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The Beaver County area, most of western Pennsylvania and W.Va. were, in the early period of our Country, were all in Virginia and for this reason were governed by the laws of Virginia.
A proper consideration of the history of the area would require mention of some of those old laws. They should be studied to show the progress of society since those early times.
There are persons who speak of "the good old days" as though everything was better then than now, and who speak of the people of the Revolutionary times as if they were greater, purer, nobler than the men and women of today and as if, when they died, wisdom died with them. Not only are there people now living who are as upright, wise and patriotic as any who ever lived, but society in all its branches and departments, has grown better. That the people of Virginia tolerated barbarous laws long after the close of the Revolutionary War is proof that the laws were not obnoxious to the majority of the people, otherwise they would have changed them. Remember, that at that time Washington was President of the United States and the great men of Virginia were in their prime.
They were responsible for the good laws as well as the bad. There was besides Washington, Patrick Henry, John Randolph, John Marshall, William Wirt. Yet, with all these men in power, such laws as follows were being passed.
One such law was passed for the purpose of suppressing vice, and provided that for swearing, cursing or being drunk the fine should be $.83 for each offense, and if not paid, the offender should have ten lashes on the back. For working on Sunday, the fine was $1.67. And for stealing a hogshead or cask of tobacco found lying by the public highway, the punishment was death.
Another act provided that any person found guilty of forgery must be put to death, and the same punishment was provided for any who erased, defaced or changed an inspector's stamp on flour or hemp. For a man who made, passed or had in his possession counterfeit money, knowing it to be such, the penalty of death was not enough. He was not only put to death, but was forbidden the attendance of a minister. The design of the lawmakers in this instance evidently was to add to his punishment not only in this life, but if possible, send him to eternal punishment after his death.
The legislators also believed in discouraging gossip and tattling, according to a law that stated "Whereas, many idle and busy headed people do divulge false rumors and reports, be it resolved by the General Assembly, that what person or persons soever shall forge or divulge any such false report, tending to trouble this country, he shall be by the next Justice of the Peace sent for an bound over to the next County Court, where, if he produce not his author, he shall be fined forty dollars, or less if the court sees fit to lessen it, and besides give bond for his good behavior, if it appear to the court that he did maliciously publish or invent it.
There was also a studied effort on the part of the Legislators to discourage hog stealing. It is not apparent why it should be a worse crime to steal a hog than to steal a cow, or why stealing a hog should outrank the taking of a calf, but the Virginia law makers seemed to have considered it so and they provided a law for the special benefit of the hog thief. The punishment for the theft of a hog was "the thief should receive 35 lashes on the bare back, or he might escape that ordeal by paying a fine of $30.00. And whether he submitted to the lashing or paid the fine, he was still required to pay the owner of the hog eight dollars. If the hog thief persisted in stealing hogs, after the third time he was caught at his carrying out of the "crime" he was very effectively cured of his desire for other people's hogs by being hanged.
There was also a law forbidding anyone from purchasing pork from Indians unless the ears went with the pork. It would certainly have been inconvenient to retail pork under this restriction, as it would require a very skillful butcher to so cut up a hog that each ham, shoulder, side, and sausage would retain the ears.
Worse yet than stealing hogs was the crime of stealing a man's horse. The horse thief was put to death, and usually forbidden the services of a minister.
It is but justice to the lawmakers of Virginia and the people of the time to report that nearly all of these laws came from England, some dating back to the time of Cromwell, and although the people of Virginia took the lead in the movement for greater liberty they could not all at once cut loose from the wrecks of past tyranny. Advancement was made rapidly along some lines, but very slowly along others.