08/18/2026
Did you know that not everyone in Essex County was a Patriot?
Historians estimate that as many as one in five American colonists remained loyal to the Crown during the Revolution, and Essex County was no exception. Merchants, lawyers, and shopkeepers across the region found themselves on the wrong side of an increasingly dangerous divide.
In Salem, some Loyalists fled, others boarded up their windows and stayed put, and a handful were formally banished before eventually being welcomed back after 1783. In Haverhill, the appointed Sheriff of Essex County, Colonel Richard Saltonstall, found an armed Sons of Liberty mob at his door in 1765 for defending the Crown's right to tax the colonies. In Marblehead, Loyalist merchant Thomas Robie and his family fled to Nova Scotia amid threats and harassment, yet Robie eventually returned, quietly resumed business, and died in Salem in 1812 described as "well esteemed and respected." In Rowley, those who had sided with the Crown were given the chance to sign public recantations, published in local newspapers, and formally restored to their community's good graces.
The Revolution fractured families and forced impossible choices. Not every Essex County story from this era is one of glory and defiance. Some are stories of doubt, exile, and the long road back.
Want to learn more? Join us this Wednesday, August 19th at 6:30pm for our FREE lecture "The Plight of Loyalists on the Eve of Independence."
🎟 We're almost sold out, so register today: https://essexheritage.org/event/the-plight-of-loyalists-on-the-eve-of-independence/
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Photo Credit:
Public Domain, Yale Center for British Art
MA250 America250
