NORTHAMPTON — State archivists recently uncovered jailhouse records detailing the imprisonment of 35 participants in Shays’ Rebellion — a 1786-1787 armed uprising in western Massachusetts — hidden among decades of intake and discharge documents at the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office.
“The state archives frequently accession 19th century records from state and county agencies, but it was really surprising to learn that the Hampshire Sheriff’s office had 18th century records. We don’t do that as often,” said Jeremy Berry-Cahn, state processing archivist who discovered the documents along with fellow archivist Joseph Solis. “These in particular were also the earliest known county sheriffs records we’ve seen in the state.”
The records list the names and hometown of each detainee, physical descriptors like height and the dates and reasons for both their arrest and release as part of the county’s first “Registry of Prisoners.” Charges against the men include “sedition,” “treasonable practices” and “taking up arms against the states.”
Hampshire Sheriff Patrick J. Cahillane said timing of this discovery — less than a year before the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — serves as a reminder to him that “democracies, no matter their age, are inherently fragile and require constant, attentive care if they are to endure.”
Shays’ Rebellion
A few years after the Revolutionary War, unrest between rural farmers and merchants brewed as the latter began demanding payment in hard currency rather than paper money. The young United States paid farmers and soldiers with over-printed paper money, leaving the rural population without the funds to pay their debts. Despite farmers sending many petitions to Boston on the issue, their concerns were largely ignored.
The tension culminated on Aug. 29, 1786 when a group of armed rebels led by Daniel Shays and a group of “Regulators” gathered in Northampton Supreme Judicial Court and Court of Common Pleas to prevent the debt proceedings from beginning. Similar demonstrations continued throughout September and October, motivating the creation of the Daily Hampshire Gazette, which was founded on Sept. 7, 1786.
In February 1787, Shays escaped to Vermont after defeat in battle. A following battle between the remaining Regulators and state soldiers resulted in 33 people getting killed or wounded, ultimately ending the rebellion. Most of the participants in the rebellion were pardoned by Gov. John Handcock, as written in the documents.
The events of Shays’ Rebellion took place just before the Constitutional Convention and influenced the schools of thought around the United States government. Federalists used the rebellion as an argument for a strong central government, and even as a reason for the state legislatures, and not the people, to choose the House of Representative members.
When James Madison wrote to Thomas Jefferson about the rebellion, Jefferson famously wrote that “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.”
Hidden in the clutter
The records of Shays’ Rebellion participants moved around several times since their creation, from the Hampshire County Jail’s initial location on Pleasant Street, to a different jail at 50 Union St. to a record barn on Rocky Hill Road where the jail is currently located. Cahillane first heard about the old records as a young officer, but said he had no idea the records went into the 18th century.
“It’s not one of those things that you go back and categorize because it would require so many man hours to do,” he said.
Over summer, Berry-Cahn reached out to the Elizabeth Stetzel, director of records at the sheriff’s office, to ask if the Massachusetts Archives could finally process all those records. Two trucks filled with 63 cubic feet of boxes transported the records back to Boston, where archivists stumbled on the unexpected finding.
“It’s always a good day when we are able to bring back new records to archive and help preserve them,” Berry-Cahn said. “It only takes one visit to be able to find these things and you make them available to researchers forever.”
The records give a rare physical description of the Regulators, which Berry-Cahn said helps to make history more tangible. For instance, Luke Days, a man believed to have helped organize the rebellion, stood at 5 feet, 8 inches tall and had a dark complexion.
“History is important, and we should make sure to strive to save it and preserve the documents,” Callihane said. “I’m just happy we as a sheriff’s office were able to do that for this significant incident.”
Berry-Cahn said the survival of the documents is remarkable.
“We are deeply grateful to Sheriff Patrick J. Cahillane and his staff for their careful stewardship of these documents and for ensuring that they will endure for generations to come,” he said in a statement. “The Massachusetts Archives is committed to preserving these records and will make them accessible to the public for historical research. Researchers examining Shays’ Rebellion, early incarceration in Hampshire County, or sheriff’s records more broadly are encouraged to contact us at archives@sec.state.ma.us or visit the Archives in Boston.”