at the outbreak of hostilities.23

The first week of December was chosen to "disarm the Loyalists in Derby, and annihilate their influence." Many of Mansfield's most respectable parishioners entreated Mansfield to petition the governor of New York (Tryon) for help, and supply a list of names of Loyalists. The day after the letter was dispatched, a friend who knew the contents was captured and interrogated before the Committee of Inspection, who compelled him to divulge its contents. Mansfield had to flee to Long Island.24

What was in the letter which Mansfield sent ot Tryon, and suffered so greatly for? Besides the complaints about the treatment being received by the Loyalists, Mansfield said it was his opinion that if the King's troops were present to protect the Royalists, "several thousand men in three western counties of the Colony would join him."25

One of those men saw things differently. John Davis, of Chestnut Tree Hill Road, was a member of St. Peter's Church, and his father had been a founder of that church. Family lore tells that when the British troops made that recruiting expedition,26 Davis was "taken prisoner by Gen. Howe and taken to Long Island, but escaped before the war ended."27

There might have been more Anglican citizens like John Davis who had no enthusiasm to take up arms with the British. While they might also not have joined the American army, they could have been content to live their lives with a minimum of controversy, The three years after the Declaration of Independence was a period when feeling ran high everywhere against those who did not support the American cause. At a convention of Anglican clergymen in New Haven on July 23, 1776, they decided to close their churches. Quite possibly St. Peter's was one of these, as the old Record Book gives no word of vestry or parish meetings. Oxford Anglicans seem to have gone underground.28

On April 5, 1779, Eleazer Wooster, acting as clerk, recorded a meeting that elected new church officers for the dormant St. Peter's. All of which would seem to indicate that by 1779 the church in Oxford was again fully organized. Perhaps the bitterness between patriots and Tories had died down somewhat, as France allied itself with the United States in 1778, and the focus of the was shifted to the South. Things began to look brighter for the American cause.29

That the vast majority of Oxford (and Derby, as well) Anglicans avoided controversy cannot be proven at this time by direct means. But upon examining the fairly detailed records of town meetings called during the conflict to impose taxes on all residents to support supplying troops in the field from Derby, there is o subsequent mention of people who refused to pay. Also, there were levies to offer bounties to entice men to serve in the army. Again, there are no extant records hinting that anyone refused to contribute. It can be inferred that Oxford's Anglicans paid more than lip-service to the patriot cause, suggesting that they were genuine patriots.30

One disturbing trend that anyone examining old town records can discern is the call at more and more frequent intervals for soldiers to serve in the American army. In 1781 there is even a record of a town meeting empowering selectmen to "free and emancipate negro men, on the condition that said negro men enlist into the state regiment...for the term of one year."31 It is appropriate at this time to mention that not all the opprobrium associated with impressment into the army belonged to the British. There is a story of a young man named John Salem Hyde who lived with his parents on a farm on Bowers Hill in Oxford during the Revolution. It is not certain how old he was, but records show that he was baptized in the Congregational church in 1775. Infant baptism was not the rule then, and he must have been in his teens, for in 1780 a group of Continental officers scoured this part of New Haven County, looking to secure raw recruits for the American army. They were empowered to offer bounties, but they also had the necessary paperwork to seize anyone old enough to serve.32

A descendant of the Hyde family reports that young Hyde became aware of the officers approaching his father's farm. The officers asked and searched in vain, but young Hyde was no where to be found. Excited family members joined in the search, anxious that the young man would be taken from his home. They searched the house from the attic to the cellar, and when that proved fruitless, the officers went to the barn. So angry were they that the Continental soldiers began running bayonets into the hay mows, hoping for the satisfaction of turning up a body, dead or alive. Hyde's mother became so frantic that she began screaming for John to surrender himself, but it was in van. With curses and oaths the American soldiers gave up the search, mounted their horses, and rode to the next settlement.33

After the commotion died down, young John appeared to tell his story. Just before the officers entered the house, John had climbed into the large open chimney in the kitchen, unseen by anyone. He remained in the flue by balancing on one of the cross sections, and he stayed there until he was certain the impressment party was miles away.34

What can be said about Peck's admission of exceptions to the Anglican-Tory association? There is evidence that some members of the Oxford Congregational church were considered to be Tories. What kind of Toryism would apply then? The most prominent case would be that of Captain Zechariah Hawkins. Clearly, he was a man of conservative political beliefs.

