Press Release

An American Journey of Hope: Perth Amboy – The Capital and Port City on Raritan Bay 1683-1790
by Donald Johnstone Peck
With illustrations by Francis J. McGinley

An American Journey of Hope is a vivid chronicle of how the original Scottish colonists of Perth Amboy, New Jersey transformed the city into a center of political and religious force that held forth the promise of a way of life that emphasized freedom, opportunity and plenty for all.

The initial vision of the twenty-four Proprietors of East Jersey in the seventeenth century was to establish a colony for persecuted Scottish Quakers. Their intent was to help those who were oppressed and suffering, and to rescue prisoners and exiles. In this way Perth Amboy became the port of entry for both the Quaker and Calvinist Non-conformist Presbyterian Covenanters who would subsequently establish the Presbyterian Church in America. The author details the events that accompanied these changes, and continues with a precise chronology of the incidents in the city that led up to the American Revolution.

As the narrative continues, it reveals the story of the conflict between a stronghold of prominent Loyalists and their engagement with many of America’s leading patriots in the struggle for American religious and political independence.

The story of Perth Amboy provides a unique lens through which to observe the upheaval that overturned the old order and established the basis for the freedom that we enjoy today.