The Tory’s Wife: A Woman and Her Family in Revolutionary America

The Revolutionary Age

by Cynthia A. Kierner

The Spurgin family of North Carolina experienced the cataclysm of the American Revolution in the most dramatic ways―and from different sides. This engrossing book tells the story of Jane Welborn Spurgin, a patriot who welcomed General Nathanael Greene to her home and aided Continental forces while her loyalist husband was fighting for the king as an officer in the Tory militia. By focusing on the wife of a middling backcountry farmer, esteemed historian Cynthia Kierner shows how the Revolution not only toppled long-established political hierarchies but also strained family ties and drew women into the public sphere to claim both citizenship and rights―as Jane Spurgin did with a dramatic series of petitions to the North Carolina state legislature when she fought to reclaim her family’s lost property after the war was over. While providing readers with stories of battles, horse-stealing, bigamy, and exile that bring the Revolutionary era vividly to life, this book also serves as an invaluable examination of the potentially transformative effects of war and revolution, both personally and politically.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2023

Reviews

[Janilyn Kocher]

A well written book. Kierner is a top notch historian and writer. Colonial American history has always been favorite of mine. Kierner demonstrates the division in Spurgin's own house and her loyalty to a new government. A great addition to the canon of colonial history.
Thanks to Longleaf Services and Edelweiss for the early copy.

[Allie Gallagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my women’s history class. It was interesting. 3.5 stars

[Janet Self · Rating 4 out of 5]

I particularly enjoy reading social history. While I also like learning about Samual Adams or other luminaries, it is equally interesting to learn how the average person lived. It is also fascinating the extent to which the Revolution was a civil war between the Tories and the Whigs. And the conflict wasn't limited to the official battles. Neighbors attacked neighbors in "skirmishes". Over years. In addition, Jane Spurgin's story was a tributary in the development of the rights of citizenship in our country. And how interesting to see that it didn't flow from the high minded rhetoric which spurred on the Revolution but, rather, the government's growing awareness that they had to find some way to allow the "widows" of the Tory men they had run off to survive on their own. Otherwise, the responsibility would have fallen to them and their neighbors.

[Rio (Lynne) · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is not enough information on Jane to write a book. There’s a lot of repetition to fill pages. For me, it was not an inside look on the Revolution or colonial times. All we know is Jane married William. Jane had a lot of kids. William stayed loyal to the crown. The loyalists lost and Jane had 3 petitions to keep a legal portion of her land. The end. The author tried too hard to turn Jane into a feminist. As a living historian, I was really hoping for some inside information about Rowan County at time, sadly the only information about Jane is her legal documents. There really is no story here.

[Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy one bit not one bit. I tried so hard.

I read this for a class and specifically chose this book because it is painted as though it's this "revolutionary woman" who went against her husband and what not. No.

Also I thought she was gonna shoot her husband based off the cover. She does not.

[Mary Whited · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very academic retelling of the American revolution with Spurgeon family history mixed in.