Patrick Tonyn (1725–1804) was a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
General who served as the last British governor of
East Florida
East Florida ( es, Florida Oriental) was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of Spanish Florida from 1783 to 1821. Great Britain gained control of the long-established Spanish colony of ''La Florida'' in 1763 as part of ...
, from 1774 to 1783. His governorship lasted the span of the American Revolution. East Florida was a
Loyalist colony during the war.
Early life
Patrick Tonyn was born in
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...
in
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
in 1725, into a military family. His father, Charles Tonyn, was a Colonel in the 6th Inniskillen Dragoons. Patrick Tonyn became a captain in the
6th Dragoons in 1751, with which regiment he served in Germany in 1758 during the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754†...
where, in 1759, the regiment fought at
Minden
Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...
and
Wetter with great distinction. Tonyn was made lieutenant-colonel of the
104th Regiment of Foot in 1761.
Life in Florida and Revolution
Tonyn is generally described as a capable commander. During his tenure as governor of East Florida the colony enjoyed peace with the neighboring Indians, primarily due to his positive relationship with Ahaya the
Cowkeeper, chief of the Alachua band of the
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...
tribe.
Like most favored British officers, Tonyn received a large grant in the new colony—a tract in 1767. This area of land was just south of Black Creek. Nautralist
William Bartram, during his 1774 travels, noted that Tonyn's land grew
indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
well. Bartram counted twenty enslaved workers when passing by the plantation. After a 1776 raid from Georgia, Tonyn was forced to give up this land for a plot east of the St. Johns River.
Fort Tonyn, which was located in present-day
Nassau County, Florida, near the hamlet of Mills's Ferry was named after Tonyn.
On 1 March, 1774, Tonyn arrived in
St. Augustine, Florida as royal governor of East Florida. Throughout Tonyn's governorship, Loyalists from southern colonies sought refuge in St. Augustine. Another group was added to the population of the city when
Andrew Turnbull's colony of
New Smyrna to the south collapsed. Tonyn released the group (composed largely of
Minorcans) from their indentures, and they too settled in St. Augustine in 1777.
From 1778 - 1785, Governor Tonyn lived in the
coquina dwelling at 143 St. George Street in St. Augustine, in what is known today as the Peña-Peck House, run by the Woman's Exchange of St. Augustine.
Tonyn was instrumental in bringing his brother-in-law planter
Francis Levett, an Englishman, to East Florida, having
Levett
Levett is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories.
Origins
This surname comes from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, no ...
given a seat on the Royal Council. Formerly a merchant in
Leghorn, Italy, working for the
Levant Company in Constantinople and scion of a well-connected English merchant family, Levett took up a large grant in Florida, which he later abandoned in favor of Georgia, where he was one of the first growers of
Sea Island cotton.
Francis Levett, Julianton Plantation, British East Florida, Florida History Online
/ref> Levett's son-in-law Dr. David Yeats served as Secretary of the province of Florida under Governor Tonyn.
London and death
Tonyn was the victim in a fraud and deception trial at the Old Bailey in May 1796. Henry Weston was indicted for forging Tonyn's signature to transfer of £5,000. The Old Bailey records show that Weston, a young man with gambling debts, was sentenced to death.
Patrick Tonyn died in London on 30 December 1804.
See also
* – several vessels named for him circa 1780.
References
External links
Julianton Plantation, Francis Levett Sr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonyn, Patrick
1725 births
1804 deaths
British Army generals
6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons officers
People from Berwick-upon-Tweed
Governors of East Florida
British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War
British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War
People of British Florida