1 00:00:01,360 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. The first recorded bank 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,799 Speaker 1: robbery in the US resulted in the wrongman sitting in 5 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:25,639 Speaker 1: jail for quite a while, a very strange confession from 6 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 1: the actual perpetrator, and a rather serious lawsuit for the 7 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: administrators of the bank that was robbed. Today, we are 8 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,199 Speaker 1: going to talk about the Bank of Pennsylvania and the 9 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: robbery that took place there in seventeen ninety eight, as 10 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: well as quite a bit about the prime suspect, who 11 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:48,840 Speaker 1: was a blacksmith named Patrick Lyon. In seventeen ninety nine, 12 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: a book was published titled The Narrative of Patrick Lyon, 13 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: and in its opening it shares the author's early life 14 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 1: story quote, I began my mechanical study at an early age, 15 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 1: being only turned of eleven years, and after spending nearly 16 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: fourteen years in London in different manufactories, and having previously 17 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: studied mathematics, et cetera, I resolved to come to America, 18 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 1: which displeased by relations and friends in a great measure, I, however, 19 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,199 Speaker 1: undertook the enterprise and arrived in Philadelphia on the twenty 20 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: fifth November seventeen ninety three. And if ever there was 21 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: a mechanical volunteer came into America, I certainly have fair 22 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: claim to the title. That certainly sounds like it's going 23 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:37,320 Speaker 1: to be the story of finding a new life in 24 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: a new country, and to some degree it is. But 25 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: the real focus of that narrative is how Patrick Lyon 26 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: was accused of what is often considered the first bank 27 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: robbery in the US and the time that he spent 28 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: behind bars. Things had gone wrong for Patrick in the 29 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: summer of seventeen ninety eight. But before we get to that, 30 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: we'll talk about a building. That's carp Hall, which has 31 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: an important place in US history. Carpenter's Hall was built 32 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,520 Speaker 1: starting in early seventeen seventy. It was to be the 33 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 1: home of the guild known as the Carpenter's Company of 34 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: the City and County of Philadelphia that had been in 35 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: existence for nearly fifty years when it purchased a plot 36 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 1: of land and broke ground. But the hall was not 37 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: used only by the Carpenter's Guild. It was also used 38 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:29,239 Speaker 1: by other societies for their meetings and events. Carpenter's Hall 39 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: was also home to the first free lending library, had 40 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: started there in seventeen seventy three as part of Ben 41 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: Franklin's Library Company. That library was the first Congressional library, 42 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: and it remained in the building until seventeen ninety. The 43 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,359 Speaker 1: First Continental Congress convened there in the building in seventeen 44 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: seventy four. During the Revolutionary War, the hall was used 45 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:56,360 Speaker 1: as an infirmary for both sides of the conflict. It 46 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: is also sometimes called the First Pentagon, as it served 47 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: as the main office for General Henry Knox, the first 48 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: US Secretary of War, in the early seventeen nineties. It 49 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: has served as the site of many important moments in 50 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: North American history. But the part of Carpenters Hall's history 51 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: that's germane to today's topic is that it started to 52 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: be used for banking in seventeen ninety one. That was 53 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: the Bank of North America, which stayed in that space 54 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: for two years. Starting in seventeen ninety four, the first 55 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: Bank of the United States was housed there. It was 56 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,519 Speaker 1: there for five years as the institution's own purpose built 57 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: building was constructed, and in seventeen ninety eight it was 58 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 1: leased to the Bank of Pennsylvania, which had been incorporated 59 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: in seventeen ninety three. On the night of August thirty first, 60 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: seventeen ninety eight, the hall was home to another first, 61 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: and that was the first bank robbery in the United States. 62 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: The thief or thieves got away with one hundred and 63 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: sixty two thousand, eight hundred and twenty one. In modern terms, 64 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: that's comparable to a little more than four million dollars, although, 65 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: as we always say, it's hard to accurately convert the 66 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: value of money over time because there are so many 67 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:19,480 Speaker 1: variables involved. However, long story short, a lot millions of dollars. 