Date: Sunday, April 19, 2026
Time: 3:00 pm.
Location: Litchfield History Museum (7 South Street, Litchfield CT)
Cost: Free (Suggested $5 donation)
Registration Requested
Register for Virtual option
In 1777,Joel Stone fled his home in Litchfield to join the British army in New York. Inthis talk, historian Tim Compeau will share his research on the local LoyalistJoel Stone and his attempts to build a counter-revolutionary community in UpperCanada. Though an exile, he kept in touch his family and former neighbors andenticed some of them to join him in Canada following the War of Independence.Stone positioned himself as a patron who could help his countrymen secure landson the Canadian frontier, but only if they reaffirmed their allegiance to theKing. An early twentieth century Canadian historian referred to him as “abenevolent despot” of his “little kingdom”
This casestudy reveals the fluid allegiances of settlers trying to survive the upheavalsof the revolutionary age, and the tenacity of Loyalists in maintaining theircontrol of the Upper Canadian borderlands. It also demonstrates the persistenceand expansion of kinship networks despite war and exile. People, goods, andnews continued to flow between Stone’s settlement in Upper Canada andLitchfield, Connecticut until his death in 1833.
TimothyCompeau is an associate professor of history at Huron University in London,Ontario, Canada. He is author of Dishonored Americans: The PoliticalDeath of Loyalists in Revolutionary America (University of VirginiaPress, 2023).
Thelecture will be held at the Litchfield History Museum, 7 South St. Litchfield,CT. For those unable to attend in person, a zoom option is available. Pleaseregister in advance, as space is limited. The event is free, and donations areappreciated.
