JERSEY SHORE – Rick Geffken, an author from Monmouth County who has written several books about the region’s local history, has released another book, “New Jersey’s Revolutionary Rivalry: The Untold Story Of Colonel Tye And Captain Huddy,” that goes into detail about a pivotal event in local history.
Geffken’s book, follows the Revolutionary War rivalry between patriot Captain Joshua Huddy and Loyalist Colonel Titus Cornelius, better known as Colonel Tye.
Titus was the biracial son of a British loyalist and one of his enslaved women. He would escape this house and go on to fight for the British, who were promising freedom for all escaped slaves who fought for them at the time. It was Titus who would lead a loyalist raid on Huddy’s house, leading to his temporary capture. Huddy would eventually escape from his British captors because of a surprise patriot raid. Colonel Tye would die in the effort to recapture Huddy.
Huddy himself would not survive the conflict, as he suffered a controversial fate after the Battle of Yorktown. Huddy was hanged by British forces on the beach at Sandy Hook after he was accused of assisting in the murder of loyalist Philip White. His lynching outraged the colonies, so much so that it ensnared George Washington in a dilemma during the peace negotiations. A large outcry for vengeance echoed throughout the colonies after his murder.
Geffken’s inspiration for this book was spurred out of a love for local history. Geffken has lived in Monmouth County since the 1960s and spent much of his time growing up here. He recalls that his friends would sit on a memorial in Huddy Park dedicated to the patriot. He was unaware that he was so close to where the patriot died. His life also intersected with the story on another occasion, as he was married at a church built on the farm property where Tye was a slave.
Geffken has written several books on other events in local history as well. One has to do with various slave stories that originate in New Jersey, and a few others revolve around Highland Beach, a resort that used to be around Sandy Hook. His books are available for purchase on Amazon.
He believes that people in Monmouth and Ocean counties should be more aware of the historical events that took place in their own backyard. He also wanted to tell the story of an event that gets largely overshadowed when compared to the other stories of the Revolutionary War.
“During the revolution, there were all kinds of activities in Monmouth County. Fights, incidents, small battles, kidnappings, hangings from both sides. You might know that George Washington spent most of his time during the Revolution in New Jersey,” he said.
Geffken’s upcoming schedule of book readings and presentations is listed below. Readers can attend these events to ask Geffken about the book and the story it revolves around.
- November 20 at the Strauss House Museum, 27 Prospect Circle, Atlantic Highlands
- December 2 at the Crawford House, 750 Tinton Ave, Tinton Falls
- January 29, virtual presentation for the Monmouth County Historical Association, Freehold
- February 12 at the Monmouth County Library Eastern Branch, 1001 Route 35, Shrewsbury
- February 15 at the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center, 94 Drs. James Parker Boulevard, Red Bank
- February 19 at the Shrewsbury Historical Society, Municipal Complex, Shrewsbury
- February 24 for the Oceanport Historical Society, at the Old Wharf House, East Main St, Oceanport