Hawkins had the respect of the people of Oxford, and later generations, where in a centennial address he was mentioned as a "substantial man of sound judgment and a valuable citizen."35 His name is listed as a member of the Congregational church, and was a member of Derby's Committee of Inspection in 1775.36 Despite these "patriotic" markers, Hawkins was considered a Tory, as "he was one of those, who though feeling that England was wrong in it's treatment of the colonies could not go along with the idea of armed resistance to the mother country."37 He kept an inn in the Quaker's farm section of Oxford,38 and also had a 200-acre farm in Castleton, Vermont. Sometime in 1780, he desired to visit the farm. Concerned for his safety, he requested and got a document that assured his safe passage. Issued by the selectmen of Castleton, it says in part that Hawkins "is Come to this Town to Take Care of a farm he has here and some people say he is Toryfied which makes him afraid to Execute his Business."39 The selectmen further note that they harbored no suspicion of him, and the document bears the favorable endorsement of Vermont Governor Thomas Chittenden.

Another member of the Oxford Congregational Church was Captain Isaac Tomlinson. Like Zechariah Hawkins, he too was apparently a good patriot, but "clung to the idea that the dispute could be settled peaceably."40 He enlisted in a Connecticut regiment in May of 1775 (at the age of 52!), served with his unit during the siege of Boston, and received his discharge in December of 1775.41 In an odd turn of events, he was haled before a state committee in early 1777 as being a "person dangerous to the community" who after being examined, admitted that "he never so well understood the state of the dispute," and was "permitted to return to his family ...to remain in his own business within the limits of Woodbury and Derby."42

Tomlinson had two sons, aged 23 and 25, who were more pronouncedly pro-British. They fled early in the conflict to New York because of their beliefs. A letter from father to his sons in January, 1780 probably sums up the feelings of many people whose lives were embroiled in the conflict. In part, Isaac says that "My family and friends in New York hoping there may be some way to accommodate the unhappy differences which now separates friends and acquaintances."43

Probably the most sad and poignant story concerns Noah Candee. Born in 1736, this scion of the large Candee clan had an estate near the headwaters of Little River on Christian Street.44 In 1768 he joined the Congregational church in Oxford along with his wife Martha.45 They had six children who "were born subjects of Great Britain and all of them served in the Revolutionary Army,"47 and cousin David's son Samuel was a veteran of the Bunker Hill battle and British prisoner.48 Noah however, "was a Tory, and no doubt lost his farm on that account" due to confiscation by the state of Connecticut.49 More suffering followed, as "his family was tabooed by the other Candees on that account."50

Probably of small comfort to Noah is the fact that another Oxford Candee, Dr. Enos, had his estate confiscated in 1781 for being "a Tory in the Revolution."51

The previous examples confirm that there were those in Oxford who had conservative political views, and although members of the Congregational church, they fell under the label "Tory." What of men who took up arms against their patriotic neighbors?

There is one warlike incident52 that took place in Oxford, and it was part of a series of events that landed men in Newgate Prison in upstate Connecticut. Newgate was not only notorious for being used to incarcerate Tories during the war, but it also was plagued by regular uprisings and escapes.

