The Robie Women, Loyalist Exile, and Repatriation, 1775-1790

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Document Analysis and Creative Writing Exercise Developed by G. Patrick O’Brien with the help of Kate Melchior and the Massachusetts Historical Society

“What Fools We Were to Leave Such a Place”: The Robie Women, Loyalist Exile, and Repatriation, 1775-1790

LESSON PLAN CONTENTS: 1. Robie Family Background and Teacher Instructions 2. Handout A— The Robie Family of Marblehead Massachusetts, Exile and Return a. Map of New England and Nova Scotian coast 3. Handout B—Mary Bradstreet Robie Primary Source Transcription 4. Handout C—Mary Robie Primary Source Transcription 5. Handout D—Hetty Robie Sterns Primary Source Transcription

GRADE LEVEL: 9-12

OBJECTIVE: Using primary sources, students will be able to explain how loyalist women experienced exile and repatriation during the American Revolution.

BACKGROUND: When historians talk about loyalism and the American Revolution, they most often take a man’s perspective. Late eighteenth-century people saw allegiance as an inherently male decision. Because of coverture laws, which dictated that a woman’s rights and obligations were covered or subsumed by her husband or father, wives and daughters could not publicly declare their own loyalties. More recently, however, scholars have turned to women’s private writing to assess loyalties and have demonstrated that many women were not content to follow their husband’s lead.

Best estimates suggest that 1 in 5 free white colonists (roughly 500,000 people) sided with the British during some point in the American Revolution. The majority of these “loyalists” stayed in the United States after the war. Between 60,000 and 100,000 others chose, or were forced, to flee. Many of these refugees sought to rebuild their lives in British colonies of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, while others fled to Quebec and what would become Ontario. Still others sailed for the British Isles. Many southern colonists fled to the Caribbean where they hoped to establish themselves again as plantation owners.

This lesson focuses on one of these refugee families in order to move past questions of allegiance and instead focus on how loyalists experienced exile. While attention to declarations underscores a male perspective, emphasizing the refugee experience helps illuminate the critical place of loyalist wives and daughters. Empathetic women played important community-wide roles in the settlements where loss and suffering were rampant. Free from the masculine trappings of allegiance, many unhappy wives and daughters led their families back to the United States after peace was reached in 1783.

Collectively, this lesson provides students the opportunity to interpret primary source transcriptions and challenges them to see the American Revolution from the eyes of exiles.

TIME ALLOTMENT: One to two class periods. Teacher Introduction and Lesson Outline

INSTRUCTOR INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND:

Robie Family History Through 1773 Thomas Robie Jr. (c.1730-1811) married Mary Bradstreet (c. 1735-1806) around the year 1762 in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Both Thomas and Mary were descended from reputable colonial families. Thomas’ father, Thomas Robie Sr., had been among the most respected colonial scientists of the time. Thomas Sr. had published papers on variety of subjects from solar eclipses, to alkaline salts, and even spider venom during his time as a tutor at Harvard College. Mary Bradstreet was the daughter of the Rev. Simon Bradstreet, the great-grandson of Massachusetts Governor Simon Bradstreet and his wife, the renowned colonial poet Anne Bradstreet. Both Thomas and Mary took tremendous pride in their ancestral roots and worked diligently to give their children a strong connection to their family’s past.

In Marblehead, Thomas was among the town’s most respected merchants and fraternized with the wealthy elite of the town. He was also close friends with his cousin Jonathan Sewall, who served as Massachusetts Attorney General from 1767 until he was forced to leave Boston in 1776. As tensions escalated between the colony of Massachusetts and the colonial government in London, Thomas believed, like many other well-to-do businessmen in the region, that the British government best supported his interests. As an importer and merchant with transatlantic trading partners, Thomas saw nonimportation and the colonial boycott of British goods as a serious threat to his business. He refused to sign the Non-importation Agreement and signed his name to a declaration of support for ousted governor Thomas Hutchinson, which was published in local papers. The rebel majority of Marblehead marked Robie as Tory, even though Robie expressed no ideological commitment to colonial rule, empire, or the British government.