68 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: As for the break in, there really wasn't one. Nothing 69 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: was broken. There was no indication of forced entry. The 70 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: access points to the building and the bank vault were 71 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: entirely undamaged, so it seemed to be the work of 72 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: someone who knew the building and its locks. The bank 73 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 1: had only just moved into the space at Carpenter's Hall, 74 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 1: and as part of that transition there had been new 75 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,840 Speaker 1: carpentry work done, and the vault doors had gotten new 76 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 1: fittings and locks. Naturally, the first person suspected was the 77 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: blacksmith who had worked on the vault. That prime suspect was, 78 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,159 Speaker 1: of course, Patrick Lyon. He'd been born near Aberty in 79 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: Scotland in seventeen sixty nine. As a child, he went 80 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: to school in the local parish and was drawn to 81 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:09,839 Speaker 1: astronomy and mathematics. Then, as we mentioned in the opening, 82 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: when he was eleven, he left school and moved to 83 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,840 Speaker 1: London to work as a blacksmith until seventeen ninety three 84 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: when he moved to Pennsylvania. Lyon's first boss in Philadelphia 85 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:24,679 Speaker 1: was a blacksmith named Samuel Wheeler, but according to Lyon's account, 86 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: he discovered Wheeler was taking advantage of a stranger with 87 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: regard to wages, et cetera, and as he had no 88 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,280 Speaker 1: great idea of cultivating the profession, I left him and 89 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 1: went to another. Lyon went into business himself, and after 90 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: having built up a professional reputation over several years, he 91 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: was recommended to the Bank of Pennsylvania. Before that move 92 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:50,479 Speaker 1: into Carpenter's Hall was planned, he had worked on various 93 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,040 Speaker 1: projects for the Bank of Pennsylvania and the Bank of 94 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:57,240 Speaker 1: North America starting in seventeen ninety seven, and then after 95 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: an attempted robbery at the Bank of Pennsylvania. That institution 96 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: was hurriedly moved from its Lodge Alley location to Carpenter's Hall, 97 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:08,840 Speaker 1: and Lyon was asked to do a rush job so 98 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:12,720 Speaker 1: they could secure the vault there. The attempted robbery that 99 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: caused the move had taken place on August fourth, seventeen 100 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: ninety eight, and that had involved someone trying unsuccessfully to 101 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:23,280 Speaker 1: pick a lock and then also to pick open an 102 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:28,159 Speaker 1: iron chest. Lyon and the bank directors apparently argued about 103 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 1: the nature of the locks on the vault. For the 104 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 1: new space, the bank wanted imported locks, which Lyon told 105 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: them were not the correct option for their vault doors. 106 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,600 Speaker 1: They were adamant in their choice, though in the time 107 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: between his move to Philadelphia and his work for the bank, 108 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: Lion had been through a lot. He had married a 109 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: woman named Anne Brindley on July fourth, seventeen ninety five. 110 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,360 Speaker 1: Patrick and Anne welcomed a daughter named Clementina in seventeen 111 00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:00,480 Speaker 1: ninety six. The timing of the bank robbery was rather 112 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: unique in that it happened during a yellow fever outbreak 113 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: in Philadelphia, and this was a very serious situation. Hundreds 114 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:12,160 Speaker 1: of people died, including Patrick's wife, and daughter. He lost 115 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 1: both of them in seventeen ninety seven. As the epidemic 116 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: continued to claim victims, people with the means to do 117 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: so left the city, and one of the people who 118 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: fled was blacksmith Patrick Lyon. After he wrapped up his 119 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: work on the bank vault, he had arranged to travel 120 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: with his apprentice, James McGinley, by boat to Delaware. They 121 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: made it to the port at Lewiston, Delaware, but Lion's 122 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: apprentice was ill. Although he seemed to get better briefly, 123 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: and though Lion hired two doctors to see him, James 124 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: died just a couple days later. Lyon stayed in Lewiston 125 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: to wait out the epidemic. When news of the robbery 126 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 1: reached Delaware, Lyon, of course, was invested in the story. 