LAWRENCE: Lawrence in Revolution lecture

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   During the Revolutionary War, British and American soldiers marched up and down Route 206 — then known as the King’s Highway — as they fought in major battles that would determine the fate of the 13 colonies.
   Many men who lived in Maidenhead, which was the original name of Lawrence Township, belonged to the First Hunterdon Militia Regiment in New Jersey. Many of those Maidenhead men served as leaders of the regiment.
   Their stories will be told Sunday at the Lawrence Historical Society’s ninth annual Mary Tanner Lecture. The 2 p.m. lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be held in Sweigart Auditorium at Rider University.
   Historian Larry Kidder, who retired after a 40-year career of teaching history in the Ewing Township public school district and at The Hun School, will present “Maidenhead Patriots.” The lecture series is named for Ms. Tanner, who was a longtime supporter of Lawrence history and the first woman to serve on Township Council.
   Mr. Kidder has been researching a book on the First Hunterdon Militia Regiment during the American Revolutionary War, said Lawrence Township Historian Dennis Waters. Maidenhead/Lawrence was originally part of Hunterdon County, until Mercer County was created in the 1830s.
   ”The citizen-soldiers of the First Hunterdon Militia Regiment came from what are now Lawrence, Hopewell, Ewing and Trenton, but much of its leadership was drawn from the founding families of Maidenhead,” Mr. Waters said.
   ”We all know that the major armies of the Revolution all marched through Maidenhead/Lawrence at one time or another, but this should be a great opportunity to learn how the locals participated in it,” Mr. Waters said.
   Drawing heavily on primary sources, Mr. Kidder has put together a story that gives fresh insight into the nature of the New Jersey militia, the contributions of the people of Maidenhead/Lawrence to the patriot cause, and the trials and tribulations they suffered during the war as militiamen and families of militiamen.
   Through stories of individual men and the regiment in general, new insights are revealed into the well-known events that took place in New Jersey, such as the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth and Springfield.
   For more information, visit the Lawrence Historical Society’s website at www.thelhs.org.