Trevor Newland Pushed toward Disaffection

Trevor Newland was a lieutenant in the British Army during the Seven Years War. After the war, he stayed in America and settled on the Jersey shore near Barnegat. He was one of two retired British officers living in Monmouth County; the other was John Morris, who also lived on the shore—near Manasquan. Morris would become a Loyalist commanding the 2nd Battalion of New Jersey Volunteers, raised from the Monmouth shore. Newland, however, was not destined to be a Loyalist.

In 1770, Monmouth County farmers grew angry about a currency shortage that made it hard to pay off mortgages. They rioted and closed the Monmouth County courts in order to prevent foreclosures. One of the county’s magistrates, Josiah Holmes of Shrewsbury, sided with the rioters. The Royal Governor, William Franklin, removed Holmes and replaced him with Newland—presumably because Newland was unsympathetic toward the indebted farmers. Two years later, Newland was indicted for arson, and, then in 1774, he was indicted for extortion. Given these charges and his anti-rioter appointment, it is safe to assume that Newland made enemies inside the county.

However, as the war began, Newland had powerful friends outside the county. He exchanged letters with Benjamin Franklin and General Charles Lee (George Washington’s second in command). In 1775, Newland offered his services as an officer to the embryonic Continental Army, but nothing came from it. Then, in early 1776, he offered to help design defenses for New York. He was apparently employed in erecting defenses around New York Harbor, for which he was owed $400. After that, Newland returned home. Instead of joining the Army, he established a saltworks near present-day Waretown.

While Newland’s friendly relations with national leaders might have led him into an important office in Monmouth County’s new government, his difficult relationships inside the county worked against it. Newland was not a magistrate in the new government; there’s no evidence he held any office until 1780. A William Newland, the only other man named Newland in county tax rolls, was arrested for participating in the Loyalist insurrections of December 1776 and jailed in Philadelphia for five months. If William was the son of Trevor Newland, this would have worked against Trevor Newland playing a role in the new government.

Trevor Newland Runs Afoul of David Forman

Newland became a rival of Colonel David Forman when Forman established a saltworks at Barnegat, near Newland’s land. Forman sent soldiers to harvest wood from Newland’s land and also harvested wood from the nearby land of the East Jersey Proprietors. As the dispute built, Newland sent a proxy to Philadelphia, probably to plead his case to the Continental Congress. The trip to Philadelphia led Congress to inquire about money still owed to Newland from his time helping the Continental Army. An unnamed member of Congress wrote General Arthur St. Clair:

You will oblige me by giving me the time the payment I spoke to you about was made to Mr. Newland as nearly as you can, as a Person is now waiting with whom I have an Account to settle, that depends upon it. I think the Sum was 400 Dollars.

Newland also complained to the New Jersey Legislature, which investigated Forman. As a result of this and other scandals involving Forman, the New Jersey Legislature summoned Forman. Forman resigned his General’s commission in the New Jersey militia rather than answer the charges; George Washington transferred Forman’s regiment of troops to Colonel Israel Shreve as a result of the scandal. Newland now was an enemy of the most powerful man in the county, who promptly accused Newland of being an enemy of the new government. Governor Wiliam Livingston concurred with Forman, writing “Mr. Newland is not friendly to our cause.”

In October 1779, Newland was arrested and brought before the Monmouth County Court of Quarterly Sessions—its highest regular court. The Justices of the Court, including Peter Forman, were allies of David Forman. Along with Vincent Wainwright and Robert Francis, Newland was released on bond. But the size of his bond, £2,500, was unusually large—bonds were rarely greater than £500. Newland was required to appear at the next Court of Quarterly Sessions but there is no record that his case was re-heard in that court.

As pressure on Newland increased, he apparently reached out to external friends in the Continental Army for help. Forman was a colonel in the Continental Army; perhaps a general could make Forman relent. On November 9, General St. Clair wrote Governor Livingston about the controversy between Forman and Newland. "I well remember the order you mention respecting the removal of troops from the salt works.” St. Clair expressed sympathy for Newland, but was unable to intervene in a civil matter. He concluded that New Jersey’s courts should determine if Forman and his allies were encroaching on Newland’s rights: “Mr. Newland must proceed against him in a court of law."

Newland’s legal troubles worsened. On August 1, 1780, the New Jersey Court of Chancery heard the case of Samuel Forman, Kenneth Hankinson "and other complaintants" vs. Trevor Newland. Papers served against Newland by Sheriff David Forman (the cousin of Colonel David Forman) subpoenaed Newland "to answer a contempt to which it is alleged he hath committed against the state" and “on matters as shall be then & there be laid to his charge." Writs were served by David Forman and Jonathan Forman against Newland. He was brought before the court for litigation over property claims on his land.

Trevor Newland Turns Disaffected

Just two months later, the people of Stafford Township showed their support for Newland by electing him to the important role of township tax assessor. As noted in a prior article, the people of Stafford and Down townships frequently elected men who were disaffected from the new government. This show of confidence in Newland would not have swayed his adversaries, but would have given Newland a lever to strike back at his rivals—by assigning a tax to their Barnegat salt works.

By 1781, Newland was disaffected—likely as a result of the long feud with Forman and his allies. On January 4, 1781, the Minute Book of the Board of Associated Loyalists recorded: "The board also read several plans and proposals submitted to them by John Griffiths and Trevor Newland." What Newland proposed is unknown, but Newland was indicted for going behind enemy lines in October 1781.

At war’s end Newland was still in Stafford Township, but his estate was only 60 acres and three livestock. He had lost his saltworks which were now in the possession of Kenneth Hankinson of Freehold. Hankinson was a partner to the Forman family at the Barnegat saltworks and had replaced David Forman as the head of the vigilante society, the Retaliators.

It is impossible to know precisely when Trevor Newland became disaffected. In early 1776, he helped the Continental Army and had friendly relations with at least two generals and the new nation’s leading diplomat (Benjamin Franklin). But Newland had powerful enemies within Monmouth County, including Colonel David Forman, his family, and Freehold allies. They encroached on his land and harassed him in the courts until he became, exactly what they suggested he was—a closet Loyalist. While the taint of disaffection likely ended Newland’s friendly relationships in the Continental government, it may have cemented his relationships with his disaffected neighbors.

Related Historic Site: Harbor Defense Museum

Sources: William Eisenring, “Monmouth and Essex Counties' 1769–70 Riots Against Lawyers: Predecessors of Revolutionary Social Conflict,” New Jersey History, vol. 112 (Spring/ Summer 1994) pp. 5-8, 17; Bidsquare Action website: https://www.bidsquare.com/online-auctions/early-american-history-auctions/arthur-st-clair-continental-congress-president-and-major-general-ans-2209088 (July 27, 2024); William Livingston to George Washington, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 14, 1 March 1778 – 30 April 1778, ed. David R. Hoth. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2004, pp. 177–179; Monmouth County Archives, Court of Quarterly Sessions, folder: 1779; New Jersey State Archives, Supreme Court Records, #13227; NJ State Archives, NJ Supreme Court Collection, Case # 13036; Minutes of the Board of Associated Loyalists, U. of Michigan, William Clements Library, Henry Clinton Papers, Minute Book of the Associated Loyalists, January 1781, p 4; Michael Adelberg, Biographical File, unpublished, Monmouth County Historical Association.