Nova Scotian Exile, 1775-1790 On 1 September 1774, a mob attacked Sewall’s home in Cambridge, and Thomas Robie worried the same thing would happen to his home. After the battles at Lexington and Concord (19 April 1775), Robie, along other Tories in Marblehead and across Massachusetts, became the targets of mob violence. In late April 1775, a particularly rambunctious crowd gathered outside the Robie home. Fearing the safety of his young family, Robie led them to the town docks and found refuge on a ship in the harbor, which brought them to Thomas’ sister’s home in the neighboring town of Salem. But fearing continued attack, the family found passage to more secure protection among the British forces stationed in the growing port city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

As early refugees of what appeared to be a small rebellion, the Robies undoubtedly believed their exile would be brief sojourn. Almost a year later, however, the siege of Boston ended with a British defeat and retreat to Nova Scotia. The family relinquished hope of a quick return to Marblehead. In Halifax, Thomas and Mary had four children to provide for—two daughters Mary, age 10 and Hetty, age 8; and two sons Simon Bradstreet, age 4 and infant child Thomas, barely 1 year—and seeing little opportunity in Nova Scotia, Thomas set sail to join Sewall in London and petition for a political appointment in the growing colony. While Thomas would be unsuccessful in his political bid, upon returning to Halifax he opened a small but lucrative hardware business that thrived as the population of Halifax grew due to an influx of refugees, sailors, and soldiers. Despite the purchase of a sizeable home on Granville Street in the spring of Teacher Introduction and Lesson Outline

1780, many in the family, especially Thomas’ wife, Mary Bradstreet Robie, never relinquished a desire to return home to Massachusetts.

The peace of 1783 brought tens of thousands of refugees from places like New York City and Charleston to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but it also offered earlier refugees hope that they could return home. After the birth of her final child—a daughter named Hannah, in March of 1784—Mary Bradstreet Robie convinced her husband to allow her to travel back to New England in order to escape an outbreak of disease that had followed refugees on overcrowded transport ships. Reluctantly, Thomas agreed, although he reminded his wife her return was only temporary visit.

Mary Bradstreet and her eldest daughter Mary continued to make almost-yearly trips back to Salem and Marblehead between 1784 and 1788. On these trips, the younger Mary often acted as her father’s business partner, selling hardware and recording the prices other objects would fetch in New England. Most importantly, the younger Mary’s venture as a merchant brought her into acquaintance with another hardware vendor, Joseph Sewall. Mary and Joseph wed in September 1788 and although Mary Bradstreet Robie returned to Halifax that fall, she began making arrangements to bring the family back to New England for good. By 1790, Thomas, his wife, their youngest son Thomas, and their youngest daughter Hannah (born in Halifax) had all returned to New England leaving behind their two eldest children: Simon Bradstreet, who was developing a career as a lawyer, and Hetty, who had married Nova Scotia politician and fellow loyalist Jonathan Sterns.

Family History in New England and Nova Scotia after 1790 In the years that followed, each member of the Robie family found varying degrees of happiness despite being divided between two nations. For Thomas and his wife Mary, the two lived out their days in Salem, MA running a small hardware enterprise in town. Their daughter Mary’s fortunes improved as her husband’s business grew dramatically in the new republic. His increasing wealth and prestige eventually earned him the position as treasure of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The couple’s eldest son, Samuel Edmund Sewall, became a prominent lawyer, politician, and leading New England abolitionist. In Halifax, Simon Bradstreet would become one of the colony’s leading politicians and lawyers. The youngest Robie, Hannah, never married and spent her life traveling between her brother’s homes in Nova Scotia and her nephew Samuel Edmund Sewall’s home in Boston. Life was not as fortunate for the two other Robie children. The young Thomas Robie died in Massachusetts just before his eighteenth birthday in 1792. A political rival killed Hetty Robie’s husband, Jonathan Sterns, during a feud in Halifax. Hetty sunk into deep depression. She died shortly before the turn of the century alone in Halifax.

