From Loyalists to Loyal Citizens

Valerie H. Mckito

Description

The DePeyster family of New York was one of the first families of New Amsterdam, ranking among the wealthiest of New York during the early days of the American Republic. The DePeysters were also unapologetic Loyalists, serving in the King's forces during the American Revolution. After the war, the four sons left the United States for Canada and Great Britain. Ten years later, one son, Frederick DePeyster, returned to New York, embraced his Loyalist past, and utilized his British connections to become a prominent and successful merchant. The DePeysters went on to become true Patriots, zealously supporting US interests in the War of 1812. This book examines the forces at work in the lives of the DePeyster family and the decisions they made to navigate their way from loyal subjects of the British crown to loyal citizens of the United States. How this transformation occurred challenges many of the preconceived ideas we hold both about the Revolution and the formation of the American identity in the years following the war.
Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Disappearance of the Loyalists

1. The DePeyster Tradition

2. Canadian Exile

3. Sibling Relations

4. Building a Fortune

5. Preparing the Next Generation

6. Continuing the Tradition

Conclusion

Appendices

A. DePeyster Genealogy 1
B. DePeyster Genealogy 2
C. DePeyster Genealogy 3
D. DePeyster Genealogy 4
E. DePeyster Genealogy 5

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• USA
• United States of America
• Local history
• Region
• History of the Americas
• Regional
• États-Unis

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 10 août 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438458120
• Langue: English

