With 235 years of American history behind us, we have a tendency to think that the Revolution was split into easy black and white choices. One could be loyal to the thoughtless and remote King or you could choose freedom and democracy with a new government. For many, it was not an easy decision and they had to struggle with their religious convictions, familial obligations, long standing cultural connections and true fear what their choices might have on their futures and those of their families.

In Pennsylvania, there was a large and politically powerful group of Quakers who not only had allegiances to their non-violent beliefs, but also to their Society who was based in England.  By deciding to support the Revolution, Quakers were risking ex-communication from their church and cutting themselves off from family and friends. For others, there was the real fear that the Revolution would not succeed.  The Americans didn’t have a navy or a organized standing military in the traditional sense.  Their financial resources were questionable and there were no signed alliances with other countries that could be counted on to support them. What would the English government and soldiers do to the supporters of the Revolution if they didn’t win?  Others still felt a loyalty to England and to being “Englishmen”.  They still had hope that they hadn’t gone to far to repair the relationship and the King would eventually see reason.

So what did the Committee do with people who did not support the Revolution?  It appears that their responses depended on how actively the dissenters were in their opposition.

For those who were  “non-associators”,  but did neither overtly support the Revolution nor the English, the response was to receive higher taxes and to give up of their guns to the local militia.

There were others who voiced their dissension publicly. Members of the community could report these incidents to the Committee where they were investigated.  These could be true reports or chance to settle old scores.  Through the Bucks County Safety Committee minutes you can see examples of both.

At the July 21, 1775 meeting, it is reported that “ John Lacey represented that Thomas Smith, Upper Makesfield had uttered expressions derogatory to the continental Congress and inimitable to the Liberties of America.”  A sub-committee is formed to investigate and report back at the next meeting.  At the August 21st meeting, they report that their investigation have proof that Smith had been heard to say  “The the Measures of Congress had already enslaved America and done more damage than all the Act of Parliament ever intended to lay up us, that the whole was nothing but a scheme of a parcel of hot-headed Presbyterians and that he believed the Devil was at the Bottom of the whole; that the taking up Arms was the most scandalous thing a man could be guilty of and more heinous than an hundred of the grossest offenses agains the moral law.”  

The committee votes and resolves “the said Thomas Smith be considered as an Enemy to the Rights of British America, and that all persons break off every kind of dealing with him until he shall make propers satisfaction to this Committee for his misconduct.”  Later at the September 11th meeting, Thomas Smith appears and states “As I have been charged before the Committee for having uttered expressions derogatory to the Continental Congress, invidious to a particular Denomination of Christians, and tending to impede the opposition of our Countrymen to Ministerial Oppression, I do hereby declare myself heartily sorry for my imprudent expressions and do sincerely promise for the future to coincide with every measure prosecuted for the redress of American Grievances so far as is consistent with the religious principles of the society to which I belong. “ Nothing like peer pressure.

However,  lest you think that the Committee was without scruples and was acting like a kangaroo court, there are examples where they used restraint and did not let the Committee be used to resolve petty grievances. On November 23, 1775 the committee met and determined that having taken “the case of John Rogers into consideration, and having examined Mary Bogart, said to be the principal witness against him, are of the opinion that the offense as well as the offender are too insignificant to serve any further notice of this Committee.”

The Committee minutes end in July 1776 and there isn’t a record of what issues they dealt in the intervening years until the war’s close in 1783. It would be interesting to see if any of the non-associators decided to go back to England or immigrated to Canada.   And who decided that the chances of the revolutionaries had improved and they loved the country enough to give it a chance?  Another project to pursue!

I know you all remember American History class and the boring list of all the “Acts” that drove us to the American Revolution.  We were taught that the Sugar Act, the Currency Act, the Stamp Act, the Quartering Act and the Tea Act (which led to the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773) all built on existing layers of frustration and culminating into revolution because the colonists didn’t want to have taxes without representation.  The British had repeatedly taxed Americans with these Acts and yet they didn’t have anyone to represent them back in England to be their voice of dissension.  Basically, they were a cash cow and not worthy of what other Englishmen had, which was a voice at Parliament to argue for their rights.  Without getting into the English political structure and the fact that the average Englishman didn’t have representation either, there was at least the semblance of an elected official acting on their behalf.

