Up for bid on eBay is this original 1784 manuscript
tax receipt from the Western Massachusetts town of Hatfield.
The seller says, "This important 18th century document was penned in Hatfield on August 30th, 1784. Handwritten receipt was issued 'for the Payment of what is commonly called the first morety [i.e., moiety] of the Continental Tax.'
The seller adds, "To pay this controversial tax, Rev War veteran Col. Seth Murray, a Hatfield resident, was forced to part with 'one yoke of Oxen, one Cow, two two year old Heifers, one other Cow, two yearling Steers, and one yoke of three year old Steers'. Document prepared and signed by Salmon West, Constable of Hatfield. The notorious Continental Tax impoverished many Western Massachusetts farmers and lead to Shays' Rebellion two years later, nearly to the day. Manuscript is attractively framed along with separate clipped sheet brandishing calligraphic printed statement: 'High, unfair taxes after the Revolutionary War could not be met by many small property owners. In Sept. 1786, Daniel Shays led 600 men to Springfield in protest. Skirmishes lasted until Feb. 2, 1787, with the defeat of the rebels by Major Gen. Benjamin Lincoln. The uprising hastened a stronger central government and adoption of the Constitution to suppress uprising & improve economic conditions.'"
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Central and Western Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787, named after Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays.
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