Week 33 - Legal Troubles - Yeaw / Sheridan

My 5x great-grandfather, Amos Yaw, held firmly to his belief that he should be free to spend his life as he saw fit, without others dictating how he ought to live. He was proud to defend those convictions.

Amos was born in Marblehead, Mass and baptized there 17 Nov 1733. He had moved with his parents David and Jean Yaw, and his siblings to Scituate, Rhode Island by 1735. By 1758 he had married Mary Franklin. Before 1777 they and their children had moved to what is known today as Guilford, Windham County, Vermont.  He and his family lived a good life in what was also called the New Hampshire Grants and later as the Vermont Republic.

Amos and his elder sons (Moses and Amos, Jr) were involved with the Yorker-Vermonter Controversary and were on the side of those who favored New York’s claim over the Vermont area. They were against new taxes and new State directives.  His resistance to Vermont's authority over the region was part of the broader conflict between Vermont and New York over territorial claims. This conflict led to tensions and legal actions against Amos and his son Amos, Jr., and many others following the Revolutionary War. Due to their unwillingness in accepting Vermont Republic's laws, Amos and his son watched the government seize their lands and all holdings. Finally, after court proceedings in 1785, they were officially pardoned for their actions and all land was returned to their possession.

Amos continued to live in Guilford where he passed away in 1786. His descendants remained in the area, until his son Moses (my 4x great grandfather on my maternal side) eventually moved to Whitingham, Vermont, where he died Oct 5, 1850. 

His descendants to me go: Moses>Pardon>Lois>Lillian>Pauline>Lorraine>me 

...........................................................

On a lighter note, found in the Gratiot County Herald court news in August 1940:  

Maynard Isham, Lloyd Willert, and M.H. Sheridan, all of Perrinton, pleaded guilty to a fine of $16.85 each for violating state laws by fishing with set lines in the Maple River.

By 1940 Michigan already had state fishing laws and a conservation authority that regulated seasons, size limits and sometimes gear — and local wardens did enforce limits. Some states limited the number of hooks on unattended lines or required the fisher’s name/permit on lines; exact rules varied and changed over time.

Were they fishing for fun? Or to eat for supper?

Extra info:

1940 – Maynard and Neola lived in Lansing – but had lived in Middleton in 1935. Maynard was Edythe's brother.

Edythe, Mike and Pauline lived in Perrinton in 1935 and 1940 – Mike worked at the Condensery.   MH was my moms oldest brother.

Lloyd and Lena Willert and their two sons lived in Perrinton in 1935 and 1940 – Lloyd worked at the Condensery. I have never heard these names...friends??

Two different showings of how the law affected two different generations. One Hundred and Fifty-five years apart.

Barbie

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