Well, once again my ancestors make history personal and more nuanced. Taxes without representation is a simplification of the series events that influenced farmers and merchants to break from their King.  The Safety Committees were actually a response to the British government’s punishment for the Boston Tea Party.  In spring of 1774 the “Intolerable Acts” were passed which essentially put Boston under military dictatorship of General Gage. The Massachusetts Government Act revoked the Massachusetts charter that allowed the colony to elect its own officials (including judges) and forbid town meetings except on certain annual celebrations.

The Boston Port Act closed down the port until the tea was paid for, economically cutting off the Bostonians from all trade and receiving needed food and supplies. The King and his government thought that by a show power and indicating their full intention of putting down the insurrection, that Massachusetts would back down and become malleable. This was a gross miscalculation and really underscored the rift that had occurred in the two cultures understanding each other. Britain didn’t realize that by nullifying the Massachusetts Charter, that the other colonies would begin to see their own vulnerability.  If it can happen to them, it could happen to us.  These colonists were not uneducated peasants.  They had a strong educated and independent middle class who could articulate their dissatisfaction. Britain never expected that this would result in the seperate colonies putting away their differences and uniting.

The first Bucks County Committee met on July 9, 1774 and sent representatives to a precursor meeting for the First Continental Congress.  Here they resolved “ That it is the Duty of every American, when oppressed by measure either of Ministry, Parliament, or any other Power, to use every lawful endeavor to obtain relief, and to form and promote a plan of Union between the parent country and colonies in which the Claim of the parent county may be ascertained and the Liberties of the Colonies defined and secured, and no Cause of Contention in the future may arise to disturb that harmony so necessary for the interest and happiness of both, and that this will be best done in a a general Congress, to be composed of Delegates, to be appointed either by the respective colonys Assemblys [sic], or by the Members thereof in Convention.” Pennsylvania Archives, Series 2, Vol XV, pg 343

The First Continental Congress took place in Philadelphia in September with all the colonies sending delegates except Georgia. There were both conservative and more progressive points of view discussed during their two months of debate. They finally decided to boycott all goods from Britain, submit a list of grievances to King George and to meet the following spring if the King did not respond positively to their issues.

The Bucks County Safety Committee convenes after the Convention on November 27, 1774 and published the notice “As the late Continental Congress for the support of American Liberty have formed resolves, and entered into Associations in behalf of themselves and their respective Colonies they represented, and have recommended the the appointment of Committees in several towns and Counties attentively to observe the Conduct of all persons touching the same”.  Pennsylvania Archives, Series 2, Vol XV, pg 343-344

Escalated tensions produced escalated responses. Military rule in Boston inspired the creation of locally elected governmental committees acting on behalf of a united “Congress”.   This is not what King George or the Parliament had calculated would happen.   The American colonists did not become compliant through punishment.  They got creative and had strategized new ways to be heard.

More in the coming weeks on what the Committees did…good and bad.

It was during my research of my older Keith, McNair and McMasters family lines in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, that I made the remarkable discovery that George Washington stayed at my ancestor’s William Keith’s house and used it his Headquarters from December 14-24, 1776. Washington made the famous crossing of the Delaware on December 25th and won the Battle of Trenton on December 26th.  How had this fact been lost to my family’s stories?  How had we not known?  I became obsessed with understanding what had brought George Washington to this place at this time and how my family got caught up in the struggle for independence.

The late summer and fall of 1776 was critical time in in our nation’s early history.  George Washington and his generals had suffered a series of defeats starting on August 27th when they lost the the Battle of Long Island (also known as the Battle of Brooklyn.)  They retreating up through Manahattan Island finally crossing the Hudson to New Jersey on November after loosing the Battle of White Plains, New York.  By December 8th, the British had run the Continental Army out of New York, through New Jersey and finally to eastern part of Pennsylvania.  The British had taken possession of Long Island, New York City, Fort Washington, Fort Lee and parts of New Jersey.  George Washington retreated to Bucks County, Pennsylvania and started to make plans for a comeback.  It was important that he have a successful battle, not just for the nations spirit, but because he was about to loose his enlistments as of January 1st.  He needed something to inspire new recruits and to keep the ones he had fighting for our independence. It was during the retreat that Thomas Paine wrote his famous lines, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their county; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman”

