Family History - Phoebe Jerome
| Key: | 1. | “+” before a child’s name indicates the child has their own entry in the next generation. |
| 2. | “born xxxx” indicates the child is under 18 years of age so the birth date is not shown. |
Moses Dunbar was a Tory loyalist and one of the few Connecticut men who was tried, convicted, and hanged for treason during the American Revolution. A brief summary of Moses Dunbar’s life, compiled from several sources, is presented below.4, 5, 6, 7
Born in Wallingford, Connecticut, on 3 June 1746 (New Style 14 June 1746), Moses Dunbar was the second of sixteen children of John Dunbar and his wife Temperance Hall. John moved his family to Waterbury in 1760. Moses Dunbar married Phoebe Jerome there in 1764. Moses and Phoebe raised seven children, four of which were living at the time of Moses’ execution in Hartford on 19 March 1777. His wife Phoebe died almost a year before, on 20 May 1776.
Moses Dunbar was outspoken in his opinion against taking up arms against Great Britain. Although he wanted nothing more than to live in peace, Moses was charged and ordered imprisoned for up to five years. His charges were dismissed after only fourteen days, but feeling he was still in danger, Moses fled to Long Island. However, he was already engaged to Esther Adams, so he returned to Connecticut where he and Esther were married. Moses traveled to Long Island a second time, hoping to remove his wife and family to that place for the family’s safety. While in Long Island, he accepted a captain’s warrant in the King’s service, in Colonel Fanning’s regiment.
Returning once again to Connecticut, he was apprehended with incriminating papers in his pocket, and he was tried and convicted of high treason for enlisting men to serve in the British ministerial army and for joining the British service. He was sentenced to suffer death. Before the date of his sentence was fixed, he managed to escape prison, but he was quickly recaptured. His execution by hanging was a very public affair. His wife, “big with child,” was compelled to attend the execution.
Moses and Esther’s only child together, Moses Dunbar, Jr., was born later in 1777 after his father’s death. The infant Moses was baptized in December 1777. Esther subsequently remarried, to Chauncy Jerome, brother of Moses’ first wife Phoebe. They apparently relocated to Nova Scotia for several years, but eventually returned to the Bristol, Connecticut, area in the 1780s. Esther and Chauncy raised the Dunbar children, including Esther’s son Moses, along with several children of their own.
Children of Phoebe Jerome and Moses Dunbar:
| 2 | i. | Bede Dunbar, born ca. 1765.2, 3 | |
| 3 | ii. | Sene Dunbar, born ca. 1766.2, 3 | |
| 4 | iii. | (son) Dunbar, born ca. 1768.2, 3 | |
| 5 | iv. | Dana Dunbar, born ca. 1770.2, 3 | |
| 6 | v. | Zina Dunbar, born ca. 1773.2, 3 | |
| 7 | vi. | Phoebe Dunbar, born ca. 1774.2, 3 | |
| 8 | vii. | Luke Dunbar, born ca. 1776.2, 3 |
- FamilySearch, Phoebe Jerome.
- Linda, Ancestors and Cousins--From “Mayflower” to 2012.
- FamilySearch, Captain Moses Dunbar.
- Gazlay, Lee, Descendants of Moses Dunbar of Waterford, Connecticut. First Edition, February 2021. This paper presents research on Moses Dunbar who lived in Waterford, Connecticut, from as early as 1800 until his death in 1855. His birth about 1777 aligns with the Moses Dunbar who was the youngest son of Moses Dunbar (1746-1777) who was hanged as a traitor in Connecticut. Available as a .pdf at Gazlay Family History (website), under Sources.
- Anderson, Virginia DeLong, The Martyr and the Traitor: Nathan Hale, Moses Dunbar, and the American Revolution. Oxford University Press, 2017.
- Peck, Judge Epaphroditus, Loyal to the crown; Moses Dunbar, Tory, and his fidelity to church and King - executed for treason - interesting chapter in Connecticut history. 1903. Published in The Connecticut Magazine, Volume VIII, Hartford, Conn.: The Connecticut Magazine Company, 1903-04.
- Pond, E. LeRoy, The Tories of Chippeny Hill, Connecticut. New York: The Grafton Press, 1909