Loyalist Matthias Aspden Lost Everything in the American Revolution

Historian Kimberly Nath recounts the story of Matthias Aspden, a wealthy Philadelphia Quaker merchant who fled to England in 1776 to remain loyal to the British crown. He left behind extensive property, expecting a brief war, but was tried in absentia, declared a traitor, and had all his assets confiscated by Pennsylvania. After the Revolution, Aspden returned in 1785 hoping for restitution under the peace treaty, but was denied citizenship and property. He spent nearly 50 years in exile, dying in England in 1824. Decades later, his heirs won a lawsuit against Pennsylvania, receiving over $500,000 (about $20 million today). The article, republished from The Conversation, highlights the overlooked experience of loyalists during the American Revolution.