127 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: He had just worked on that vault, and Lyon found 128 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 1: out through a friend who had also made his way 129 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 1: to Lewiston to get away from the yellow fever epidemic. 130 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 1: He was the suspect. We'll talk about what he did 131 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: after we pause for a sponsor break. When Lyon realized 132 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:26,200 Speaker 1: that he was being sought by the law in connection 133 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 1: with this robbery, he took a head on approach to 134 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 1: dealing with it. He went back to Philadelphia as quickly 135 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 1: as he could. Not only did he want to make 136 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,839 Speaker 1: sure he was cleared, but he also wanted to tell 137 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: authorities about the men that he suspected. That was carpenter 138 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: Samuel Robinson and a friend of Robinson's who had visited 139 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,200 Speaker 1: the hall as work was being done to prepare the 140 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: space for the Bank of Pennsylvania. Lyon got in touch 141 00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:55,960 Speaker 1: with the authorities and met with bank directors and alderman 142 00:08:56,240 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: Robert Wharton. He told them everything he knew, including his 143 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:04,840 Speaker 1: suspicions about the two other men. He later wrote about 144 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: his encounter with them in detail, and this is how 145 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 1: he described it quote. On Friday, I began to operate 146 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:13,959 Speaker 1: on the doors. In the afternoon, I was visited by Robinson, 147 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 1: the carpenter, who brought a person with him, a stranger 148 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: to me. They both took a particular observation of the locks, keys, 149 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: et cetera. I told Robinson at this time that those 150 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 1: locks were not fit for a bank. In the hearing 151 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: of this stranger, the reader will please to keep in 152 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: direct and point blank view this stranger, and there may 153 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: be a possible surmise of the character of some of 154 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: his connections during the whole work. Robinson informed me that 155 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:47,120 Speaker 1: Smith the cashier would not employ me after this was done, 156 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: owing to the delay. I answered, it made a little 157 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: difference to me. I gave Robinson and his companion something 158 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,280 Speaker 1: to drink, and they both went away towards Second Street. 159 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:00,679 Speaker 1: They had not been gone above ten minutes when Robinson's companion, 160 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 1: the stranger, came back and went into my shop while 161 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,320 Speaker 1: I was answering a young woman at the door. I 162 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:09,560 Speaker 1: took no notice of him, as he appeared to be 163 00:10:09,679 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 1: Robinson's confidential friend and companion. He did not stop above 164 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:17,200 Speaker 1: a minute and came to the door. I said, I 165 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:19,439 Speaker 1: was in a hurry and must work all night, as 166 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:22,800 Speaker 1: the bank was in such haste for their work being done. 167 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:27,199 Speaker 1: Robinson's companion answered that he would see all banks damned 168 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,480 Speaker 1: before he would kill himself in this hot weather. Then 169 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:32,959 Speaker 1: he took his course towards Front Street. He did not 170 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: follow Robinson. Whether they met again immediately or not, I 171 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: cannot tell, but suppose they did so. Of course, he 172 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: was establishing that he was not the only person who 173 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:47,079 Speaker 1: had access to the locks for the vault. Yes, and 174 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:51,200 Speaker 1: that mystery stranger is going to come up again. Uh. 175 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: But the bank and the alderman thought that when Lyon 176 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:57,480 Speaker 1: told them all of this, that he was lying. And 177 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 1: one of their reasons was that his account of what 178 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:04,479 Speaker 1: happened with Robinson and this mystery man was just too detailed. 179 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: It seemed to them unnecessarily so, so they thought that 180 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:14,439 Speaker 1: made Lion seem guilty. It was believed by everyone involved 181 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 1: that the blacksmith must have made himself a key while 182 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:22,920 Speaker 1: working on the vault. Lyon was arrested, sort of, not charged, 183 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,280 Speaker 1: just arrested and held at Walnut Street Prison. This was 184 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:32,360 Speaker 1: a very grim situation, as was relayed later in court quote. 