USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County : from its first settlement to the present time, first under Virginia as Yohogania, Ohio, or Augusta County until 1781, and subsequently under Pennsylvania > Part 50
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But the first Congress in January, 1791, on the report of Alex. Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, passed an excise law im- posing a tax of from ten to twenty-five cents payable upon every gallon of domestic distilled liquor, which he calculated would yield $826,000 to meet the charges growing out of the assumption of State debts, and in connection therewith, placed a tax upon stills, according to their capacity, with which it was manufactured. The people of Western Pennsylvania felt that this law was wrong and unjust and an encroachment on their rights and privileges, and all agreed upon the principle enunciated by the Congress of 1774, that an excise law " was the horror of all free States." They felt, too, that this law would operate peculiarly severe upon the inhabitants of Western Pennsylvania from the fact that they had no direct commu- nication with the east, except by transporting their productions in the form of distilled liquor upon pack-horses, and that the blow would, if carried out, prostrate their trade, their business, and their future prospects, and they boldly contended that the fact need not be disguised or concealed, that nowhere in the United States could a population of 87,000 persons be found where there were as many stills, and consequently as much domestic liquor distilled as in West- ern Pennsylvania. But the reason was self-evident. There were neither large distilleries nor commission warehouses to purchase the grain, and had such been the case, there was no mode of transporta- tion, except upon pack-horses, each horse carrying but four bushels of grain. Hence in every neighborhood some farmer became a dis- tiller from necessity, and he not only manufactured his own grain into whiskey, but that of five or six of his immediate neighbors. Upon a fair calculation, therefore, every sixth man became a distiller, but all equally bound to resist the excise law, which would fall heavily upon every farmer, as the money which they would procure in the east from the sale of their liquor would, on their return, be demanded by the excise officer, to keep up the expenses of the government.
The excise law provided for the erection of inspection districts, in each of which an inspector was appointed whose duty it was to ex- amine all distilleries, the capacity of the stills, gauge their barrels, brand their casks, and note in his book the result, and to crown the iniquity of the law with its most odious feature-the " duty imposed on each was required to be paid on the liquors before they were
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even removed from the distilleries." Yet notwithstanding the ap- pointment of collectors, the people held meetings and passed resolu- tions condemning every man who would accept the office in the following words :-
THAT WHEREAS, Some men may be found among us, so far lost to every sense of virtue and all feeling for the distresses of their country as to accept the office of collector, therefore,
Resolved, That in future we shall consider such persons as unworthy of our friendship, have no intercourse or dealing with them, withdraw from them every assistance, withhold all the comforts of life which depend upon those duties that as men and fellow-citizens we owe to each other, and upon all occasions treat them with that contempt they deserve, and that it be and it is hereby most earnestly recommended to the people at large to follow the same line of conduct towards them.
The men composing the counties of Western Pennsylvania were generally from the north of Ireland, or were the immediate descend- ents of Scotch-Irish. They personally, or by tradition, remembered the scenes of their fatherland, and the requirements which the officers of the crown demanded. They contemplated the Stamp Act, and the principle involved in the tea question-acts and principles which gave birth to American liberty-and while contemplating these things, they resolved peaceably to memorialize Congress to repeal this un- just and iniquitous act. Public meetings were held throughout the western counties of the State with the same objects in view, but with no effect. At length, in 1791, a meeting was held in Washing- ton, and Mr. Gallatin says "that the persons assembled not only agreed to remonstrate, but they expressed a determination to hold no communication with, and to treat with contempt such inhabitants of the western country as would accept offices under the law ; and they recommended the same line of conduct to the people at large," as the following statement will show :-
PITTSBURG RESOLUTIONS.
Delegates convened in the city of Pittsburg on the 7th day of Sep- tember, 1791, from the following counties, viz :-
Westmoreland County was represented by Nehemiah Stokely and John Young; Washington County by Col. James Marshall, Rev. David Phillips, and David Bradford; Fayette County by Edward Cook, Nathaniel Bradley, and John Oliphant, and Allegheny County by Thomas Morton, John Woods, and William Plumer.
Edward Cook was elected Chairman, and John Young appointed Secretary.
