The Trent House Association presents a virtual talk by William (Larry) Kidder on his recent research and reflections on the life of Dr. William Bryant, owner of the Trent House at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. This free program will be held on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at 7:00 p.m via Zoom at https://tinyurl.com/April20Talk. Capacity is limited and pre-registration at https://tinyurl.com/April20Bryant is recommended. A pay-as-you-wish donation is encouraged and can be made by PayPal at https://williamtrenthouse.org/donation.html.
Dr. William Bryant, who owned and lived in today’s Trent House from 1769 to 1778, is usually identified as a Loyalist. But was he? His story, and the stories of people he knew in Trenton, tell us much about how people in Trenton grappled with difficult decisions about which side to support in the American Revolution and how public and vigorous their support would be. This talk will explore Dr. Bryant’s life and examine the evidence often cited about his political stance. Researching Dr. Bryant’s story illustrates how a “fact” sometimes requires reconsideration and how historians act as “detectives,” sorting through partial and often conflicting evidence to shed new light on a mystery.
Larry Kidder is well-known as an historian of the Revolutionary War and frequent speaker on the subject. His books include A People Harassed and Exhausted: The Story of a New Jersey Militia Regiment in the American Revolution, Crossroads of the Revolution: Trenton 1774-1783, Revolutionary Princeton 1774-1783: The Biography of an American Town in the Heart of a Civil War, and most recently, The Revolutionary World of a Free Black Man: Jacob Francis 1754-1836.
The William Trent House Museum is a National Historic Landmark in the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area and on the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail. The Museum is dedicated to sharing the authentic history of the house, property, and people with our communities, connecting the past with today and tomorrow. Owned by the City of Trenton, it is operated by the Trent House Association, which is supported by the generosity of its members and donors; by grants from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the New Jersey Cultural Trust, the New Jersey Historic Trust, and the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission with funding from the New Jersey Historical Commission; and by contributions from New Pod City, NJM Insurance Group, and Orion General Contractors. For more information, visit https://williamtrenthouse.org.
