Doan Outlaws
Encyclopedia
The Doan Outlaws were a notorious gang of brothers from a Quaker
family most renowned for being British spies
during the American Revolution
.
The Doans were Loyalists
from a Quaker family of good standing. The "Doan boys" reached manhood at the time of the American Revolutionary War
. Growing up in Plumstead
, Pennsylvania
, the Doans excelled athletically. The Doan gang's principal occupation was robbing Whig
tax collectors and horse theft. The gang stole over 200 horses from their neighbors in Bucks County that they sold to the Red Coats
in Philadelphia and Baltimore
. The Friends Meeting House's cemetery in Plumsteadville
is protected by a field stone wall that runs around its perimeter. Levi and Abraham Doan were buried just outside this wall, because the two were not thought to merit burial in the sanctified ground of the cemetery, and their headstones were inscribed with the word "Outlaw".
's "holy experiment
", and was guided more by Quaker "inner light
" than by the traditional "rights of Englishmen
". As a result of Penn's effort to create a "nation of nations," almost half of colonial Pennsylvania was non-English. In nearby Philadelphia, the elite Proper Philadelphians were rich, charming, tolerant, but had relinquished the role of governing the city. Philadelphia, by common agreement, was the largest, most cosmopolitan but also the most poorly governed city in the Colonies. Bucks County, when compared to Massachusetts in support for a war with England, was still "The Peaceable Kingdom". No doubt Pennsylvanians were outraged by the actions of the Crown, but they were more likely to express their discontent through resolutions than violent protests. Many Pennsylvanians remained skeptical about cutting ties with England right up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence
. To illustrate this, the fighting in "Penn's Woods" started seven years after the Boston Massacre
. As for the non-English Pennsylvanian, King George III, even at his worst, was better than what they had known in their homeland. Fat Pennsylvania's legendary prosperity helped ease discord. Bucks County could boast rich farmland, a canal to the sheltered port of Philadelphia, large supplies of fresh water, timber, iron, fire clay, game, and their famous fieldstone
for building. The common New Englander by contrast had to choose between hard-scrabble farming or dangerous fishing off rock-ribbed coasts.
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
family most renowned for being British spies
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
The Doans were Loyalists
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
from a Quaker family of good standing. The "Doan boys" reached manhood at the time of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. Growing up in Plumstead
Plumstead Township, Pennsylvania
Plumstead Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 12,442 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 27.2 square miles , of which, 27.2 square miles of it is land and...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, the Doans excelled athletically. The Doan gang's principal occupation was robbing Whig
Patriot (American Revolution)
Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
tax collectors and horse theft. The gang stole over 200 horses from their neighbors in Bucks County that they sold to the Red Coats
Red coat (British army)
Red coat or Redcoat is a historical term used to refer to soldiers of the British Army because of the red uniforms formerly worn by the majority of regiments. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, , included a madder red coat or coatee...
in Philadelphia and Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. The Friends Meeting House's cemetery in Plumsteadville
Plumsteadville, Pennsylvania
Plumsteadville is an unincorporated community in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located within Plumstead Township at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 611 and Stump Road.-Community:...
is protected by a field stone wall that runs around its perimeter. Levi and Abraham Doan were buried just outside this wall, because the two were not thought to merit burial in the sanctified ground of the cemetery, and their headstones were inscribed with the word "Outlaw".
Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1776
Bucks County, an area sympathetic to the Doan Outlaws with a large loyalist population, grew out of William PennWilliam Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
's "holy experiment
Holy Experiment
The "Holy Experiment" was an attempt by the Religious Society of Friends or to establish a community for themselves in Pennsylvania. They hoped it would show to the world how well they could function on their own without any persecution or dissension.William Penn, a son of the great Royal Navy...
", and was guided more by Quaker "inner light
Inner light
Inner Light is a concept which many Quakers, members of the Religious Society of Friends, use to express their conscience, faith and beliefs. Each Quaker has a different idea of what they mean by "inner light", and this also varies internationally between Yearly Meetings, but the idea is often...
" than by the traditional "rights of Englishmen
Rights of Englishmen
The rights of Englishmen are the perceived traditional rights of British subjects. The notion refers to various constitutional documents that were created throughout various stages of English history, such as Magna Carta, the Declaration of Right , and others...
". As a result of Penn's effort to create a "nation of nations," almost half of colonial Pennsylvania was non-English. In nearby Philadelphia, the elite Proper Philadelphians were rich, charming, tolerant, but had relinquished the role of governing the city. Philadelphia, by common agreement, was the largest, most cosmopolitan but also the most poorly governed city in the Colonies. Bucks County, when compared to Massachusetts in support for a war with England, was still "The Peaceable Kingdom". No doubt Pennsylvanians were outraged by the actions of the Crown, but they were more likely to express their discontent through resolutions than violent protests. Many Pennsylvanians remained skeptical about cutting ties with England right up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
. To illustrate this, the fighting in "Penn's Woods" started seven years after the Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre, called the Boston Riot by the British, was an incident on March 5, 1770, in which British Army soldiers killed five civilian men. British troops had been stationed in Boston, capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, since 1768 in order to protect and support...