At this meeting the following resolutions were passed -
Resolved, That having considered the laws of the late Congress, it is our opinion that in a very short time hasty strides have been made to all that is unjust and oppressive. We note particularly the exorbitant salaries of officers, the unreasonable interest of the public debt, and the making no.
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discrimination between the original holders of public securities and the transferees, contrary to the ideas of natural justice in sanctioning an advan- tage which was not in the contemplation of the party himself to receive, and contrary to the municipal law of most nations and ours particularly ; the carrying into effect an unconscionable bargain where an undue advantage has been taken of the ignorance or necessities of another, and also con- trary to the interest and happiness of these States, being subversive of in- terest by common means, where men scem to make fortunes by the fortuitous concurrence of circumstances, rather than by economic, virtuous, and use- ful employment. What is an evil still greater, the constituting a capital of nearly eighty millions of dollars in the hands of a few persons who may influence those occasionally in power to evade the constitution. As an instance of this has already taken place, we note the act establishing a national bank on the doctrine of implication, but more especially we bear testimony to what is a base offspring of the funding system, the excise law of Congress, entitled " An act laying duties upon distilled spirits in the United States," passed the 3d day of March, 1791.
Resolved, That the said law is deservedly obnoxious to the feelings and interests of the people in general as being attended with infringements on liberty, partial in its operations, attended with great expense in the collec- tion, and liable to much abuse. It operates on a domestic manufacture, a manufacture not equal throughout the States. It is insulting to the feel- ings of the people to have their vessels marked, houses painted and ran- sacked, to be subject to informers gaining by the occasional delinquency of others. It is a bad precedent, tending to introduce the excise laws of Great Britain and of countries where the liberty, property, and even the morals of the people are sported with to gratify particular men in their ambitious and interested measures.
Resolved, That in the opinion of the committee the duties imposed by the said act on spirits distilled from the produce of the soil of the United States, will eventually discourage agriculture and a manufacture highly beneficial in the present state of the country. That those duties will fall heavily especially upon the western parts of the United States, which are for the most part newly settled and where the aggregate of the citizens is of the laborious and poorer class, who have not the means of procuring the wines, spirituous liquors, etc., imported from foreign countries.
Resolved, That there appears to be no substantial difference between a duty on what is manufactured from the produce of a country and the pro- duce in its natural state, except, perhaps, that in the first instance the article is more deserving of the encouragement of wise legislation, as pro- motive of industry, the population, and strength of the country at large. The excise on homemade spirituous liquors affects particularly the raising of grain, especially rye, and there can be no solid reason for taxing it more than any other article of the growth of the United States.
Resolved, That the foregoing representations be presented to the legis- lature of the United States.
Resolved, That the following remonstrance be presented to the legisla- ture of Pennsylvania.
Resolved, That the following address, together with the whole proceedings of this committee, which were unanimously adopted, be printed in the Pittsburg Gazette.
Other places held meetings and reiterated the same sentiments, and this hardy race of men, inured to hardships and privations, without preconcerted action, conceived that they were necessitated
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to defend their inalienable rights, Congress having refused to grant their petitions. The result was that on the 6th of September, 1791, Robert Johnson, Collector for Washington and Allegheny counties, was waylaid near Pigeon Creek, in Washington County, and was tarred and feathered and his hair cut off, and required to promise not to show his face again west of the mountains. He resigned his office July 20, 1794. The persons engaged in this bold and unlaw- ful act were not punished, because the whole community, from a com- mon interest, while they pitied the officer, despised the law; while it was generally believed that the Governor of the State would not insist upon the collection of the excise tax, as he considered it onerous and unjust.
On the 8th of May, 1792, material modifications were made in the law by lightening the duty and allowing monthly payments.
The President issued a proclamation September 15th, 1792, en- joining all persons to submit to the law-Government determined to prosecute delinquents, to seize unexcised spirits on their way to market, and to make no purchases for the army except of such spirits as had paid duty.