And what of Bucks County?  What did the General find here?  I would love to say the community was supportive and came out in droves to help him with the battle preparation.   That is far from the reality of his reception.  This county was primarily a community of Quakers and Loyalists with only a small percentage of Germans and Scots-Irish. Most of people were not aligned with Revolutionary thinking.  However, the Keiths, McNairs and McMasters were all Scots-Irish Presbyterians who had come from Northern Ireland in the early 1700s and settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  They were not fond of the British, in fact, I imagine they were pretty happy to get as far away from the established government as they could.  When they left Londonderry, Ireland, their marriages had been nullified if they hadn’t taken place in the Church of England, their rents had been raised exorbitantly and the local government was systematically stripping them of personal rights. They traveled to America with other Scots-Irish to have religious and economic freedom.  I try to imagine what they thought of the events playing out in Philadelphia when the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th 1776.  How did they receive it? It must have been scary to take the side of the Revolution when most of your neighbors see you as a traitor.  But they took the risk and offered the the General their home.

I am been awed by our nation’s history and think it some type of miracle of timing that brought such brilliant thinkers together with a bold idea of independence. Even more miraculous that they carried it off. In December 1776, the battle could have taken a different turn had not General Washington dusted off his bruised ego, encouraged the small remaining forces, many without shoes or warm coats to cross the river in a snow storm and make a courageous 9 mile walk to Trenton.  Many historians believe that this battle was a watershed moment for the Revolution.   I am humbled that I am tied to William Keith and his family who played a small part in that.

This article is dedicated to my mother Dee Cork Kemp Sybrandt who passed away on July 28th of this year.  She was very proud to find out about our connection to George Washington and the American Revolution.

I have found a few ways to keep my own sometimes fragmented approach to research under control. It is usually a combination of my next travel plan and/or project and then creating a timeline and research plan for a specific ancestor or family group.   When I knew that I would be in Rochester, New York for my daughter’s birthday and wedding this year, I created a project focusing on my relatives that had lived in Buffalo from 1850’s to 1915.

I created timelines with sources for Bernard Knorr, his daughter Mary Knorr, John C. Mattson and his son Ellis Mattson. I then pulled all of that information into a research plan for each one to fill in gaps.

In the example below for Ellis Matson, I believed he married Mary Knorr, but needed proof of a marriage.  I also needed to find out when Ellis died.  I suspected it was just prior to 1880, as I couldn’t find him in any census after that, but there is a one year old child with the name Ellis Mattson living with her grandfather and mother in the 1880 census.

Example: Ellis Mattson- Timeline & Research Questions 

Through this process I was able to then create a research log and document the results of new information that was/was not found.

Example: Ellis Mattson – Research Calendar

Eureka! I was able to confirm the marriage of Ellis and Mary Knorr in a book at the Seattle Public Library. And when I made the trip to Buffalo, I was able to find a record for Ellis Mattson dying in 1879. I looked up the notice in the newspaper and found out it was by drowning.  The research plan helped me find the marriage record and the death record and to finally make sense of a very short life and to make the connections to another generation.

So what is next?  I really do need a project to help me stop meandering through my family tree and not making much progress.  I have decided to focus on creating a coffee table book on my Bucks County Revolutionary War ancestors to give to my family for the holidays.  So time to start working on the timeline for William Keith, James McNair and James McMasters, read Revolutionary War history, watch documentaries etc.  My friend Val and I are even trying to see if we can fit in a trip to Pennsylvania by the end of the year!  I really do thrive with a project.

My daughter was married last Friday to a wonderful guy who comes from family of  people who have stayed primarily. We are definitely a family who goes….you have to go back to generations in the early 1800’s to find anyone who stayed in a place for a 2nd, much less a 3rd generation!  And this has made me ponder what this will mean for them and the next generation?  Will they stay or will they go?