185 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: They decided that Lion should go to jail. There was 186 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 1: no circumstance alleged against him, but that he had had 187 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: the doors in his possession before the robbery. The bail 188 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:48,559 Speaker 1: required was one hundred fifty thousand dollars. It was impossible 189 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,000 Speaker 1: he could procure it. He was therefore committed to jail, 190 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 1: in which there was twenty or thirty cases of yellow fever, 191 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,800 Speaker 1: and a number of deaths followed. He was neglected while there, 192 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 1: reduced to extreme want. The excess of the few friends 193 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:08,920 Speaker 1: he had was denied for some additional clarification and detail. 194 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: There was no formal charge against him. He was just 195 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: detained for being suspected. Because of his lack of charge, 196 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: the jailer felt he should be kept separate from the 197 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: other incarcerated men, so he was put in a root 198 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: seller that wasn't being used. This was not in any 199 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: way set up for a person to be housed in 200 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:33,760 Speaker 1: Patrick Lyon didn't even have a bed. He literally slept 201 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: on the ground, malnourished and without much human interaction at all. 202 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:40,719 Speaker 1: He later said he never expected to make it out 203 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:45,520 Speaker 1: of Walnut Street alive. It seemed like Lyon was doomed. 204 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 1: There was no way he could clear his name or 205 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: even make a case for himself when he didn't even 206 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:56,000 Speaker 1: have a charge to fight. But then something happened. The 207 00:12:56,040 --> 00:13:00,600 Speaker 1: Bank of Pennsylvania had received several sizable deposits of money 208 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:06,199 Speaker 1: from one new account holder, Isaac Davis. When Isaac Davis, 209 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 1: a carpenter who was not especially wealthy, suddenly had a 210 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:15,160 Speaker 1: lot of money, started to raise eyebrows, specifically the eyebrows 211 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:18,080 Speaker 1: of the bank. Here's how it was described in a 212 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 1: statement made by a bank committee, which was read in 213 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: court and entered into court documents. Quote one Isaac Davis, 214 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,560 Speaker 1: a carpenter by trade, had an account opened in this bank, 215 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:32,160 Speaker 1: and the first circumstance which excited the suspicions of the 216 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 1: president and cashier against him was a deposit of sixteen 217 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:41,720 Speaker 1: hundred dollars. Inquiry was made as to his circumstances and character, 218 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:44,600 Speaker 1: which were found to be such as to induce the 219 00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 1: officers to watch his conduct. On Saturday, the thirteenth November, 220 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: just before the bank closed, he deposited three thousand, nine 221 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:57,960 Speaker 1: hundred and ten dollars. The suspicions were then increased, and 222 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:00,840 Speaker 1: it was thought proper to inquire the banks of the 223 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 1: United States and of North America whether he had accounts 224 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:09,559 Speaker 1: open with those institutions, And on Monday mornings, such information 225 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:13,960 Speaker 1: was obtained as left no doubt that he was the robber. 226 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:19,280 Speaker 1: So Isaac Davis was brought before bank officials. He was 227 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 1: kind of invited for a chat, and when he was 228 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,720 Speaker 1: confronted and asked how he was able to make those 229 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:29,080 Speaker 1: large deposits, Davis completely folded. He confessed that in there 230 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: that he had been the one to rob the bank, 231 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 1: the same bank where he was now depositing the stolen money. 232 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,760 Speaker 1: He also had an accomplice, and that was Thomas Cunningham. 233 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: Cunningham was the bank porter and he had spent the 234 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: night in the bank the night of the robbery, but 235 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:49,000 Speaker 1: he had come down with yellow fever the day after 236 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:52,880 Speaker 1: the robbery and then died a few days later. Davis 237 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:55,480 Speaker 1: said that he and Cunningham had split the money, but 238 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: the porter's untimely death meant that his portion was still 239 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: in his house. Isaac returned the majority of what he 240 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 1: had not already deposited with the bank, but it also 241 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:10,800 Speaker 1: turned out that Davis lied. When Cunningham's home was searched 242 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 1: for the remaining money, there was nothing there. Davis eventually 243 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: confessed that he actually had the rest, except for some 244 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:21,520 Speaker 1: that he had spent, and the bank recovered almost all 245 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:25,680 Speaker 1: of the money. Davis told them that Cunningham had procured 246 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:28,600 Speaker 1: a set of keys, but that he Isaac Davis, did 247 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 