During March of 1780, a band of seven Tories, including its leader, a deserter from the army named Alexander Graham, led a raid on a house in Bethany. After sacking the house, the party fled south, with the intention of escaping down the Housatonic River to safety on Long Island. Along the way, they stopped at a "safe house" in the Gunntown section of Oxford for a few days. Next, dodging pursuing officers and a vigilance committee, they moved to another barn in Oxford possibly belonging to one of the Wooster families. A severe snow storm kept them there for another few days. Finally they made their way down the Housatonic and across the sound to Long Island. Their escape was not assured, as a posse from Derby followed them in two whale boats, and captured the men just inside British lines, bringing them back to Connecticut to justice.53

Graham was executed for treason; the rest of the party, including a Henry Wooster from Oxford, was sentenced to four years in Newgate. After much deception and effort, Wooster and several others escaped through a drain. Most were immediately recaptured, but Wooster managed to get to New London, where he boarded a British vessel. Evidence suggests he enlisted in a Tory regiment soon after.54

Four years after the war, Wooster made his way home, and because of his previous service, one can assume he had disguised his identity. He stopped at his parents' house in Oxford, begging lodging for the night. The Woosters welcomed him to dinner, and as the conversation drew on, Mrs. Wooster told the story of her missing boy, who had "fallen in with a stranger...on a foolish expedition..." resulting in his being sent to "Newgate Prison, but after a while he...broke out, since which she had heard nothing from him, and presumed he must be dead."55

Wooster revealed himself to his mother, and as proof, offered a look at a birthmark on his chest, The mother rejoiced over her long-lost son, but the story offers no hint of what happened subsequently.56 The parents' political allegiance is not known, but it is clear that son Henry had no love for the patriot cause.

It is obvious now that the Revolution produced "...in Oxford as...elsewhere...years of divided allegiance, some people staying loyal to the British government with others clamoring for independence."57 It is true that there were individuals that were happy to remain neutral, resisting the imprecations of both warring factions. Most obvious, however, is the fact that the label "Tory" has incorrect connotations for many applications. These are quite evident when studying Oxford's population during the Revolution. The true Tory, as a staunch advocate of British rule under the King, was rare indeed. Other Tories were merely Anglicans (i.e., "Tories by association"), or finally, political conservatives. While there are one or two known cases of members of St. Peter's (Anglican) Church who were loyal subjects of King George, it is not known that they took up arms against the patriot cause. There were others who suffered to varying degrees because of their political allegiance, as hinted by Peck. Oxford's line of separation was not along the lines of denomination, but determined by more complex factors, including family and a network of friends. Rather than being the exception to the rule, Oxford's example might suggest a more complicated political relationship between people in Revolutionary Connecticut.

