recall the early settlers Jane and her husband Nicholas Tuers (1736/37–1815) (or Toers) lived as farmers in
Bergen Township, New Jersey (now known as
Jersey City). One day in September 1780, while selling farm goods in British-occupied
Manhattan, Tuers stopped in
Fraunces Tavern and spoke with the owner,
Samuel Fraunces. He informed Tuers that British soldiers were in his tavern toasting the hero of the
Battles of Saratoga, General
Benedict Arnold, who was to deliver
West Point to the British. When Tuers returned to Bergen later that day, she informed her brother Daniel Van Reypen about the conspiracy. Van Reypen rode to
Hackensack to meet with General
Anthony Wayne who then sent Van Reypen to inform General
George Washington of the conspiracy. This information confirmed what Washington had suspected of Arnold. The arrest of
John André a few days later on September 23, 1780 confirmed the conspiracy. André was later tried, convicted, and hanged as a spy on October 2, 1780. Arnold would later defect to the British to escape prosecution. Jane Tuers died in 1834 and was buried in the
Old Bergen Church Cemetery. The house that she lived in was located on Bergen Avenue across from the Tise Tavern. The house survived until 1894, when it was demolished to make room for the construction of the old
Fourth Regiment Armory. The site is now home to
Hudson Catholic Regional High School. A plaque on the exterior of Hudson Catholic reads: "This marks the site of the home of JANE TUERS, a heroine of the American Revolution" Presented by the Jane Tuers Society C. A. R. 1925". Streets near
Bergen Square bear both the Tuers and Van Reypen family name. ==See also==