Class Curriculum:

1. Divide the class into three groups and distribute the “The Robie Family of Marblehead Massachusetts, Exile and Return” (Handout A) to each group.

2. As a class, read the family history, examine the map, and have students complete the reading comprehension check. Teacher Introduction and Lesson Outline

3. Next, assign each group a worksheet on one of the women of the Robie family: matriarch Mary Bradstreet Robie (Handout B), her eldest daughter Mary Robie (Handout C), or her younger daughter Hetty Robie Sterns (Handout D).

4. Each group is given a short description of their character and the details surrounding their primary source reading. Ask students to put themselves in the place of their character as they read the description and source. As a group, students should read the letter/diary entry with specific attention to the tone of the writing and the major themes of the piece. Each group should make a list of the themes the author addresses and summarize the overall tone of the writing. Each reading comes with summative questions.

5. Have each group summarize their reading and list the major themes they identified on the board. Ask students to connect these themes to the overall tone of the writing.

6. After each group has presented, ask students to draw connections between the three writings. How do these writings demonstrate the struggles of exile? What challenges did loyalists living in Halifax face? What challenges did loyalist families face during repatriation?

SUMMATIVE CREATIVE WRITING ASSESSMENT: 1. Ask students to compose fictional responses to their characters (see primary source worksheets for details.) Handout A

Handout A: The Robie Family of Marblehead, Massachusetts, Exile and Return

Thomas Robie and Mary Bradstreet wed sometime around 1762 in Marblehead, Massachusetts. The marriage combined two important and well-respected New England families. Thomas’ father had been a medical doctor, scientist, and respected Harvard tutor. Mary’s great-great- grandfather, Simon Bradstreet, had left England with John Winthrop in 1630 and became of one of the most respected governors of the new Massachusetts Colony. In addition, Mary’s great- great-grandmother, Anne Bradstreet, was one of the first celebrated poets in English colonies.

Despite his father’s academic background, Thomas established himself as a merchant in the Boston area. After the passing of his father-in-law in 1771, Robie greatly expanded his importing business and was among the most influential traders in the wealthy coastal town of Marblehead. Robie sold variety of goods from England, including hardware, gunpowder, and other household items. Robie also benefited from the friendship he maintained with his cousin Jonathan Sewall, who was appointed Attorney General of Massachusetts in 1767. Unfortunately for Robie, as tensions grew between Great Britain and the colonies, protests threatened his profitable business. Believing the British government could best protect his interests, Thomas resisted the Non- importation Agreement1 and because of close friendship with Sewall, became a supporter of the hated British governor, Thomas Hutchinson.

Shortly after the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, an angry mob chased Thomas, Mary, and their four children—Mary (age 10), Hetty, (age 8), Simon Bradstreet (age 4), and infant child Thomas (barely 1 year)—out of their home in Marblehead and on to a ship in harbor. The family first fled to the nearby town of Salem, but as the rebellion spread, the family sought refuge in the neighboring colony of Nova Scotia. The family landed in Halifax in early May 1775.

Although the family believed the British army would quickly put down the rebellion in Massachusetts, the British evacuation from Boston on March 17, 17762 signaled to the family that the war would not be over soon. Hoping to gain a political position in Nova Scotia, Thomas Robie traveled to visit his cousin Sewall in London and then to New York; however, his efforts were in vain. Upon returning to Halifax, Thomas was able to rebuild his merchant business and became one of the more successful hardware merchants in Halifax, making his money supplying the British navy, headquartered at Halifax, and the growing number of American loyalist refugees.

When the war ended in 1783, Mary Bradstreet Robie began making regular trips back to Massachusetts hoping to restore connections with family and friends. In September 1788, her eldest daughter married a young merchant from Marblehead, Joseph Sewall. With a firm connection back to New England, Mary Bradstreet Robie convinced her husband to return to Massachusetts in 1790. While Thomas returned with his son Thomas Jr and their youngest daughter Hannah (who was born in Halifax), two of their children, Simon Bradstreet Robie and Hetty Robie Sterns, stayed behind in Halifax. Simon Bradstreet was beginning to build a name for himself as a lawyer and politician and Hetty had married a fellow refugee and Halifax lawyer Jonathan Sterns. Over the next decade, the family grew apart, divided forever between Massachusetts and Nova Scotia. Handout A

