Asa French and Shays' Rebellion

8/14/2019 Asa French and Shays' Rebellion

1/4

Asa French and Shays' Rebellion

Mark Dionne

The following article appeared in theHampshire Gazette newspaper in Northampton, Massachusetts,

on July 11, 1896, shortly after the death of Marvin Marcy French, a well-known merchant in the town

Towards the end, it contains an interesting bit of history about Shays' Rebellion which probably hasnot been recorded elsewhere.

About the French Family

Reminiscences by Henry Shepherd.

Northampton, July 11, 1896

This event has removed from Northampton one of the

oldest merchants and highly esteemed genial fellowcitizens. He will long be missed by all who knewhim best, especially by one who has known himfrom his childhood, and also knew his no lessgenial father, Jabez French, and also knewhis heroic grandfather, Captain Asa French, allof whom have true descendants of New England stock.

Industry, economy and character have beenprominent elements with Marvin M. French and hisfather, and steady accumulation of property has beenthe result. Jabez devoted his energy and talent ascarpenter and house builder, and Marvin devoted his

energy and skill to tailoring, ready made goods, etc.

During a part of the period between 1815 and 1820Jabez French was my father's head farmer on Round Hilla few years, and then left it for the carpenter'sbusiness, in which he continued during his lifesuccessfully. He was one of nature's noblemen. Hispleasing address was alike natural and charming to thehumble as the opulent. He was often pronounced thehandsomest man in town.

The pleasing twinkle in the eye of Marvin M. Frenchbelonged there; it was his inheritance, but Jabez Frenchwas no match for Marvin in pungent jest, or readyanecdote, in fact there were few his equal. The oldRevolutionary hero, "Captain" Asa French, the father ofJabez, (as a boy I remember him), was cheerful and jolly,and yet his record declares him a Bonaparte when occasionrequired it, and one of those occasions is interestingeven at this late day. During Shay's rebellion, as itwas called, in 1786, the state of Massachusetts hurriedlyordered troops to assemble at Springfield to check Shay'smen, who were marching there, as they had before, toprevent the court's sitting, which would give power toindividuals who had mortgages on farms and homes of poorsoldiers and others to foreclose those mortgages and thusdeprive the soldiers and others of their homes.


2/4


3/4

to answer the crisis of Shay's Rebellion. Warner was later captured by some ofShay's men, and held prisoner for several days. Reimbursement for his horse andsundry articles which he lost because of this incident was collected in duetime at Warner's insistent demand.

Note that the Continental Army was disbanded in 1783. The militias opposing Shays' men were

actually raised privately. Also note that there was another Jonathan Warner, a General from Worcester

who played a central role on the government side in Shays' Rebellion.

Mr. Ralmon Black of the Williamsburgh Historical Commission found the following account in theNorthampton Gazette & Courier, March 26, 1861. The information in the article was collected byHenry S. Gere:

CAPT. JONATHAN WARNER

Capt. Warner was an officer during the war of the Revolution. His first commission, appointing him a secondLieutenant, was dated at Watertown, April 8th, 1776, and signed by the Major part of the Council ofMassachusetts Bay. Fifteen names are appended, and among them are the autographs of James Otis, CalebCushing, B. Lincoln, (afterward General,) and James Prescott. This commission appears to have been preparefor use under the authority of the King, and the line reading, In the year of the reign of King George Third, is

erased with a pen. He subsequently received two other commissions, signed by the Major part of the Council,and in 1781 received a Captains commission signed by Gov. John Hancock. His terms of service in the armyare unknown at present, but he was wounded in the shoulder by a ball, most probably at Saratoga orBennington, which troubled him through life. He refused to apply for a pension, which he might have obtained,because he thought himself well off without it, and the country too poor to pay it. Among his papers is aRegimental order, dated July, 1781, which he is required, immediately, without loss of time, to put in executionand be at Northampton with his men to be mustered. Appended to this order is an act of the House ofRepresentatives, resolving, in response to the earnest request of General Washington that 2700 men beimmediately raised in this commonwealth and sent on to join the continental army at West Point, or such otherplace as the commander-in-chief shall direct, and that each man shall provide for himself a good firelock,bayonet, cartridge-box, haversack and blanket. Then follows a list of the towns and the number of men each isrequired to furnish, which shows the relative proportion of their population. Springfield is required to furnish 20,Northampton 17, Hadley 10, Williamsburg 6, Deerfield 11, Greenfield 8, Conway 10, Pelham 8, Ware 5,

Charlemont 4, Ashfield 8, Worthington 7, Chesterfield 9, Westhampton 3, Buckland 8.

In 1786, Dec. 4, during Shays Rebellion, an order emanating from Gen. Shepard, was sent to Capt. Warner, bywhich he was requested to assemble his company, see that they were well armed, well clothed, and furnishedwith ammunition and provisions for 15 days, and march them with all possible speed to Northampton where hewould receive further orders. The order is still in existence, but it bears no record of the result. It was probablyduly obeyed, however, as Capt. Warner was a strong government man and was subsequently, while riding alonon horse-back near Horse Mountain in Northampton, suddenly surprised and taken prisoner by the Shays menand carried to Pelham or Petersham, where he remained in duress for several days, suffering for want ofnecessaries which he had not the means with him to purchase. This circumstance led him to form the resolutionever to be without money in his pocket, and his family recollect that he duly kept his resolution and carried afive-dollar bill with him ever after. His horse was not returned to him, and after the rebellion was crushed itappears that he commenced a suit for it. A letter from W. Williams dated Dalton, 23d Nov., 1787, concerning the

case, conveys a moral suited to the present times. He says My neighbors, the Chamberlains and others, whcommitted a trespass against you last winter, of a highly aggravated nature, appear to be sensible of the wrongdone you and disposed to make complete satisfaction for it. If your feelings will suffer you, in settling with themto comport with the ideas government seems to have entertained of the folly and madness of the times, and solower your demands as far as you can and do yourself justice, you will probably in the review feel yourself ashappy, as to press matters as far as legal right might allow. The appeal seems to have been effectual, as areceipt eventually follows, in the following words:-- Received of Benj. Chamberlain and the party that took meand my horse, saddle, and bridle, Thirty-Five Pounds, L. M., in full of all demands from the beginning of theworld to this day.


4/4

The following questions are open for research:

Are there any other accounts of the mutiny of the Williamsburg company?

Are there any records for the Williamsburg militia regiment?

Who were Sergeant Hemingway, Benj. Chamberlain and W. Williams?

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Brian McCulloch, who discovered theHampshire Gazette article in March, 2002. EricWeber and Ralmon Black of the Williamsburgh Historical Commission also provided invaluable help

Copyright 2006 Mark Dionne. All Rights Reserved. This work is based on original research by

Mark Dionne. Permission to copy or reprint this work is granted, provided: (1) the copy or reprint is

used for non-commercial, educational purposes; (2) the work is copied in its entirety or a single

paragraph is used as a quotation, and; (3) the author's name (Mark Dionne), email address, the URLmentioned in the following paragraph, and this notice are all included.

Latest revision: November 7, 2006. The master copy of this document resides athttp://www.markdionne.com/frenchfamily.htmlRevisions may have been made since this copy was

taken. Please refer there for the latest revision.

Additional search keywords: genealogy, biography

Email: mark at markdionne dot com
http://www.markdionne.com/frenchfamily.htmlhttp://www.markdionne.com/frenchfamily.html

Documents

Asa French and Shays' Rebellion