Rev. Dr. James Carnahan, in his address before the New Jersey Historical Society, in 1853, in referring to the subject of the treat- ment of deputy inspectors, says :-
" I shall mention one which fell under my notice about the last of June or first of July, 1794. John Lynn, a deputy inspector, residing in Canons- burg, Washington County, was taken from his bed, carried into the woods, and received a coat of tar and feathers, and he was left tied to a tree so loosely that he could easily extricate himself. He returned to his house, and after undergoing an ablution with grease and soap and sand and water, he exhibited himself to the boys in the academy (afterwards Jefferson Col- lege) and others, and laughed and made sport of the whole matter."
It is true there were a few law abiding men who registered their stills, gave the amount of gallons distilled, and had their casks gauged and branded, but even these were required to succumb to public opinion, as a neglect or refusal was followed by not only the destruction of the stills, but sometimes their real estate. The magistrates at that time truthfully asserted that the laws could not be executed so as to afford protection, owing to the too general com- bination of the people in Western Pennsylvania to oppose the revenue , laws.
This "combination of the people" to which the magistrates referred, related to a powerful, secret, and indiscoverable organization, which had unlimited control and universal influence over every man-secret, except the name of the pretended leader-powerful to avenge and punish imaginary wrongs-and indiscoverable, because an investiga- tion as to the place of meeting only mystified, embarrassed, and be- wildered, and the investigator suffered by the loss of his property.
In April, 1793, the house of Benj. Wells, of Connelsville, Fayette, was broken open, himself and family threatened, terrified, and
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abused. Warrants were issued, but the sheriff refused to serve them. On the 22d of November, 1793, the house of Wells was again broken open-he was compelled to surrender his commission and books, and resign his office.
In January, 1794, Robert Strawhan had his barn burned, James Kiddoo his stills injured, and Wm. Conghbran his still and grist-mill damaged. In June, 1794, John Wells, collector of Westmoreland, opened an office at the house of P. Regan. They burnt the barn of Regan and the house of Wells.
The name of the leader of this combination was called TOM THE TINKER, and whenever he gave notice of his intention to strike a blow it was always followed with the worst consequences. Through the instrumentality of Tom the Tinker's boys, the whiskey insurrec- tion was brought into existence, and by which it was fostered and cherished, until the strong arm of the law crushed out this first rebel- lion against government. The modus operandi of Tom the Tinker was to place a letter on the house of a suspected person, and if he did not publish the letter in a Pittsburg paper and attend the meet- ings of the combination, the threatened consequences were visited upon the person notified.
We give two of the letters which accidentally came into our pos- session, and which fully explain themselves.
ADVERTISEMENT.
In taking a survey of the troops under my direction in the late expedition against that insolent excise man, John Neville, I find there were a great many delinquents even among those who carry on distilling ; it will therefore be observed that I, TOM THE TINKER, will not suffer any certain class or set of men to be excluded from the service of this my district when notified to attend, on any expedition carried on in order to obstruct the execution of the excise law and obtain a repeal thereof.
And I do declare on my solemn word, that if such delinquents do not come forth at the next alarm with equipments and to their assistance as much as in them lies, in opposing the execution and obtaining a repeal of the excise law, he or they shall be deemed as enemies and stand opposed to virtuous principles of republican liberty, and shall receive punishment ac- cording to the nature of the offence.
AND WHEREAS, A certain John Reed, now resident in Washington, and being at his place near Pittsburg, called Reedsburgh, and having a set of stills employed at said Reedsburgh, entered on the excise docket contrary to the will and good pleasure of his fellow-citizens, and came not forth to assist in the suppression of the execution of the said law by aiding and assisting in the expedition, has, by delinquency, manifested his approbation to the execution of the aforesaid law, is hereby charged forthwith to cause the con- tents of this notice, without adding or diminishing, to be published in the Pittsburg Gazette the ensuing week, under the no less penalty than the consumation of his distillery. Given under my hand this 19th day of July, 1794.
TOM THE TINKER.
Accordingly in the Pittsburg Gazette of July 23, 1794, it appeared as an advertisement with the following note :-
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MR. SCULL: I am under the necessity of requesting you to publish the following in your next paper. It was found pasted on a tree near my distil- lery. JOHN REED.
Feb. 23, 1794.