Reading Comprehension

1. What does it mean to “import” goods? What sort of materials did merchant Thomas Robie import from England?

2. Why did the mob chase the Robie family out of Marblehead? From the text, can you deduce what they were angry about?

3. What do you think are some of the hardships that the Robie family faced during their exile?

4. After the war, which family members remained in Halifax and why? What affect did this have on the family?

5. Take a look at the attached map of the New England and Canadian coast in 1733. Note the locations of Boston, Marblehead, and Halifax. How can this map help us to better understand the Robie family experience during and after the Revolutionary War?

Notes: 1. The Boston Non-Importation Agreement of 1 August 1768, was a formal collective decision made by Boston-based merchants and traders not to import or export items to Britain to protest the Townshend Acts (1767), which forced colonists to pay taxes on glass, paper, lead, paint, and tea imported from Britain.

2. British soldiers occupied Boston for an eleven-month period from 19 April 1775 to 17 March 1776, when American militiamen effectively contained British troops within Boston, and after the Battle of Bunker Hill, to the peninsula of Charlestown. On 4 March 1776, George Washington’s army fortified Dorchester Heights with cannon capable of reaching Boston and British ships in Boston harbor. The siege (and the campaign) ended on 17 March 1776, with the permanent withdrawal of British forces from Boston. Most of the British force from Boston sailed to Halifax. Handout A

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Marblehead, Massachusetts

Boston, Massachusetts

“A map of the British Empire in America with the French and Spanish settlements adjacent thereto” Henry Popple, 1733 https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:3f462t62j

Handout B

Document Analysis and Creative Writing Exercise Handout B: Mary Bradstreet Robie (Mother)

It is 9 January 1776. You and your family have been living in Nova Scotia for close to nine months. The move to Halifax has been incredibly challenging for you. Being chased out of your home in Massachusetts was very dramatic, and while you support your husband, you are not certain that moving to British Halifax was best for your family. Although you were sure the rebellion would be put down quickly, the war has dragged on. Making matters worse, your husband has left Halifax to travel to London, leaving you alone to raise four children. Even though more and more refugees arrive in Halifax every day, the town bears little resemblance to your home in Marblehead and lacks many of the essentials you were used to back home. Worse still: it seems to rain every day!

Having left behind your life New England, you worry that if you are ever able to return, you will have lost many of your friends. Perhaps more frighteningly, you worry that living in the strange land of Nova Scotia has begun to change you in ways you cannot fully describe. You’re praying the British end the war soon and you can return home…

Mary Bradstreet Robie to Thomas Robie, January 9, 1779

Halifax, Jan. 9, 1776 My Dear,

As you desired me to write by Mr. Brown, I accordingly do tho [I] have nothing worth writing about as you may well suppose in so short a time, only that I am rather better than when you left me or rather I may say I am not in so much pain, which is something you will say. For as to my mouth, it is still very sore and I am afraid will be so for some time and if ever you see me again, I am afraid it will be without teeth for two of my fore ones are already affected. So much for Halifax, I wish I had never seen it, but if I don’t lose my eyes, I will think myself well off for this place smokes so now I can hardly write. The doctor talks of making another kind of wash for me and sending me some [medicine] off another kind, as of what I have already taken has had very little effect or no effect. I am not fond of taking so much medicine, but rather than lose my teeth, I shall do almost anything.

Here I am all alone [in the] dark and rainy Halifax weather. Your sister was as well as usual yesterday as Ms. Ceordice said who called to see me for a few minutes. I have not seen her since you sailed for you know I am not well enough to go and see her, though I have been into the shop, if it may be so called, today for the first time for which the Dr. blamed me, but I was so tired of staying alone I could not Handout B help it. The children are all well and send their duty, all but the little, he is not very well. He however send his duty and says you must buy him a drum.

