GRGR(12)NOTES (7)

[JBFRAME at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/18/1999 10:21:46 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
Lycidas at worldnet.att.net writes:

<< GR.268.17 when Shays fought
 (August 1786-February 1787), uprising in western
 Massachusetts in opposition to high taxes and
 stringent economic conditions. Armed bands forced
 the closing of several courts to prevent execution of
 foreclosures and debt processes. In September
 1786 Daniel Shays and other local leaders led
 several hundred men in forcing the Supreme Court
 in Springfield to adjourn. Shays led a force of
 about 1,200 men in an attack (January 1787) on the
 federal arsenal at Springfield, which was repulsed.
 Pursued by the militia, on February 4 he was
 decisively defeated at Petersham and fled to
 Vermont. As a result of the rebellion, the
 Massachusetts legislature enacted laws easing the
 economic condition of debtors. >>
Again, Weisenburger mentions the fact that Pynchon's ancestor, William 
Pynchon founded Springfield in the 17th Century and that his 
great-great-great-grandson, Major William Pynchon, served among the federal 
troops that ended Shay's revolt.