. As for the non-English Pennsylvanian, King George III, even at his worst, was better than what they had known in their homeland. Fat Pennsylvania's legendary prosperity helped ease discord. Bucks County could boast rich farmland, a canal to the sheltered port of Philadelphia, large supplies of fresh water, timber, iron, fire clay, game, and their famous fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
for building. The common New Englander by contrast had to choose between hard-scrabble farming or dangerous fishing off rock-ribbed coasts.
Time line
- In the fall of 1770, Moses Doan left his home in anger after an argument with his father Joseph Sr. A few days later he saved the family of the young girl he loved from an Indian attack, but his subsequent declaration of love for her was rebuffed. Around this time he joined a small band of local Indians of the Wolf tribe. It is believed that he stayed with them for several months, hunting and engaging in feats of strength with them which he always won.
- In 1774 Moses enlisted his brothers, Aaron, Levi, Mahlon, Joseph and his cousin Abraham to his gang. A handwritten note by Etta Holloway, great-granddaughter of Joseph Doan, tells the story of the outlaws this way:
"They were all of the Quaker faith and did not believe in war. The new government levied a tax upon Joseph, Sr., the father of the Tory Doan boys, confiscated his farm, threw his wife, 3 daughters and youngest son off of the land, jailed Joseph Sr. for non payment of taxes and branded him on his hand as a criminal. This was the given reason for the start of the notorious group known as the Tory Doans"
- In July 1776 Moses and Levi met with General William HoweWilliam Howe, 5th Viscount HoweWilliam Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC was a British army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence...
and offered themselves as spies. Moses earns the nickname "Eagle Spy". - In July 1776, most able-bodied men marched off to war, leaving the area unprotected.
- On August 27, 1776, Moses Doan informed General Howe of the unprotected Jamaica Pass and helped Howe defeat Washington at the Battle of Long IslandBattle of Long IslandThe Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, fought on August 27, 1776, was the first major battle in the American Revolutionary War following the United States Declaration of Independence, the largest battle of the entire conflict, and the...
. - On December 25, 1776, Moses may have delivered this note to Colonel Rahl's headquarters: "Washington is coming on you down the river, he will be here afore long. Doan". Colonel Rahl never read this note, and Washington kept the element of surprise. He was able to cross the Delaware River with the Continental Army and handily win the pivotal Battle of TrentonBattle of TrentonThe Battle of Trenton took place on December 26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, after General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River north of Trenton, New Jersey. The hazardous crossing in adverse weather made it possible for Washington to lead the main body of the...
. - On June 7, 1780, Abraham Doan killed a woman in her home with her nine fearful children huddled around her.
- On October 22, 1781, the Doan gang robbed the Bucks County Treasury in NewtownNewtown, Bucks County, PennsylvaniaNewtown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,248 at the 2010 census. It is located just west of the Trenton, New Jersey metropolitan area, and is part of the larger Philadelphia metropolitan area. It is entirely surrounded by Newtown Township, from which...
of 1,307 pounds sterling. Three days later Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. The monies were never recovered. - On September 1, 1783, in confusion Moses Doan was shot and killed moments after he submitted to the authorities. Moses Doan's gravestone was moved by a farmer and currently lies in a hedgerow in Plumstead Township, badly weathered by the elements.
- In 1783 Mahlon escaped from a Bedford, PennsylvaniaBedford, PennsylvaniaBedford is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, west of the State Capital, Harrisburg. It is the county seat of Bedford County. Bedford was established in the mid-18th century. Population counts follow: 1890, 2,242; 1900, 2,167; 1910, 2,385. The population was 3,141 at the 2000...
jail and made his way to safety in New York City. - In 1784 Joseph Jr. escaped from a Newtown jail under sentence of death for murder. Joseph Jr. changed his name and posed as a New Jersey schoolteacher for nearly a year before his real identity was discovered. Joseph Jr. then fled to Canada.
- In 178? Aaron, sentenced to hang for robbery, also escaped and fled to Canada.
- On September 24, 1788, Levi Doan and his cousin Abraham confessed to aiding the British and were hanged in Philadelphia.
The Doan myth
- Moses riding his horse off the cliffs of Fleesedale Road (today Fleecydale Rd. in Solebury Township, PennsylvaniaSolebury Township, PennsylvaniaSolebury Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,692 at the 2010 census.The Solebury School is located in the township, off U.S...
). - Never sneak up on a Doan dead or alive.
- Two million dollars in buried treasure.
- The Doans were polarizing figures. Loyalists wrote of the Doan gang as if they were Robin Hood. PatriotsPatriot (American Revolution)Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
referred to them as demons. No doubt their success as spies, horsemen, runners, jumpers, their bravery, and their numerous criminal exploits hardened both views.