Now if I knew what to say more I would write on by way of amusement for myself for I have no other and if I thought it be of any to you and had my New England head, I believe I should. But as that is not the case and as this dumb and stupid place furnishes no topic either for conversation or writing, [I] shall conclude with saying

Yours sincerely. MR

Source: Robie-Sewall Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA

Handout B

Document Analysis and Creative Writing Exercise Handout B: Mary Bradstreet Robie (Mother)

Reading Comprehension:

1. How would you summarize this letter? Give a two-sentence description.

2. What are the major topics and themes discussed by the author of this letter? What is their biggest concern?

3. What is the tone of this letter? What emotions are you seeing here?

Creative Writing Exercise:

Imagine that you are Thomas Robie: you are currently travelling in London and have just received this letter from your wife. Write her a letter in response, including at least three paragraphs. Thoughts to consider:

• How do you feel about your wife’s struggles in Halifax? • How would you comfort her? What would you recommend that she do? • How might you encourage her to look for positives in the family situation?

Handout C

Document Analysis and Creative Writing Exercise Handout C: Mary Robie (Daughter)

It is 4 October 1783. As an 18-year-old, you began keeping a daily diary only a few months ago in an attempt to record your thoughts on everyday events. The year 1783, however, has proved to far from ordinary. Although you’ve lived in Halifax for the past eight years, the peace between the states and Great Britain has brought thousands of new refugees into Halifax every month. As you walk along the docks, you see a new people unloading what little possessions they have and you’ve spoken to a number of families who have lost everything. To make things worse, many of the new arrivals are sick and dying. As poor people crowd the streets, disease spreads quickly. The Halifax burying ground is busy with funerals every day.

You and your younger sister Hetty have been asked by a family to attend the funeral of 26-year- old girl who has recently died. Because she is a newly arrived refugee, she has only a few family members and no friends. The thought of attending the funeral makes you uneasy because you’ve never met deceased girl, but you decide to attend.

Mary Robie, diary entry, October 4, 1783

Saturday October 4, 1783

Miss Lyde called to see us in the morning. Mama, was out. She went to see some ladies who live opposite. They are strangers but people of character. Mama visited them from a motive of compassion, as they knew nobody here.

In the afternoon we went to the funeral. We called for Miss Allan who was one of the Pallholders. After we got there it began to rain and we were under the impression that it would prove very stormy, but it only continued drizzly. We were persuaded to look at the corpse, but we both regretted very much that we did. There was something so shocking in the appearance that I shall never erase the idea of it from my mind. We imagined that as it was a person we had no regard for nor had ever seen that we should be unaffected, but there was something so awful in Death that we could no look at it unmoved. However, it may have a good effect on us by suggesting serious reflections. This was a young woman of six and twenty who after a short illness was cropped, as it were, in the flower of her age in a strange place, unknown, and unlamented, except by her brother and sister who could not but be greatly affected. The funeral went at six o’clock. The pall was held by six young women dressed in white with hoods that covered their faces and the corpse was lowered only by males. Everything was conducted with decency and as she had left directions. I was exceedingly affected both while the procession Handout C went and while prayers were read. My mind was busied making reflections I hope suitable to the occasion.

After we returned we went to Mr. Shaws’ and Mama and my Aunt were there and stayed the evening. We endeavored to dispel all gloomy thoughts which the awful seen had given birth to and so far succeeded that the evening was spent in decent cheerfulness.

Source: Robie-Sewall Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA

Handout C

Document Analysis and Creative Writing Exercise Handout C: Mary Robie (Daughter)

Reading Comprehension:

4. How would you summarize this letter? Give a two-sentence description.

5. What are the major topics and themes discussed by the author of this letter? What is their biggest concern?

6. What is the tone of this letter? What emotions are you seeing here?

Creative Writing Exercise:

Imagine you are a friend of Mary Robie’s and she has sent this diary entry to you as a letter. Write a letter to her in response, including at least three paragraphs. Thoughts to consider:

• What surprises you in the diary entry? • How do you feel about Mary’s description of the funeral? • How would you feel if you were at the funeral too? • What advice do you have for Mary to help her cope with her sadness?

