As people protested across the United States this month, I wondered did anyone in my family tree protest for change in their time? I didn’t have to look far. A passing reference to Shay’s Rebellion in a genealogy about my 4x great grandfather, James Merrick, sent me to the history books.
The Merrick family were among the first settlers of Amherst, Massachusetts. Within ten years after the American Revolution, Massachusetts was at the center of another rebellion – this time a home grown, grass roots one. In August of 1786, farmers (and others) across Massachusetts (but centered in towns such as Amherst and West Springfield in Western Massachusetts) rose up in protest against the new Massachusetts’ state government. The rebellion was suppressed, but my ancestors stood up for what they believed was right…or wrong as the case may be.
There were many reasons for Shay’s Rebellion:
- Crushing poll (voter) and property taxes imposed to try to pay off the state’s huge war debt. Taxes increased in Massachusetts by over 1,000% between 1774-1786 and these new direct taxes (versus indirect taxes such as sales tax on whiskey) fell most heavily on small farmers.
- After the Revolution, soldiers were not paid in cash but in paper certificates which became, essentially, worthless. To feed their families during the war, many had mortgaged their farms.
- A lack of hard currency…back country farmers tended to barter – taxes and mortgages had to be paid in cash, and they had no cash
- Laws that didn’t favor debtors, including the system of debt imprisonment, caused many farmers to be foreclosed on when they had no way to pay their taxes and mortgages. They were thrown in prison and their land and belongings were sold to try to satisfy the debt.
- A court and legal system that included high fees and seemed designed for the benefit of lawyers and not clients made it difficult for small farmers to defend themselves against foreclosure.
- A general feeling that the state constitution passed in 1780 benefited the wealthy Boston elite and mercantile interests at the expense of small towns and farmers (Shay’s Rebellion and HistoryPlex.com)
From 1780 and even earlier, small towns in Massachusetts held numerous conventions and sent numerous petitions to the state government, pleading for the the Massachusetts government to print paper money, revise the debtor laws, change the way judges were appointed, reduce the regressive taxes that hurt small farmers, and make the government more representative of their interests. By late 1786, the men who participated in the Shay’s uprising Leonard Richards explains in Shay’s Rebellion, acted in the tradition of “Regulators” who considered that:
“…whenever distant authorities got out of hand, or whenever outsiders threatened a bonafide settler’s landholdings, the people had an obligation to rise up and restore communal order.” (Shay’s Rebellion)
During the winter of 1787/86, angry Massachusetts “regulators” rose up and took arms against the government. Mobs of men and home grown militia acted to “disrupt” the circuit courts and prevent them from functioning (in particular to stop foreclosure actions). This culminated when an “army” led by Daniel Shays, Luke Day and others made an attempt to seize the Federal arsenal at Springfield. Local militia and state troops ultimately suppressed the rebellion (see the the end of this article for several references that can give you a much more detailed picture of the causes and events of Shay’s Rebellion than I have space for here).
What I wanted to know is, how were my people involved? Here’s what I found out:
At least 40% of the men in Amherst were involved in Shay’s Rebellion and 121 men from Amherst were charged with participation after the rebellion (Shay’s Rebellion). When General Lincoln marched through Amherst in pursuit of the rebels, he noted that almost no heads of household were home and that up to 200 Amherst men were away from home (The History of the Town of Amherst). In 1790, (three years after Shay’s Rebellion) Amherst had 176 houses and a total population of 1,233 people (Digital Amherst). The odds were pretty good that somebody in my family participated.
But I wanted actual names and proof of the Shay’s men in my direct line. After the uprising was crushed by the Massachusetts militia, there was some pardons, some sporadic prosecution, a few death sentences that were commuted, and two executions. The government couldn’t afford to enforce harsh sentences against the thousands of men who had participated without risking further rebellion, so most of the men were pardoned or allowed to “take the oath.” This entailed:
- Surrender your arms
- Admit you rebelled against the state
- Take an oath of allegiance to the state
- Pay a fine of 9 pence
- For up to three years, you are disqualified from voting, holding office, serving as a juror, teaching school, or working in a tavern! (Shay’s Rebellion and A History of the Town of Amherst).
