To all Good Citizens Traditional Cache
Hidden : 7/28/2008
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

To all Good Citizens:

"You are hereby advised that it has been resolved to take all legal methods to obstruct the operations of the iniquitous and oppressive Excise Law. You are hereby warned to have no fellowship with such as accept offices under it, and to withdraw from them every assistance of whatever sort; to withhold the comforts of life; to refuse to sell or to buy the labor of, or to employ as laborers any and all persons who accept such offices.

"By Order of the Committee,
"Tom The Tinker"


The area around Mingo Park was a hot bed during the Whiskey Rebellion. The rebels would meet at Mingo Creek Church and the area became what is called the cradle of the Whiskey Rebellion. During that time a mysterious man came onto the stage by the name of Tom The Tinker. No one knows for sure who he was but most historians think it was a man by the name of John Hollcroft. His is the picture that you see above.

John Hollcroft was a veteran of Shays Rebellion and later a farmer in the Mingo Creek area. During the summer of 1794 he took on a new role, that of Tom The Tinker. The letter at the top of this cache page is a direct word for word proclamation and one of many that Tom The Tinker penned. Tom The Tinker would write letters and publish them in the Pittsburgh Gazette warning all not to pay the Whiskey Tax. If they did then they would suffer the same consequences as the tax collectors. Some of the Tinkers threats included: tar and feathering, breaking that persons still (mending as he called it), burning down their home and or barn and running them and their family out of the area. If you were suspected of helping a government tax man or for paying your tax then you might wake up with one of these nasty letters nailed to your front door or on a tree close to your home. One of the local rebels, also called Tom The Tinker's Men, favorite rallying cries was "HURRAY FOR TOM THE TINKER!"

There is a lot more history to this but I'll stop there. If you want to learn more, I'll include some links. The cache is a small Lock & Lock that can hold some small items (and I do mean small).

The cache is not in the cemetery or near any of the graves. Please be respectful while your there. Also, I've included a waypoint for more of the rebels that are buried there. Take some time and look around. This cemetery has everyone from Revolutionary War veterans, to Whiskey Rebels, to more modern hero's for WWI and WWII. It really is a living history book of our nation. Also, if you want a copy of the Tom The Tinker proclamation that is used on this cache page just visit the Oliver Miller Homestead and pick one up.

For more information check out these links;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Rebellion
http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/whiskey/page1.html http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/fall96/whiskey.html

Check out these Whiskey Rebellion themed caches:
Whiskey Point Cache-GCEE96
Sin Tax-GC2AFC
Whiskey Rebels in Mingo Park-GC1T2CZ

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Yrsg ng Jngfba, vagb gur jbbqf naq oruvaq n fghzc haqre fbzr onex.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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