Thomas Young, forgotten Patriot, remembered

FALLS VILLAGE — A person involved in the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the drafting of a new constitution in Pennsylvania, and the naming of the state of Vermont should have earned a prominent place in the annals of history — or so one would think.

 Instead, Thomas Young remains only a minor footnote, with little recorded history and no preserved paintings or images to remind us of him and his role in the founding of the nation.

David Parker, a Kent resident and  longtime newsman, made the case for Young’s significance on July 28 in his lecture, “Thomas Young: A Revolutionary Patriot,â€� the latest talk in the “Tuesdays at Sixâ€� lecture series.

Parker has worked at many local newspapers, including the Millbrook Round Table, The Lakeville Journal (where he was editor in chief), the Litchfield County Times and the Torrington Register Citizen. He was quick to qualify that his background is in journalism, not historical research.

“I’m a newspaperman, not a historian, properly speaking,� he explained.

Despite Young’s relative anonymity, Parker said, he played crucial roles at many important junctures in American Revolutionary history.

Young’s upbringing and his particular philosophical leanings encouraged him to push for radical change. Although he spent many years in larger cities such as Albany, Boston and Philadelphia, he was born in western Connecticut and spent his childhood and early adulthood on the Hudson River.

Young is credited with naming the town of Amenia, Parker said.

His move to Albany in 1764 began his involvement in the events leading up to the American Revolution. After the passage of the unpopular Stamp Act in 1765, Young was one of the founders of Albany’s chapter of the Sons of Liberty, and he led a march that forced the city’s tax collector to resign.

The following year, Young moved to Boston, and again found himself embroiled in revolutionary activity. According to Parker, Young attempted to quell the violence of the Boston Massacre, and also gave the signal to begin the Boston Tea Party.

Young’s views and constant activity made him a polarizing figure, with strong supporters and detractors, Parker said. He had close friends, such as Samuel Adams and Ethan Allen, who shared his revolutionary ideals. Other founding fathers, such as John Adams, felt that Young was much too radical.

These sharply contrasting opinions made it hard for Young to have a more prominent place in early American history, said Parker. “I can’t imagine any state that would have sent him as a delegate to the constitutional convention.�

Young did become significantly involved in the politics of both Pennsylvania and Vermont. In Pennsylvania, he led the committee that drafted the state’s new constitution during the revolution.

In Vermont, Young served as a consultant to the citizens group that was attempting to separate from New York and New Hampshire and form the new state. Young encouraged their plan, according to Parker, and even suggested the new state be named “Vermont,� which Parker said was the first recorded use of the name.

Audience members said the talk helped uncover Young’s previously unknown history. “It was a very interesting illumination of someone I’ve never heard of,� said Taconic resident Richard Paddock.

William Trowbridge, who lives in Sharon, agreed.

“It’s great he put so much effort into researching a local political hero,� he said.

On Aug. 11 the series will conclude with a talk entitled “Mt. Riga — Past and Present� by Salisbury Selectman Jim Dresser. The talks are held each Tuesday during the summer, at 6 p.m. in the South Canaan Meeting House, at the junction of routes 7 and 63 in Falls Village.