After May of 1788, men who proved they were now loyal citizens, could have the restrictions lifted and many back country towns just ignored the provisions regardless (Shay’s Rebellion).
Fortunately for me, a list of the men from Amherst who “took the oath” survives (A History of the Town of Amherst). Here are some of the confirmed “Shay’s Rebellers” I have identified so far.
John Billings – 5x great grandfather (1725-1813)
- Revolutionary War veteran (served as a Minute Man in the militia during the Lexington Alarm)
- An Amherst town selectman for at least 20 years (A History of the Town of Amherst)
- Served as a delegate to at least one convention that sent petitions to the state government for change prior to Shay’s Rebellion (Shay’s Rebellion)
- John was also a Deacon, and one of the founders of Second Church in Massachusetts. Many of the men who attended Second Church were Revolutionary War veterans, and most especially, kinsman. Shay’s was a kin and community affair…men, their sons, their son-in-laws, and other kin often participated together (Shay’s Rebellion)
- John was an influential man in Amherst. He is not listed as taking the Oath of Allegiance, so he may not have participated in the actual rebellion…but three of his sons (Joel, Aaron and David Billings) and at least one of his son in laws (Giles Church) did!
Captain Joel Billings (1747-1825) – brother of 4x great grandmother Ursula Billings Smith, and son of John Billings
- Revolutionary War veteran and a town selectman like his father (A History of the Town of Amherst)
- Joel was 39 at the time of Shay’s Rebellion. In August of 1786, he led the large group of men from Amherst who marched to disrupt the Circuit Court of Common Pleas at Northhampton, MA. The History of Amherst notes that during the disruption of the Northampton courts, “Lieutenant Billings came in at the head of his party with his sword drawn and his men mostly armed with guns and cutlasses.”
- Men like Billings who had been members of the militia and who took up arms against the state were specifically targeted as leaders of the rebellion. They were subject to the Militia Act of 1786 and could be punished by being put to death (Shay’s Rebellion). On January 19th, 1787, the governor issued a warrant for Joel’s arrest. He was captured but was released “because he was under the sanction of a Flagg.” (A History of the Town of Amherst).
- Joel did not take the Oath until September of 1787…probably because he was a targeted leader of the revolt. He may have fled to Vermont (with other Amherst leaders), or simply laid low until things settled down.
And finally, yes, James Merrick and his son Aaron – I haven’t found any details of their participation so far, but they took the oath in February or March of 1787. So the family legend of their participation is validated!
Note: There are many more names on the list that are distant cousins or are related by adoption or marriage (i.e. Nash and Pomeroy). And there are others in towns like West Springfield (Day and Ely), who were distant cousins. Here I just focused on direct ancestors from Amherst.
I like the idea that I come from people who fought for what they believed in during the American Revolution, and then were willing to do it all over again 10 years later when the ideals they fought for were not being honored by the state government. It’s a reminder that government “by the people, for the people” means get out there and use your voice…or in their case your sword and your cutlass.
And FYI, Shay’s Rebellion did have an impact. Taxes were reduced in Massachusetts, and other reforms happened at the state level. Many scholars also feel that George Washington was strongly influenced by the uprising and that his coming out of retirement to help revise the Articles of Confederation and to become the President of the new, stronger Federal government might not have happened if it weren’t for the uprising (Shay’s Rebellion).
If you look at no other source, please visit this amazing Shay’s Rebellion website by the Springfield Technical Community College! There are interactive maps, photos of actual documents, portraits of the leaders of the rebellion and much more!!
Shay’s Rebellion and the Making of A Nation
Aaron (#8) and James (#16) Merrick in Merrick Family Tree
Joel and John Billings – Brother and Father of Ursula Fellows Billings (#23) in Merrick Family Tree
Sources:
Details of the Shay’s Rebellion: Summary and Significance: Historyplex; retrieved from Historyplex 27 Jun 2020
Early Population Growth: Digital Amherst; retrieved from Digital Amherst 27 Jun 2020
Richards, Leonard L; Shay’s Rebellion: The American Revolution’s Final Battle; University of Pennsylvania Press; Philadelphia, PA; 2002
Shay’s Rebellion and the Making of a Nation: Springfield Technical Community College; 2008