From Neighbors to Enemies

March is the birth month for two of Morris County’s Loyalists to the British Crown: Isaiah Fairclo and Michael Kearney.

When the War for Independence broke out in 1775, New Jersey was a colony divided between those openly supporting a rebellion, and those who continued to support the British Crown.

Isaiah Fairclo was born in 1765 in Chester and fled to Canada during the American Revolution.Returning to Chester after the war, he served as a Morris County Freeholder (now known as Morris County Commissioners). Ironically, Freeholder Fairclo would eventually serve on the July 4, 1818 committee to arrange festivities celebrating America’s Independence.

Michael Kearney, born March 30, 1726 in Westchester County, NY, was a captain in the British Navy. He was also a cousin to both Lewis Morris and Gouveneur Morris.

For more information on Mr. Fairclo, Mr. Kearney, and other Morris County loyalists, you can check out our American Revolution Veterans Document. The NJ State Library also has a recording of their informative program titled Strangely Contaminated: The Loyalists of New Jersey.

 

Image: Reenactors portraying the 4th Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers. Bergen County Historical Society.