Genealogists are taught to pay attention to the push and pull motivators that cause people to move.  Was it war, famine, religious freedom or economic opportunity? But I find myself looking a little deeper into character and temperament. Is it genetic or environmental, this inclination to move or stay in the same place?  By our very definition of American’s we have all come here from different places (unless of course you are a Native American).   Has the American cultural belief in the “promised land” and new opportunities shaped our DNA?

I think in our particular family, we are extremely independent, have a need to be individuals and make our own way without the very strong personalities of our parents and family (in every generation!) influencing our life path.  My great-great grand father moved from England in 1872 to Chicago to work in the steel mills, most likely for financial opportunities and a better life for his family.  His son was a retail entrepreneur and moved to Los Angeles in the 1920’s to open his own store.  My earlier ancestors on other lines came to New York in the 1600‘s and Pennsylvania in the 1700’s, each generation continued to move up and down the Eastern seaboard, then to the mid-west and the south, to California and finally ending up with me in Seattle.   Whether it was cheap farm land or new types of industry opening in a different city, many of our ancestors were not tied to the land or people from which they were born.  Are we the type that are more susceptible to creating our own particular alchemy of people, place and time?

And what about those that stay? Humans have always been amazingly mobile, yet there are many who stayed in the same place. Europe and Asia are still populated with those who didn’t feel a need to cross the pond. People on the East Coast and Mid West are the descendants of those who finally found a place to call home and didn’t see a reason to leave.  They seem to have the ability to root.  They have found places that resonate in their soul and see no good reason to leave. They are satisfied. This doesn’t mean they haven’t had financial, personal or even political challenges, but still they stay.  They are risk takers and entrepreneurs too, but they have strong roots that do not pull up easily and take the risks in their home town or state.

So what will happen with the grandchildren I hope to have?  Will they stay in the place of their birth or will they have the itch to move on?  Which genetic or environmental influence will end up winning out?  I don’t know, but I know that I will keep making the trek back to New York regularly to see my daughter and her new family. The space between us is smaller with air travel and I have even thought of buying a place there.  Of course that is because of who I am, one who moves more easily.

The pension folder has numerous physician, personal friends and minister affidavits pledging that John suffers from a heart condition, he is unable to work anymore and is penniless.

They worked with pension attorneys and answered every letter with more information, never seeming to get anywhere in the 24 year correspondence. The pension commissioners alternate by saying he doesn’t meet the 90 day minimum service or that he really doesn’t have a debilitating heart condition despite the many physician letters stating the contrary evidence.

Later, his widow Rebecca is even asked to send proof she really was married to John C. Mattson and that she divorced her 1st husband.

It is hard to know if this was normal civil administration bureaucracy or deliberate screening where only the most persistent, affluent and sophisticated pursuers get the prize.  Granted, John did not serve in the military for the full 90 days and I don’t know if his military service actually resulted in a heart condition, but it seems to be a very sad end to a hard life.

The file generates more questions than it answers.  For example, how many people got pensions that didn’t fit the criteria?  What type of politics played into the screening process?  I am left feeling like there is more here to uncover to understand the historical context that influenced my ancestors ability to survive. These were the years before Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid and this was the last chance for many soldiers and their families to get some type of relief. Abstract historical facts suddenly have become very personal.

Personal Note:  I will not be filing a blog for the next 2 weeks, as I will be in Rochester, New York for my daughter’s wedding!  Of course, I am planning a few field trips to the genealogical libraries in the area, so I will return with new entries by the 1st weekend in July.

Nothing like new information to make you go back and look at the data you have already. Context, context, context.

From John’s service record, it states that he enlisted in the Civil War on May 20, 1861.  He joined the 2nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment as a Private in Company D. This was 2 weeks after the Confederates declared war on the Union.

According to the history of the regiment, (Bates, Samuel P., History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-1865  prepared in compliance with the acts of the legislature. Web edition. Making America Books.) it was originally organized on April 21st under the command of General Robert Patterson, so John was a month late to the party.  Nothing much happened in that first month for the regiment, other than traveling to Maryland only to be sent back to York, Pennsylvania to wait for instructions.  It was during this time, that John was motivated to enlist.

