Gallery 2 Highlight 1: Jonathan Sayward

Jonathan Sayward (1713-1797) enjoyed a genteel life in York, Maine, occupying roles in local government and representing York in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He came under fire in 1768 after voting to rescind a letter circulated by his fellow representatives to other colonial legislatures asking them to join the protest against British Parliament.

In his diary, Sayward warned that agitating Britain “would bring the full weight of ministerial vengeance on this province.” While he personally disagreed with Parliament’s actions, Sayward wished to avoid a civil war. He was also distressed by the escalating violence of the Sons of Liberty, who mobbed anyone they viewed as a Loyalist —including him.

After war broke out, Sayward suffered numerous blows, including “loss of trade,” “the scorn of the abject slight of friends,” and “all my offices . . . taken from me.” Confined to his home in York (Historic New England’s Sayward-Wheeler House), Sayward watched in disbelief as America became an independent nation. “It’s all beyond my depth, I am lost in wonder,” he wrote in July 1776.