348 HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. [1795. 



trict — the election to be held at the house of Joshua Vernon, 

 in Concord; the townships of Newtown, Edgmont, Upper Provi- 

 dence, Marple, and Radnor, the third election district — the 

 election to be held at the house then occupied by William Beau- 

 mont, in Newtown ; and the townships of Darby, Upper Darby, 

 Haverford, Springfield, and Tinicum, the foui'th election dis- 

 trict — the election to be held at the house then occupied by 

 Samuel Smith, in Darby. The people of the remaining town- 

 ships still held their election at Chester, and those townships 

 composed the first district. 



It was during the year 1794 that the general government 

 was under the necessity of organizing a military force to quell 

 a rebellion in the western part of Pennsylvania, known as the 

 "Whiskey Insurrection." This county furnished one company, 

 which was commanded by Capt. William Graham.^ 



The class of laborers known as redemptioners, and who con- 

 sisted of Dutch and Irish immigrants, who were sold for a term of 

 years to pay their passage, were much employed about this time. 

 So much were these servants in demand at one period, that 

 persons engaged in the traffic as a business, who would buy 

 a lot on shipboard, and take them among the farmers for retail. 

 But some of these dealers, who were usually denominated " soul 

 drivers,''' would go themselves to Europe, collect a drove, 

 bring them to this country, and retail them here on the best 

 terms they could procure — thus avoiding the intervention of the 

 wholesale dealer. One of this class of drivers, named McCulloch, 

 transacted business in Chester County about the time of the 

 division. A story is told of him being tricked by one of his 

 redemptioners in this wise : " The fellow, by a little manage- 

 ment, contrived to be the last of the flock that remained unsold, 

 and traveled about with his owner without companions. One 

 night they lodged at a tavern, and in the morning, the young 

 fellow, who was an Irishman, rose early and sold his master to 

 the landlord, pocketed the money, and marched off. Previously, 

 however, to his going, he used the precaution to tell the pur- 

 chaser, that his servant, although tolerably clever in other re- 

 spects, was rather saucy and a little given to lying — that he had 

 even presumption enough at times to endeavor to pass for master, 

 and that he might possibly represent himself so to 1dm. By 

 the time mine host was undeceived, the son of Erin had gained 

 such a start as rendered pursuit hopeless."^ 



In the winter of 1795, a great ice freshet occurred in the 

 streams of this County, doing considerable damage. The creeks 

 were raised to a greater height than at any previous flood within 

 the recollection of the oldest inhabitants ; and yet this freshet 



1 Directory of Chester. 2 Hist. Chester County. 



