Are History: The Doanes, c 1776: Bucks County, PA

Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by M Burns
mburns@tea-house.com

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>From a collection of historical tales called "The Cuttlelossa and its
Historical Associations: The Doanes an Incident in their history"

The reader who would know something further concerning the history of the
Doanes is referrred to a little booklet published in 1843 entitled
"Annals of the Revolution" or "A History of the Doanes." By HK Brooke,
published at Philadelphia, by John B Perry, 198 Market Street/ New York:
Nafis and Cornish, 278 Pearl Street

Many people in the country no doubt still remember Samuel Hart, a highly
respected citizen of Doylestown who died on the 25th of November, 1863,
at the advanced age of eighty years and upwards. He was well acquainted
with William Hart, the one who seized and overpowered Moses Doane and
held him down till he craved for quarter. Near the beginning of this
century, he received a full relation of how the capture was accomplished
and the causes that led to it. To Mr Hart, therefore, I am chiefly
indebted for the following interesting information in regard to what was
quite an event in the history of this period and this section. It
contains considerable that cannot be found elsewhere, and differs in
several respects from what has been stated on the subject. From what I
know it appears the most reliableŠ

"Prior to the Revolutionary war, there lived in the township of
Plumstead, in the county of Bucks, a family by the name of Doane,
consisting of father, mother and some five or six sons, and two or three
daughters.  In the immediate neighborhood resided another family of
nearly the same number, six boys and two girls, by the name of Hart.
These children attended the same school; and as the athletic exercises,
such as wrestling and boxing, rough and tumble, were more the custom than
at the present day, the boys frequently engaged in this sport. Many hard
and fiercely contested engagements took place, among them as in most
wars, victory sometimes fell on one side, sometimes to the other.

After this manner these boys attained to men's years, about the
commencement of the Revolution, in which the Doanes ranged themselves on
the side of the King, the Harts on that of Congress.  Having taken
opposite sides, there arose an inveterate hostility between them,
increased perhaps by the recollection of former contests.  The Whigs of
the neighborhood being the strongest party, it became necessary that the
others should use circumspection in their movements.  The Doanes, in
company with some others, commenced nocturnal excursions in disguise,
which sometimes terminated in plundering and insulting the neighbors, and
kept them all in constant alarm.  They were able to pounce upon those
most obnoxious to them when least prepared for the visit, and
consequently it became a general concern to force them out of the
country.

At this crisis, a boy went to a mill in the vicinity since known by the
name of Hard Times, now Lumberton, to get a grist ground.  The miller
objected to doing so immediately; the boy insisted and as a final and
conclusive argument said he must have it for the Doanes were at their
house.  The miller ground the grist, sent the boy away with it, and went
to a public sale which happened to be near and spread the alarm.  A party
consisting of about thirty men organized and dispersed to their homes to
arm themselves, it being well understood that they would be resisted to
desperation.  They were to rendezvous at a time and place agreed upon,
near the house where the Doanes were at Cabin Run, a small stream which
passes into the west side of Tohikon Creek near Mearns Ford.

The arrangement was that the party should divide into small squads,
surround the houses at a distance, advance at a concerted signal and by
closing as they advanced, come together at the house and prevent the
possibility of escape.  The squad who were to approach the front and only
door consisted of Major William Kennedy, Samuel Hart and William Hart,
the two oldest of the family above mentioned. William Hart, who was a
powerful man, said he could see between the logs when approaching the
house, three of the Doanes sitting on a bench near the fire eating beans
from off a trencher.  Being between his companions, he opened the door,
stepped in and ordered them to surrender, stating that the house was
surrounded and escape was impossible.  Without saying a word they arose,
seized their guns and fired at him.  He also fired two horse pistols at
them and in the midst of the smoke sprang forward and grappled with one
of them, by chance Moses Doane, the captain of the band.  A short scuffle
ended by Moses lying on the floor, with William's knee on his breast.  As
soon as Moses found himself overpowered, he ceased to resist and called
for quarter, which was granted.

The two other Doanes ran up a ladder and escaped from a small window in
the end of the house.  Major Kennedy and Samuel Hart had remained outside
to guard the doorway when William Hart entered.  The charge of one of the
guns fired passed between the logs of the house, cut off the barrel of
Samuel Hart's gun above the first thimble, and a splinter or scale from
the barrel lodged in Major Kennedy's back, inflicting a mortal wound of
which he died in a few days, the only shot that took effect. After the
prisoner had craved and received quarter, and all danger was over, one of
the surrounding party, Robert Gibson of Plumstead, ran into the house,
put the muzzle of his gun to Doane's breast while William Hart was
holding him on the floor and he lying passively, and shot him through the
heart.  It appeared on investigation that none of the surrounding party,
excepting the three above named, had arrived at the house until the
danger was over, and consequently the other Doanes both escaped.

The next morning a message was sent to Joseph Doane, father of Moses, who
was quiet, civil and inoffensive man, who then came to the house, took
him and buried him.  Joseph Doane, another brother, narrowly escaped
capture subsequently.  He retreated from a house and after running some
sixty or eighty yards, he leaped a fence.  As he passed over, he turned
his head to squint at his pursuers, and while he was looking over his
shoulder, a rifle was fired at him the ball of which drew his front
teeth. He escaped, notwithstanding, and fled to Canada, where he was
appointed Justice of the Peace and died peaceably at a good old age.  Two
of the brothers were captured, tried and convicted of robbery at Newtown,
then the seat of Justice for the County of Bucks.  They were removed to
Philadelphia for safekeeping and executed in that place.

The boy who came to the mill with the grist at Lumberton was a son of
Nathan Horsley, residing some four or five miles off.  For harboring the
Doanes, knowing that they were attainted for outlaws, he was brought to
trial, convicted and sentenced to be 'burned in the hand' and to six
months imprisonment.  The capture and death of Moses Doane and Major
Kennedy occurred on the 28th day of August, 1783.  The mill was then
owned by George Warne, of Sussex County, New Jersey, but who the miller
was I have been unable to ascertain.  Owing to the committal of so many
robberies and other flagrant crimes, the Legislature of the State passed
an Act April 8th, 1783, offering a reward of 100 pounds for the capture
of eighteen persons, among them were Aaron, Mahlon, Joseph and Levi
Doane.  It was provided that should anyone be wounded he should be
entitled to 150 pounds, if killed his family was to received 300 pounds.
It was the effect of this that, as soon as the tidings were received from
the boy, led to the organization of the company and to the consequence
that followed.  From this account, the death of William Kennedy was a
matter of accident, and not done purposely by the robbers, as is
generally supposed.  The sum of 300 pounds, about $800.00 of our present
currency, was awarded to be equally divided for the use of his wife and
five children.  In this account as in many others, we see how from a
trivial occurance, important events may spring.  The going of that boy
with a grist to the old mill by the Cuttelossa at the present Lumberton,
led to the breaking up of the predatory Doanes.