Handout D

Document Analysis and Creative Writing Exercise Handout D: Hetty Robie Sterns (Daughter)

It is 6 September 1788. In Halifax you’ve taken a moment to respond to your mother who has written you from Marblehead, Massachusetts with the exciting news that your older sister, Mary, is going to marry the businessman Joseph Sewall. Things in Halifax have not been good for you. Although your marriage to the politician Jonathan Sterns has brought you much happiness, his many travels to London have left you alone for long periods of time. In addition, your eldest child has been very sick recently and without your husband’s support, you’ve had to manage the household alone. You’ve begun to worry that your mother’s trips back to New England are sign that she plans on leaving Halifax for good, which would mean you’d be separated from the family. Your sister’s engagement to a New England man only seems to confirm your fears…

Hetty Robie Sterns to Mary Bradstreet Robie September 6, 1788

Halifax September 6, 1788

My Dearest Mother,

I will if possible snatch a few moments to write you a short letter, but I do assure you it is with great difficulty. I shall be able to, as my dear little Mary, is just recovering from a severe illness and requires all my attendance; she will go to go to no one but myself and I am so happy to see her any better that I think nothing of the trouble. It will be only as I shall improve the intervals of her sleeping that I shall be able to write at all. She has been so very ill for a week that the Dr. has visited her three times a day, and is reduced to a mere skeleton.

What shall I say upon the subject of losing my dearest sister? You tell me I must not repine. I own that the stroke was great, at first, and unexpected, therefore, the harder to bear, but I have now brought my mind to think of it with some degree of composure. Happiness is not the lot of many in this world and the prospect of it, no one can, or ought to, blame her for grasping at the hold. Trials like those I have lately experienced, have almost, for a time led me, to think that those who did not extend their connections [in Halifax] were the happiest, being separated from my dearest husband, and seeing a dearly beloved child lying at the point of death. But that divine Providence, who has snatched my child from the brink of the grave, will, I trust, in due time, restore me likewise, my husband.

Handout D

My time is short. I will not be able to write to [Mary] by this opportunity. You will please to present my tenderest love. Likewise to Mr. Sewall, tell him, he has drawn such a prize, as does not, often, fall to the lot of mortals…

…I wish to send my dear sister some token of my affection on this occasion, but [I] am so much confined that I cannot go out to buy anything. I am ashamed of what I am going to say: but will my dearest mother excuse me, if I take the liberty of asking her to procure with the enclosed trifle, whatever she thinks will be most acceptable to my sister and present it to her with my love? I would have sent her a cup if I could possibly have found the time to have made one. She must not think hard of it that I do not write her. Alas, I shall have her to write to when I hope to have my dearest Mother with me. Let me now beg of you my dearest Madam, to hasten your departure as much as possible. By the time your receive this, the season will be fast advancing and you say you cannot take a winter voyage…

…Let me once more remind my dearest mother that she has a daughter here, who longs most ardently, to see her. My dearest sister! What shall I say to her, how bid her adieu? My tears flow as I write. I must take my leave. It is wrong to allow myself to dwell upon the subject.

Believe me to be your most affectionately, dutiful, daughter, H Sterns

Source: Robie-Sewall Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA

Handout D

Document Analysis and Creative Writing Exercise Handout D: Hetty Robie Sterns (Daughter)

Reading Comprehension:

7. How would you summarize this letter? Give a two-sentence description.

8. What are the major topics and themes discussed by the author of this letter? What is their biggest concern?

9. What is the tone of this letter? What emotions are you seeing here?

Creative Writing Exercise:

Imagine that you are Mary Bradstreet Robie, Hetty’s mother, and you have just received this letter in Massachusetts. Write her a letter in response, including at least three paragraphs. Thoughts to consider:

• How do you feel about Mary’s marriage? Do you feel more positive than Hetty, or the same way? • Do you like the idea of the family returning to Massachusetts now that the war is over? Or do you like better the idea of staying close to Hetty in Halifax? • What would you say to Hetty about her sadness? Do you have any advice for her, or words of comfort? • Do you have any advice for Hetty about how to cope with missing her husband, or her sick child?