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With the passage of the stamp act by the British Parliament on
March 22, 1765, the American Colonies rebelled against helping boost the treasury of the
English government which was low due to European wars. Within the repeal of the stamp act
by Parliament March 18, 1766 was a clause which allowed Parliament the right to tax the
colonies. In 1767 came a bill taxing tea, glass, paper, and painter's colors. A
bill introduced to Parliament on April 2, 1770, repealed all of this taxation except for
tax on tea. Thus began the series of events leading to the American
Revolution. Early in June, 1774, the Philadelphia Committee on Correspondence called
a meeting at Philadelphia to ascertain the sentiments of the people. The
representatives from Northampton County were William Edmonds, Peter Kichline,
John Okely, and Jacob Arndt.
On December 21, 1774, a Committee of Observation for Northampton
County was formed with the following members elected: Jacob Arndt; David
Deshler; Casper Doll; Yost Dreisbach; Philip Drum; Nicholas Dupui Sr.; Andrew
Engelman;
Thomas Everett; Joseph Gaston; George Gilbert; Manuel Gonsales; Lewis Gordon; John
Griesemer;
John Hartman; Melchior Hay; John Hays
Jr.; Peter Kachlein; Nicholas Kern; Henry Kooken; Daniel Knauss; Anthony
Lerch; Michael Messinger; Abraham Miller; Jacob Morey; Michael Ohl; John
Okely; George Taylor; Abraham Westrook; John Wetzel.
The Committee of Observation for Northampton County then chose the
following for the Committee of Correspondence for Northampton County: Jacob
Arndt; Lewis Gordon; Peter Kachlein; Henry Kooken;
John Okely; George Taylor.
On January 9, 1775, the Committee of Observation chose Jacob
Arndt,
Peter Kachlein, John Okely, and George Taylor as representatives of Northampton
County to the Provincial Convention held January 23-28, 1775 at Philadelphia. On
May 6, 1775, at a meeting of the Northampton County Committee of Observation, a
letter from the Philadelphia committee raised the question of whether to
organize and arm men. On May 22, 1775, at the court house in Easton, the
Committee of Observation endorsed the actions of the Continental Congress and
recommended the men of the county muster and arm themselves.
I have included some muster rolls for troops from Northampton
(Lehigh and Carbon) County but this is by no means a complete listing. I welcome any
other muster rolls for these troops and will include them on my pages. Send e-mail below.
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