Residents of the Revolution: Capt. Timothy Starkey

by Griffin Smith

Captain Timothy Starkey, Sr., hailed from one of Essex’s oldest families connected to the maritime trades. Born on November 26, 1739, in the town of Saybrook (most likely the portion that is now Essex), Starkey served as the captain of the 7th company of the 7th regiment of the state militia. He was among the many local men who answered the alarm on April 27, 1777, as the British attacked New Haven. Days prior, British forces under Major General William Tryon's command had raided Danbury due to its stockpile of supplies. In response to the raid on Danbury, General Benedict Arnold (when he still fought for the Americans) and General David Wooster raised roughly 700 combined Continental Army troops and militiamen, of which included Captain Starkey’s Company.

In a series of skirmishes known as the Battle of Ridgefield, American forces harassed the British as they marched back to their ships, resulting in nearly 200 British casualties. At the Battle of Ridgefield, despite being a tactical victory for the British, the performance of the American forces galvanized American support and earned General Arnold his military promotion, setting the stage for his essential role in the Battles of Saratoga. Starkey continued to serve in the Continental Army until the 1780s.

He returned to his family in Saybrook following the end of the war. He fathered six children through his first two wives before marrying Chloe Snow in 1790. He later became a Justice of the Peace, served as a founder of Essex’s Episcopal Church and owned much property in today’s Essex and Old Saybrook.

In the first Federal Census of 1790, an individual named “Dorcar” or more likely “Dorcas” is listed as being enslaved to Timothy Starkey, Esq. According to the records of the Second Ecclesiastical Society of Saybrook (Centerbrook Meeting House), Dorcas died a few years later in July, 1793.

She may have been part of the household at his “home farm” which consisted of up to 40 acres with the house still standing on Bokum Road, although much altered. When Starkey died on November 1, 1817, probate records detail the extent of his estate, including 34 acres and 32 sheep.

Buried in Essex’s River View Cemetery, Captain Timothy Starkey Sr., leaves a complicated legacy of ‘freedom.’

Timothy Starkey Gravestone

In River View Cemetery, Essex, CT. photo credit: findagrave.com

Timothy Starkey, Sr. House

41 Bokum Rd. Also known as the “MacWhinney House”

Source: EHS Collections, 9000.301

Capt. Starkey’s Company

Source: Rolls and Lists of Connecticut Men in the Revolution, 1775-1783, 178.

Record of Office

Source: Office, Record of Service of Connecticut Men in the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War, 79.