1: not know where those keys had come from, and that 248 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,120 Speaker 1: was a detail that the bank officials at Lawman would 249 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:40,479 Speaker 1: really hang on to enter. Benjamin Brannon Esquire, the Associate 250 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:45,200 Speaker 1: judge of Delaware County and Isaac Davis's uncle, He visited 251 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:47,600 Speaker 1: the bank cashier and made some effort to make up 252 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:50,840 Speaker 1: the gap and the recovered funds through some legal doings, 253 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: with the intention that Isaac Davis would be pardoned. At 254 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 1: one point, the committee we just quoted a moment ago 255 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: had intended to prepare charges again against Brannon because he, quote, 256 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 1: contrary to the duties of his office, endeavored to prevent 257 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:09,400 Speaker 1: a certain Isaac Davis from being punished whom he knew 258 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 1: had robbed the Bank of Pennsylvania. Brannon continued to wheel 259 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 1: and deal, promising that his nephew would give up all 260 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,600 Speaker 1: the information on where the keys had come from and 261 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:23,400 Speaker 1: all of that in return for a pardon. And although 262 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: this seemed like something that should have gotten Brannon into 263 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 1: a whole lot of trouble, the office of Pennsylvania Governor 264 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 1: John Dickinson did make a deal with Isaac Davis, which 265 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 1: was return the money and tell us how you did it, 266 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:41,400 Speaker 1: and we'll forgive everything. So Davis walked away from this 267 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 1: entire affair with pretty much no repercussions. On November twentieth, 268 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 1: seventeen ninety eight, the following story ran in the paper 269 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:55,520 Speaker 1: The North American under the somewhat odd title of Democratic 270 00:16:55,640 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: Mystery Unraveled quote. It is with great satisfaction, ain't our reader, 271 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: that the notes robbed from the Bank of Pennsylvania at 272 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:07,160 Speaker 1: the commencement of the fever have been recovered to within 273 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:10,720 Speaker 1: four thousand dollars of the whole amount, which there is 274 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:14,760 Speaker 1: also a further prospect of getting hold of. It appears 275 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:18,800 Speaker 1: that one Isaac Davis, a carpenter and a noted democrat, 276 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 1: in conjunction with a porter belonging to the bank, who 277 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:24,880 Speaker 1: died of the fever, were the sole agents in this 278 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:29,280 Speaker 1: nefarious business. Davis had set up his carriage and pair 279 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:32,880 Speaker 1: and pretended that an Indiaman had arrived at New York 280 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,440 Speaker 1: in which he sent out an adventure. On the death 281 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:38,879 Speaker 1: of his accomplice, he took the whole of the cash, 282 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,439 Speaker 1: of which a dividend had been made, into his possession, 283 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,720 Speaker 1: and was detected by means of the large deposits he 284 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 1: had made in each of the banks NB Citizen Davis 285 00:17:50,359 --> 00:17:54,800 Speaker 1: has made off. With the crime solved and the money recovered, 286 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:58,080 Speaker 1: it would seem like Patrick Lyon's life should get back 287 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:01,040 Speaker 1: to normal, but it did not. We will talk about 288 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:03,760 Speaker 1: that after we hear from the sponsors that keep the 289 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 1: show going. Although a full confession from the actual thief 290 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 1: should have resulted in an immediate release for Lion, it 291 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:25,639 Speaker 1: did not. The bank was still entirely convinced that he 292 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: had been involved and that he had made an unauthorized 293 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 1: spare key to the vault, and Philadelphia law enforcement backed 294 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:37,440 Speaker 1: up the bank, so Lion sat in jail. Moreover, he 295 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: was finally formally charged with the charge of accessory before 296 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:46,120 Speaker 1: the fact. He went before a grand jury in seventeen 297 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,480 Speaker 1: ninety nine, but as there was no real evidence against him, 298 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:52,399 Speaker 1: the grand jury returned to judgment that the case was 299 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:58,040 Speaker 1: insufficiently proven. It is worth noting that the bank never 300 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:02,120 Speaker 1: disclosed during that grand jury pri that Isaac Davis had 301 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,879 Speaker 1: confessed to the crime and said that Lion was not involved, 302 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 1: so even though they had not shared that information, Lion 303 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 1: was at last released, But that was hardly the end 304 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 1: of it. After all he had been through. People still 305 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: believed he had somehow been involved in the robbery, and 306 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,480 Speaker 1: