Northeast Cold Case

In 1776, as British forces took control of Long Island, thousands of civilians faced an impossible decision: stay, or leave everything behind.

Many of those decisions were made not by soldiers or statesmen—but by women.

In this episode of Northeast Cold Case, we step inside the households of Long Island refugee families and follow the women who chose when to flee, managed dangerous crossings to Connecticut, and rebuilt community in unfamiliar towns. Their names are often absent from the official record—but their presence is everywhere in the details: church memberships, baptism entries, probate files, and the quiet networks that sustained entire families.