Historical Accounts
Listen to Historical Accounts
From letters and newspapers, to petitions and written accounts, much of what we know about the Doan Gang is sourced through primary sources from the day.
Below you can listen to dramatic readings of historic primary source materials found in The Doan Gang: Outlaws of the Revolution exhibition at the Mercer Museum.
George Washington's Letter
In this letter, George Washington bemoans the “Disaffection” prevalent in Bucks County in 1776, as locals cheered Washington’s losses and assisted the British.
Account of Roger Lamb, Escaped British Prisoner
British prisoner Roger Lamb wrote an account of his escape in 1782 through Bucks County and across the Delaware River with the assistance of Bucks County Loyalists.
Account of Elizabeth Hough
In the 1860s, historian William Watts Hart Davis interviewed his great-aunt Elizabeth Hough, the daughter of Bucks County treasurer John Hart. Seven-year-old Elizabeth was home the night of the treasury robbery and remembers the Doan Gang entering her room.
Account of Halsey’s Cabin Events
This account of Moses’ Doan’s death, published in the Pennsylvania Gazette on September 3, 1783, gives a play-by-play retelling of the shootout for its many early American readers.
Petition of Esther and Rachel Doan
In this petition, Esther Doan and Rachel Doan plead with Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council President Benjamin Franklin for the lives of their sons, Abraham and Levi Doan, who were scheduled to be executed for outlawry. Lifelong Quakers, Esther and Rachel were especially grieved by the prospect of their sons dying before they could atone for their sins.
Discovery of Buckingham Cave
On January 4, 1859, Bucks County local Joseph Fell published his account in the Bucks County Intelligencer of Buckingham Cave’s discovery and the mysterious inscription inside connected to the Doan Gang.