On June 2nd the regiment was ordered to Chambersburg to help defend against the Confederates in the Shenandoah Valley. They left on June 16th to camp at Funkstown and later crossed the Potomac on June 23rd in effort to keep pressure on the enemy and keep them moving. In July, they arrive at Martinsburg, where some of the troops were sent to Bunker Hill pushing back the rebels again. It appears there were conflicts on strategy between the military leadership and President Lincoln. (See interesting article on this period: Ryan, Joseph. “What Happened June 1861.” American Civil War.com )

The first real battle occurs at Bull Run near Manassas on July 21st and resulted in a Confederate victory. The 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment was in Charlestown (near Harpers Ferry), 60 miles away.

From Charleston the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment marched to Harpers Ferry on July 23rd.  They took to the train to Harrisburg, where they were mustered out on July 26th a week after their commitment ended.  Apparently, a missed opportunity to use the troops effectively.  So, poor John was there for all the “action”, but not the full term of the enlistment of 90 days.

But what is so important about 90 days? The Pension Law of 1890 required that the veteran be honorably discharged, have served 90 days and have a permanent physical disability.  John had served only 68 days.

John and his widow Rebecca did not take this first rejection for a final answer and continue to send in supporting documentation for their claim for many years to come.  More on their pursuit and pension politics next week.

Genealogists are insatiable when it comes to information.  There is no such thing as having too much data on a person and such was the case with my 3X Great Grandfather John C. Mattson.  I have started to get a picture of him from the records I have located, but suspected that his Civil War Pension file might have more insight into his past and character. Unfortunately, I have sent for records at the National Archives for other ancestors and haven’t been successful.  So, when I heard a fellow genealogist, Eric Stroschein, was going back to NARA in D.C. and could get some files for me at the same cost as the archives and higher quality copies, I jumped at the chance.  This would help him finance his genealogical business trip and I would be sure of his thoroughness in finding what I wanted. Eric more than delivered!

Pension records and homestead land files can be some of the richest resources for genealogical data, but up till now in my research, I haven’t had an ancestor who had one. John C. Mattson has a 159 pages of genealogical gold. The day before he returned to Seattle, Eric and I spoke on the phone and he gave me the names of John’s parents that were listed in his death certificate in the file. I was up all night working the census records and piecing together his childhood. And now, 6 days after getting the disk with the files of 3 ancestors, I haven’t gotten past extracting all the information on one 6 page letter in the pension file of Private John C. Mattson.

Prior to the pension file, what I knew about John C. Mattson and his family gave an outline of his adult life, but I was still missing the depth of knowledge that would help me see his life holistically.  I had details from federal census records starting in 1860 when he was 31, Civil War basics (Ancestry.com), a second marriage record, Civil War regimental information (books at Seattle Public Library) and death records (Trip to Buffalo, NY to the public library and archived vital records).  What I knew:

• John was was born about 1829 in Pennsylvania and died in Buffalo, NY in 1899.
• He served in the Pennsylvania militia for 3 months in the early years of the Civil War and might have been in the Chester, PA band.
• He had been a puddler (early version of making iron and steel) in Pennsylvania and Buffalo, N.Y.
• He was married to a woman named Susan (no maiden name) who died in 1874. They had 5 children: Ellis, John, Leah, Jesse and Amos
• He married a second time to Rebecca Oberlander at a Presbyterian church in Buffalo in 1877. She had also been living in the house with his 1st wife and children in 1870. They had 2 sons Joel and Eric.
• Both he and his 2nd wife and applied for the pension.

The first thing I was drawn to in the pension file was a letter dated In November 19th 1902.  It had been over 3 years since the John’s death and Rebecca wrote articulately and with passion requesting a pension for her and her 2 children still living at home.  No big surprise there, but then come the steady stream of information that suddenly adds a whole new dimension to who this family was.

The big reveal Susan and Rebecca were sisters!

John was 1 of 4 brothers who fought in the Civil War, 2 of who died in the war:

He struggled with a heart condition after the war and there is a long list of his physicians and where he lived over the years.

Rebecca had been previously married and divorced.

It’s hard to get past all the excitement of the new information and not to go through the rest of the file like a feline with catnip.  I am pacing myself trying to absorb the information, add it to the research plan and documentation like a good genealogist should, send a nice thank you to Eric and feed the genealogical well by doing something kind for a fellow researcher. Well…maybe one more peek……