Thomas Copeland (abt. 1754)

Born about 1754 in Newberry Township, York, Pennsylvania [uncertain]

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Biography

The first mention of Thomas is in 1779, when his name appears in a York County list of fines.^[1] These fines were assessed on men between the ages of 18 and 53 who had chosen not to serve in the militia at that time. The fines helped fund the American Revolution. The list of men who were fined in Captain Aston’s Company contained 31 names. The size of a man’s fine was based on his relative wealth. The average fine was about 15 pounds. The minimum was zero, and the maximum was 37 pounds, ten shillings. Thomas was fined 11 pounds, 5 shillings. Listed one line below Thomas was Robert Miller^[2], who was fined 20 pounds. Two lines below Robert Miller was the wealthy Quaker William Willis of Manchester, who was fined 37 pounds, 10 shillings.^[3]

Thomas was a blacksmith. He is listed as follows in the 1779, 1780, and 1781 York County tax lists:^[4]

1779. Thomas Copland, no land, 1 horse, 1 cow, occupation: “smith”
1780. Thomas Copland, no land, 1 horse, 1 cow, occupation: “smith”
1781. Thomas Copland, no land, 1 horse, 2 cows, occupation: “blacksmith”.

By 1781, Thomas changed his mind about not serving in the militia. He is listed as a Private First Class in John McMaster's company for the period December 8, 1781 to February 8, 1782.^[5]

Research Notes

Could Thomas be the same person as the Thomas Copeland who settled in Lack Township in 1782? Lack Township is about 60 miles west of Newberry.

Sources

1. ↑ Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. VII, Series 3, page 53, List of Fines Received by Robert Stevenson, Esq., Col. Rankin's Battalion, Captain Aston's Company.
2. ↑ Robert Miller was very probably the Quaker Robert Miller who in 1759 William Copeland named in his will as the “executor” for the two youngest of William's four unnamed minor sons.
3. ↑ William Willis was a nephew of Henry Willis Sr. of Newberry, whose family intermarried with Richard Copeland's family. William had built the York Courthouse, which was the seat of the Continental Congress for a nine-month period during the Revolution.
4. ↑ Pennsylvania, U.S., Tax and Exoneration, 1768-1801, Ancestry.com.
5. ↑ Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. II, Series 6, page 650. Thomas is listed one line above William Glancy, husband of Ann Copeland (a daughter David Copeland).