Jonathan Trumbull, the Liberty Pole, and the Connecticut Sons of Liberty

Jonathan Trumbull, the Liberty Pole, and the

Connecticut Sons of Liberty

In 1765 the Sons of Liberty were organized in the Colony of Connecticut in opposition to the Stamp Act. Jonathan Trumbull was one of the organizers of this movement in Eastern Connecticut along with Eliphalet Dyer and Connecticut military officers Major John Durkee, Captain Hugh Ledlie, and Lieutenant-Colonel Israel Putnam.[1] The headquarters of the Connecticut Sons of Liberty was at Norwich, Connecticut,[2] and they met at Major John Durkee's Tavern at Bean hill.[3] The location of this tavern, "Durkee's tavern at Bean hill was "opposite the home-lot of Mr. Samuel Abell.""[4]

Note: Hopefully the location of Durkee's Tavern at Bean hill will be marked with a historical marker someday.

It was Major John Durkee who led a contingent of Connecticut Sons of Liberty who forced Connecticut's Stamp-Master Jared Ingersoll to resign his commission in Wethersfield, Connecticut. 

Throughout the Colony of Connecticut liberty poles were raised and liberty trees were decorated in opposition to the Stamp Act.

Top of the SAR Liberty Pole (1997-2009)

When we dismantled the SAR Liberty Pole, we cut off the top portion of the
fifteen foot liberty pole for a souvenir. 

During its twelve year history, the SAR Liberty Pole was seen by tens of thousands of school children and visitors throughout the State of Connecticut who learned a little about Colonel John Durkee and the Connecticut Sons of Liberty.

~ LIBERTY  AND  PROPERTY ~

The Rebellious Stripes - Sons of Liberty Flag

Liberty and Property Flag on the SAR Liberty Pole (1997-2009)

Sons of Liberty/Join or Die Flag

Gen. Israel Putnam Branch #4 Connecticut Society Sons of the American Revolution

Annual Ceremonies for Col. John Durkee and the Connecticut Sons of Liberty (1997-2004)

Old Burying Ground, Norwichtown, Norwich, Connecticut

Members of the Connecticut Line, Living History/Color Guard Unit of the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and the General Ebenezer Huntington Society, Children of the American Revolution at the gravesite of Col. John Durkee.

Historic Norwichtown Days Event Buttons and Medallions 1996-2004



Historic Norwichtown Days
Norwichtown Green, Norwich, Connecticut

1996-2004

and

Norwich 350th Anniversary
Norwichtown Green, Norwich, Connecticut

June 18-21, 2009

and

History Day on Norwichtown Green
Norwich, Connecticut

August 28, 2016

"The Bold Man of Bean Hill," Major John Durkee and the Connecticut Sons of Liberty

A play performed by the Gen. Ebenezer Huntington Society, Children of the American Revolution

"A pole was erected on the green at Norwich Town, in the Autumn of 1765, decorated with suitable inscriptions and devices, with hood or cap on its top, and called the Liberty Tree, at the foot of which was a pavilion for resort and discussion."[5]

Town of Colchester 300th Anniversary 

Revolutionary War Encampment 

Colchester Green, Colchester, Connecticut

June 4-7, 1998

Colchester, Connecticut Tricentennial Encampment Event Medallion

As a side note, during the Colchester 300th Anniversary Encampment the Gen. Israel Putnam Branch #4 CTSSAR held grave marking ceremonies for two of my patriot ancestral grandfathers. (1) Corporal Joseph Johnson, Fourth Connecticut Regiment Continental Line, son of Elijah Johnson and Sarah Trumble (2) Private Charles Foote, Sr., Fourth Connecticut Regiment 1775, son of Nathaniel Foote and Ann Clarke. 

Revolutionary War Encampment 

Black Rock Fort - Fort Nathan Hale

New Haven, Connecticut

May 28-31, 1998

Town of Lebanon 300th Anniversary 
Revolutionary War Encampment
Lebanon Green, Lebanon, Connecticut

September 22-24, 2000

Notes:

1. History of the American Revolution, Volume II, George Bancroft, London, 1852, page 503; Connecticut, A Bicentennial History, David M. Roth, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, 1979, pages 75-76.

2. The Harvey Book: Giving the Genealogies of Certain Branches of the American Families of Harvey, Nesbitt, Dixon and Jameson, and Notes on many other Families, together with Numerous Biographical Sketches, Oscar Jewell Harvey, A. M., Wilkes-Barre, PA., 1899, pages 616-617; A History of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, From its First Beginnings . . ., Oscar Jewell Harvey, A. M., Volume I, Wilkes-Barre, 1909, note on page 482.

3. The Harvey Book: Giving the Genealogies of Certain Branches of the American Families of Harvey, Nesbitt, Dixon and Jameson, and Notes on many other Families, together with Numerous Biographical Sketches, Oscar Jewell Harvey, A. M., Wilkes-Barre, PA., 1899, pages 616-617; A Forgotten Son of Liberty, Amos A. Browning, Records and Papers of the New London County Historical Society, Volume III, Part II, Published by the Society, New London, Connecticut, 1912, page 260; the bold man of bean hill, John Durkee (1728-1782), Alarums & Skirmishes, The Revolutionaries of Connecticut, Leonard Byrne, (One of Fifty Printed) The Bulletin Company, Norwich, Connecticut, 1976, page 18; John Durkee, and the Sons of Liberty, Durkee Family Newsletter, Volume 1, Number 4, Winter 1982, page 41; Col. John Durkee, Norwichtown's Forgotten Hero, The Scarlet Standard Historical Series, Number Six, September 1998, The Educational Outreach of the Gen. Israel Putnam Branch #4 CTSSAR.

4. The Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Settlement of the Town of Norwich, Connecticut, and of the Incorporation of the City, the One Hundred and Twenty Fifth, July 4, 5, 6, 1909, William Charles Gilman, Norwich, 1912, page 215.
5. A Forgotten Son of Liberty, Amos A. Browning, Records and Papers of the New London County Historical Society, Volume III, Part II, Published by the Society, New London, Connecticut, 1912, page 260.

LIBERTY  and  PROPERTY