  1. The recent trend is to acknowledge a third group of people, those who were neither Patriots or Tories. Basically "Neutrals," they were happy just to stay out of the way, and hope that they did not suffer too much damage during the conflict.
  2. Epaphroditus Peck, The Loyalist of Connecticut (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1934) 3
  3. Peck, 3
  4. Litchfield, Norman and Sabina Connolly Hoyt, History of the Town of Oxford (Oxford Connecticut: n.p. . 1960)
  5. Samuel Orcutt and Ambrose Beardsley, The History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut. 1642-1880 (Springfield, Massachusetts: Springfield Publishing Company, 1880) 168.
  6. Litchfield, Norman, History of St. Peter's Church in Oxford, Connecticut (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Edward Brothers, Inc., 1958) 10
  7. This term as such did not exist during the period. "Presbyterians" is probably more correct, but even this label can cause confusion among modern readers. For purposes of this essay, the majority church in Connecticut will be referred to as "Congregationalist."
  8. Robert A. East, Connecticut Loyalists (Chester, Connecticut, Pequot Press, 1794) 15
  9. Ironically, the term originally denoted Irish highwaymen. The more familiar application described staunch church and king men, and later was a blanket term for loyalist colonists during the American Revolution. See The New American desk Encyclopedia. New York: Penguin Books, Inc., 1989 edition.
  10. East, 12.
  11. Edward E. Beardsley, The History of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut (New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1865) 313.
  12. Litchfield, Oxford 55.
  13. East, 14.
  14. East, 16.
  15. Orcutt, 196.
  16. Oxford's other Episcopal church, Christ Church in the Quaker Farms section, was not established until 1827. Litchfield, Oxford 213.
  17. On page 62, Litchfield claims that "the parish of Oxford during the Revolution did not have over eight hundred inhabitants." In this case, the "parish of Oxford" would mean the whole land area included in the Oxford Ecclesiastical Society, and not only Congregationalist families. Doing the math, this would give each family an average of a little over eight persons per household. A little high, perhaps, but not outside the realm of reason for the times.
  18. Orcutt, 196. Litchfield, Oxford 56.
  19. Beardsley, 309
  20. Litchfield, St. Peter's 6.
  21. Litchfield, St. Peter's 6.
  22. Beardsley, 309
  23. There is a preponderance of military titles in the document. These were gained from prior service in other military actions before the Revolution, and these men were prominent in the local trainband (militia). Titles imparted much importance and respect; as a consequence, men used these titles in place of the more mundane "Mister."
  24. Orcutt, 176. Holbrook's motives might not have been wholly patriotic, however. There was a rumor that Holbrook "for many years had entertained a disgust against him (Mansfield) and his brethren of the church, and seemed to have mediated revenge, merely because they did not gratify some private views he had about the place on which to build the Oxford Church." Dorothy DeBisschop. "The Rev. Richard Mansfield, A Tory Clergyman of Connecticut." Connecticut Heritage (Oxford, Connecticut: privately published). Beardsley, 309.
  25. Beardsley, 309. Many Anglican clergymen had to flee persecution for their staunch beliefs. One humorous anecdote from Massachusetts, however, illustrates how a priest there dealt with a ticklish situation. One bone of contention was the practice in Anglican services to pray for the King. In this instance, the priest, "like all good subjects, had prayed so long for 'our excellent King George' that after the war commenced, he inadvertently used, on Sunday, in his pulpit devotions, his stereotypical phrase, but saved himself from the vengeance of his flock by immediately adding, 'O Lord, I mean George Washington.'" Beardsley, 313
  26. DeBisschop, Connecticut Heritage. Mansfield seems to have had quite a different interpretation of the sympathies of the people of the area!
  27. Quite possibly during the infamous Tryon "raid" that burned Danbury, and the "Pork Hollow" raid in Derby.
  28. George T. Davis, Genealogy of the Descendants of Col. John Davis (New Rochelle, New York, 1910) 288.
  29. Litchfield, St. Peter's 11.
  30. Litchfield, St. Peter's 11.
  31. Orcutt, 177-178.
  32. Orcutt, 194.
  33. Litchfield, Oxford 61.
  34. Litchfield, Oxford 62.
  35. Litchfield, Oxford 62. It was a bittersweet victory for the Hyde family. The mother cracked under the mental strain, and never fully recovered her reason. She was able to function in her daily tasks, but constantly asked any stranger she met, "Have you seen anything of John Salem Hyde today?"
  36. Litchfield, Oxford 59.
  37. Litchfield, Oxford 56. Orcutt, 175
  38. Litchfield, Oxford 58.
  39. It was located n the west side of Quaker Farms Road at Seven Mile Brook. Litchfield, Oxford 53.
  40. Litchfield, Oxford 58.
  41. Litchfield, Oxford 56.
  42. Litchfield, Oxford 55.
  43. Litchfield, Oxford 56.
  44. Litchfield, Oxford 576. Italics added
  45. The homestead is near where the present-day rail trail crosses Christian Street just south of Oxford Airport.
  46. Charles Candee Baldwin, The Candee Genealogy (Cleveland, Ohio: Leader Printing Company, 1882) 17.
  47. W. C. Sharpe, History of Oxford, Part First (Seymour, Connecticut: Record Print, 1910) 17.
  48. Baldwin, 17.
  49. Baldwin, 25.
  50. Baldwin, 17.
  51. Baldwin, 17.
  52. Baldwin, 24.
  53. This is the basis for the famous (for the period) "Chauncey Judd" story, written by Israel Warren.
  54. Richard H. Phelps, Newgate of Connecticut (Hartford, Connecticut: American Publishing Company. 1876) 55-56. Litchfield, Oxford 60-61
  55. Phelps, 57
  56. Phelps, 58.
  57. Phelps, 58.
  58. Litchfield, St. Peter's 10.
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