Extrait

From Loyalists to Loyal Citizens
From Loyalists to Loyal Citizens
The DePeyster Family of New York
Valerie H. McKito
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2015 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
Excelsior Editions is an imprint of State University of New York Press
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production, Jenn Bennett
Marketing, Kate Seburyamo
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McKito, Valerie H., 1977–
From loyalists to loyal citizens: the DePeyster family of New York / Valerie H. McKito.
pages cm. — (Excelsior editions)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-5810-6 (paperback : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4384-5812-0 (e-book)
1. History—United States—Revolutionary Period (1775–1800). 2. History—United States—State Local—Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my Sister, Renae
Contents
Acknowledgments Introduction The Disappearance of the Loyalists Chapter 1 The DePeyster Tradition Chapter 2 Canadian Exile Chapter 3 Sibling Relations Chapter 4 Building a Fortune Chapter 5 Preparing the Next Generation Chapter 6 Continuing the Tradition
Conclusion
Appendices
A. DePeyster Genealogy 1
B. DePeyster Genealogy 2
C. DePeyster Genealogy 3
D. DePeyster Genealogy 4
E. DePeyster Genealogy 5
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
There are many people and institutions to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for their support in the creation of this work. To the New-York Historical Society and the wonderful librarians and staff of the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, many thanks for allowing access to, and graciously allowing me permission to quote from, your collections. My special thanks to Ted O’Reilly of the Manuscripts Division whose patience and kindness while I repeatedly searched through the entire DePeyster Collection was overwhelming. To the Gilder-Lehrman Institute, for generously granting me a fellowship that allowed this project to take root, and then grow wings.
For their kindness, expertise, and generosity I heartily thank the librarians and staff of the American Antiquarian Society. As a Kate B. Hall J. Fellow at the American Antiquarian Society, I was permitted access to the impressive collections at that institution. This allowed me to study a wide array of Loyalist material and begin asking important questions that informed this study. The Maryland Historical Society likewise contributed to the formation of this project by granting me access to their collections as a Lord Baltimore Fellow.
Texas Tech University, along with its faculty and staff, deserve special thanks for their gracious and unwavering support throughout the creation and revision of this manuscript, especially Gretchen Adams who served as advisor and guru throughout the dissertation process, Catherine Miller whose keen insights and comments helped to shape this project, and Randy McBee and Jorge Iber both of whom supported and believed in my abilities while a graduate student.
To the University of Nebraska, Kearney I offer great thanks for supporting and encouraging me to submit this manuscript for publication, especially Vernon Volpe, Mark Ellis, and Pam Proskocil. Eastern New Mexico University deserves more thanks than I can muster for its support and encouragement throughout the revision process. For two years, ENMU, its faculty, staff, and students encouraged me to make this manuscript the best I could make it, sending me to conferences, listening to ideas, and offering kind suggestions. Suzanne Balch-Lindsay, Dale Streeter, Donald Elder, and Simon Chavez deserves special thanks for knowing when to encourage, when to prod, and for being supportive through the entire process.
I am also indebted to many individuals who offered insights and made this a better manuscript in the process, many of whom may not have even realized their contributions at the time. Dolly Wilson, Jeffrey Mosher, and Allan Taylor, all of whom served on my dissertation committee. Joseph C. Miller, who once took the time at an annual meeting of the AHA to ask a graduate student about her dissertation and whose questioning provoked deep consideration about the ways in which wars end. Caroline Sloat of the American Antiquarian Society whose questions opened up the study in new directions. Ellen Dunlap of the American Antiquarian Society, who convinced the Colonial Timothy Bigelow Chapter of the DAR to open its headquarters, the home of a former Loyalist, to exploration. Peter C. Messer, Daniel Killbride, Jeannine DeLombard, and Peter P. Reed, all of whom asked great questions and offered critical insights during our time in residency at the American Antiquarian Society. George Van Cleve, who offered insight on the world of politics in the early years of the U.S. Republic while waiting for the New-York Historical Society to open in the mornings. Kim Richardson and Laura Jarnagin Pang without whose helpful comments and insights the Brazil section would suffer. And to Bruce C. Daniels, whose advice first pointed me in the direction of the Loyalists, thank you.
A heartfelt thanks to Amanda Lanne-Camilli, acquisitions editor with State University of New York Press, thank you for believing in the potential of this manuscript, championing it through the approval process, and for all of your patience in between. And to Jenn Bennett, production editor extraordinaire, thank you for applying your expertise and keen insight to this manuscript. Your encouragement and hard work made the editing process smooth and painless, a truly amazing feat.
I also owe thanks to several organizations without whose support, this project would not have been possible. The American Antiquarian Society, the Gilder-Lehrman Society, Texas Tech University, and Eastern New Mexico University all provided financial support for the creation of this manuscript. The Rocky Mountain Council For Latin American Studies and the Georgia Association of Historians whose members graciously and kindly offered encouragement and insight while working on the manuscript. The Library of Congress, Manuscripts Division, whose collections allowed me to create a more accurate understanding of the Loyalist experience.
I owe the largest debt of gratitude to my family. My husband, Jeff McKito, unfailing supported me at every turn. My parents, Evelyn and Lincoln Clabo, whose love of learning across all fields of knowledge infected me at an early age, and whose love and support has never wavered. My sisters, Renae Cooper, Angela Wiering, Pamela Ruble, and Michele Cole, along with their families, whose encouragement is a thing of beauty. My brother Chad, who (in addition to encouragement) selflessly read through the manuscript with a fine-toothed comb and offered good cheer. Without you, this book would not have been possible.
Introduction
The Disappearance of the Loyalists
I n 1819, Washington Irving published the story of a lazy but lovable farmer named Rip Van Winkle. One day, while wandering in the mountains, Rip met the ghosts of Henry Hudson and his crew. Hudson invited Rip to join himself and his men for a round of ninepins, after which Rip took a nap. Upon waking, Rip returned home only to discover that his wife, family, friends, and just about everyone he knew were dead. His return coincided with an election day. When asked which side he voted for, Rip, confused and ignorant of the Revolution that passed by while he slept, replied that he was a loyal subject of the King. Cries of “tory! spy! refugee!” rang out; the townspeople were ready for blood. Rip was saved from a terrible fate when an old man confirmed Rip’s strange story, telling the townsmen that he remembered Rip from the days of his boyhood. When the townsfolk properly understood that Rip was ignorant of the Revolution, and that he was misguided in his allegiance to the King, they forgave him, and Rip went on to live a quiet life much like the one he left behind years before. Although Rip Van Winkle was a fictional character, was his predicament all that different from real-life Loyalists who found themselves in a new world at the end of the Revolution? Could it really have been that easy for the Patriots to move on and, more importantly, forget the sins of the Revolution, especially when it was all too clear that the former Loyalists were not ignorant of the issues surrounding the Revolution and many would make no apologies for their loyalty? In some places, and depending on the individual’s status and vocation, the answer is yes.
Rip’s sleep finds its real-life parallel in the ten-year Canadian exile of Frederick DePeyster. One of four brothers in a prominent New York family who retained their allegiance to England when Independence was declared, Frederick also served as an officer in the British army. Like others who found themselves on the wrong side when peace came in 1783, Frederick moved to Canada. 1 Away from the controversies and turmoil of post-Revolutionary New York, Frederick reemerged in a time when people were more concerned with their own day-to-day existence. While Rip benefits from being known in his small village, so, too, does Frederick DePeyster, only his “village” was his social and economic circle