From Pittsburg Gazette, Aug. 31, 1794.
To JOHN GASTON-
Sir : You will have this printed in the Pittsburg paper this week, or you may abide by the consequence.
Poor Tom takes this opportunity to inform his friends throughout all the country that he is obliged to take up his commission once more though disagreeable to hisinclination. I thought when I laid down my commission before, that we had got the country so well united that there would have been no more for me in that line, but my friends see more need for me now than ever-they chose a set of men whom they thought they could confide in, but find themselves much mistaken, for the majority of them has proved traitors. Four or five big men below has scared a great many, but few is killed yet, but I hope none of those are any that ever pretended to be a friend to Poor Tom, so I would have all my friends keep up their spirits and stand to their integrity for their rights and liberty, and you will find Poor Tom to be your friend. This is fair warning. Traitors ! take care, for my hammer is up and my ladle is hot, I cannot travel the country for nothing. From your old friend, TOM THE TINKER.
Judge Lobingier, in an address before the Mount Pleasant (West- moreland County) Temperance Society, gives his recollections and impressions of the whiskey insurrection, and among other things in speaking of Tom the Tinker he says :-
" This Tom the Tinker was a new god added to mythology at this time, and was supposed to preside over whiskey-stills and still-houses. Whoever hurrahed stoutly for Tom the Tinker was of unquestionable loyalty with the whiskey boys, while those who would not were branded as traitors to this new deity and their country."
The effect and influence of these inflammatory letters or handbills prevented some from complying with the law through fear of loss of property and probably life, while it emboldened others to deeds of daring and unflinching hardihood. The excitement consequent upon this open rebellion was of such a magnitude that it required the presence of the United States Marshal to visit officially the delin- quent distillers in Washington and other counties, and serve warrants upon them to appear before the United States Court east of the mountain. This official visit of the U. S. Marshal was made in consequence of the following notice which had been published in the newspapers.
PUBLIC NOTICE.
WHEREAS, A number of distillers have not entered their stills according to law, those who are distillers or dealers in spirits will take notice that suits will be brought and seizures made against those who do not comply therewith.
ROBERT JOHNSON.
Dec. 6, 1793. Collector for Washington and Allegheny Counties.
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The same notice was also published in the remaining three coun- ties by Benjamin Wells, Collector of Westmoreland and Fayette counties, and John Webster, Collector of Bedford County.
Offices of inspection were opened to receive entries of stills, at the house of Benjamin Wells, in Fayette County ; at Philip Regan's, in Westmoreland County; at Robert Johnston's, in Allegheny County ; at John Lynn's, in Washington County ; and John Webster's, in Bedford County, while Gen. John Neville was Chief Inspector of the 4th survey district of Pennsylvania. Here I may remark that subsequently in the 4th district, Washington County was the only county in which no office of inspection existed, which was occasioned by the tarring and feathering of John Lynn, of Canonsburg, whose case I have narrated, and the attending circumstances.
In the service of these writs for not complying with the law, after receiving the public notice, the U. S. Marshal was surprised as he passed from distiller to distiller to find that no opposition was made, but the sequel of the affair revealed a different state of affairs. Thos. McKean, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, and Gen. Wm. Irvine, who were appointed commissioners by the Governor of Pennsylvania to confer with the inhabitants of the western counties, in their official report say :-
Pittsburg, Aug. 22, 1794.
The marshal for the district of Pennsylvania had processes to serve upon divers persons residing in the counties of Fayette and Allegheny, and had executed them all (above thirty) without molestation or difficulty, except- ing one, which was against a Mr. Miller; he, or some other person, went to the place where Doctor Absalom Baird, the Brigade Inspector of Wash- ington County, was hearing appeals made by some of the militia of a battalion, who had been called upon for a proportion of the quota of this State of the eighty thousand men to be in readiness agreeably to an act of Congress. There were upwards of fifty men there with their fire-arms, to whom it was related that the FEDERAL SHERIFF, as they styled the marshal, had been serving writs in Allegheny County, and carrying the people to Philadelphia, for not complying with the excise laws, and that he was at Gen. Neville's house."
