Jonathan Sayward: Reluctant Loyalist
Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 5:00-6:30 PM

Historic New England Curator Erica Lome explores the complex history of Jonathan Sayward (1713-1797), a mariner and trader who held prominent political positions in his town of York, Maine, and served as the representative from York to the General Court. Sayward’s diary and household furnishings at Historic New England’s Sayward-Wheeler House in York, Maine, help us tell the story of a successful entrepreneur and respectable government official who lost almost everything because of his political sympathies. His experience of persecution at the hands of his fellow colonists provides a different perspective on the American Revolution.