The United States Marshal called upon Gen. Neville, as Chief In- spector of the Revenue, to accompany him to the dwelling of Mr. Miller, one of his neighbors near Peters Creek to serve the last writ. This occurrence took place on the 15th of July, 1794, the day previous to the military training before mentioned .* As soon as the fact was communicated, between thirty and forty of "Tom the Tinker's boys" flew to arms and marched that night towards Gen. Neville's, the distance being about seven miles, where they appeared early in the morning of the 16th. This party demanded from Gen. Neville his commission as Inspector of Revenue and all his offi dcialocuments and
* Mr. Miller, upon whom the writ was served, afterwards told Mr. Brackenridge that he was mad with passion, when he reflected that being obliged to pay $250 and the expense of going to Philadelphia would ruin him, and his blood boiled at seeing Gen. Neville along, to pilot the officer to his very door.
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papers. These were as peremptorily refused-the door was shut- the firing commenced, and five or six of the insurgents were wounded by Neville and his friends, who had anticipated an attack and had thereupon prepared themselves for the emergency.
The military meeting at Mingo Creek meeting-house to which I have referred, hearing of the sad occurrence and that blood had been shed, an immediate call was made upon every man who valued life, liberty, and happiness, forthwith to march and avenge the outrage.
At that meeting, the Rev. Mr. Clarke, near eighty years of age, besought and counselled the people not to proceed in such an unholy and unlawful business, but the worst passion of the human heart triumphed, REVENGE WAS THEIR BATTLE CRY. The military force raised at Mingo Creek meeting-house marched under the command of Major James McFarland, who had served as an officer of the Revolutionary war.
On the 17th of July, the forces under Major James McFarland, when they came within half a mile of Gen. Neville's house, halted, and those who had arms advanced and demanded the surrender of Gen. Neville. They were informed by Major Abraham Kirkpatrick (who had also served in the Revolutionary war) that Gen. Neville had left the house, and that he was there with a detachment of United States soldiers to defend it. Gen. Neville's commission and official papers were demanded, but again refused. The women and children were notified to leave the house under a white flag, which they ac- cordingly did, when an attack was made, and after a continuous fire of one hour, the house (estimated to be worth ten thousand dollars) was set on fire and consumed to ashes, and Major Kirkpatrick and his soldiers surrendered themselves as prisoners, and were permitted to leave uninjured, while the marshal was required to promise not to serve another writ under penalty of death.
During the attack Major McFarland was killed and several wounded, but the insurgents temporarily triumphed and the popu- lar frenzy was at its height. Before them lay their military leader in the repose of death, who fell battling for their rights ; but what had been gained ? A meeting was proposed should take place at Mingo Creek meeting-house, and that there the death of Major McFarland would speak in unmistakable accents to the halting and wavering, while tears of sorrow and sympathy would flow at his funeral, and these united would prove the germ of their principles, and would awaken in every man's breast those latent and inesti- mable principles of civil liberty for which they and their fathers had fought, bled, and died .*
* In the graveyard at Mingo Creek meeting-house repose the remains of Major James McFarland. The epitaph on his tombstone tells the cause of his death :-
" Here lies the body of Capt. James McFarland, of Washington County, Pa., who departed this life the 17th July, 1794, aged 43 years.
"He served during the war with undaunted courage, in defence of American inde- pendence, against the lawless and despotic encroachments of Great Britain. He fell
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At this period there resided in the town of Washington David Bradford, Esq., a lawyer, and who had been a member of the legis- lature of Virginia, when parts of Washington and Fayette counties were considered as belonging to Virginia. His residence was on Main Street, having erected the two-story stone house a few doors north of the property of Adam C. Morrow, on the corner of Main and Maiden streets. Col. Marshall also resided in this place-was the intimate and confidential friend of David Bradford-and had not only filled the office of sheriff of this county, but several other important offices. These men, on account of their commanding influ- ence, were sent for to attend the Mingo Creek meeting, and after the messenger had uscd all his arguments they consented to attend the meeting, heard the facts of the case, and through the impetuosity of their feelings they avowed their determination, at all hazards, to resist the tyranny of the government.
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