that was due in no small part to the leadership 307 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:29,280 Speaker 1: at the Bank of Pennsylvania. They continued to spread their 308 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,600 Speaker 1: belief that he had somehow gotten away with theft, even 309 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:35,399 Speaker 1: though the bank had its money back and a confession 310 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:39,719 Speaker 1: from the actual thief, but even worse for a blacksmith 311 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:42,520 Speaker 1: who had done most of his business with banks and 312 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:47,639 Speaker 1: other sizeable companies in Philadelphia, being accused by one bank 313 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,919 Speaker 1: tanked his reputation with the rest of the city's businesses, 314 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: so his income suffered considerably. After his release, Lion wrote 315 00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:59,120 Speaker 1: a book, the one that we quoted at the top 316 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:02,719 Speaker 1: of the show, which the short name of it is 317 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: the Narrative of Patrick Lyon. He makes clear his intentions 318 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:09,639 Speaker 1: in that document, writing quote that the conduct of the 319 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 1: Bank of Pennsylvania on the late robbery cannot, in my opinion, 320 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:17,480 Speaker 1: be pardoned, either on the score of public justice or 321 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:21,399 Speaker 1: national policy. But as the affair stands, the public still 322 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 1: entertain their suspicion, and the matter remains unraveled. Owing if 323 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:29,680 Speaker 1: my suspicions are well founded, and my judgment right, though 324 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:34,679 Speaker 1: not competent in law, to know to a certain peculiar incomprehensibility, 325 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:39,040 Speaker 1: as several glaring reports are in circulation, which in the 326 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:42,200 Speaker 1: body of this work I shall endeavor to explain, And 327 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:45,440 Speaker 1: as persons are generally the last to hear what materially 328 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 1: concerns themselves, I shall take notice of them that such 329 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: suspected characters may have an opportunity of contracting the rumor 330 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:57,040 Speaker 1: that they have made it in their power to clear 331 00:20:57,119 --> 00:21:01,040 Speaker 1: their conduct of the heavy suspicion which has leveled against them. 332 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:03,639 Speaker 1: For my own part, I have a right to speak 333 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:07,520 Speaker 1: because I suffered innocently, and as I am informed, no 334 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 1: legal steps can be taken to enforce a recompense for 335 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:15,359 Speaker 1: false and severe imprisonment. I therefore take the liberty to 336 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:19,880 Speaker 1: lay my case before my fellow citizens. Ads for this 337 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:24,359 Speaker 1: book ran daily in Philadelphia newspapers, basically saying, Hey, you 338 00:21:24,359 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 1: want to know what happened to that guy they put 339 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 1: in jail. He'll tell you all about it. Lyon wanted 340 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:32,440 Speaker 1: to make sure that his version of the story got out, 341 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:37,240 Speaker 1: but this book was actually a precursor to legal action 342 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:42,399 Speaker 1: on Lion's part. He filed a malicious prosecution lawsuit against 343 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:47,720 Speaker 1: bank president Samuel M. Fox Head, cashier Jonathan Smith Alderman, 344 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:52,480 Speaker 1: and bank board member John Clement Stoker, and Constable John Haynes. 345 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:55,639 Speaker 1: The case was heard before the Supreme Court of the 346 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 1: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in eighteen oh five. During the trial, 347 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,240 Speaker 1: there were witnesses called to testify that members of the 348 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 1: bank's leadership had basically said they could do what they 349 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:10,520 Speaker 1: wanted regarding patrick Lyon, and that he was powerless in 350 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:14,280 Speaker 1: comparison to them. There were plenty of witnesses who relayed 351 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:18,840 Speaker 1: conversations with bank's staff at all levels, establishing bias and 352 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:23,439 Speaker 1: presumption of patrick Lyon's guilt. There was also testimony that 353 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:26,280 Speaker 1: it had been Samuel Robinson who had pushed for the 354 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:30,120 Speaker 1: locks that Lion said were not usable, and that Lions 355 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 1: had made clear that they would be easy to open. 356 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: Lyons also thought the manner in which the doors were 357 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:40,320 Speaker 1: to be mounted was unsafe. Reading through all of that testimony, 358 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 1: it really starts to seem like the bank was more 359 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:47,080 Speaker 1: interested in scapegoating and punishing Lion than really anything else. 360 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:51,359 Speaker 1: Another interesting bit of testimony came from one of the 361 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: bank guards, a man named Philip Coldwater. He explained that 362 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,960 Speaker 1: he worked with Thomas Cunningham and another porter named Potter, 363 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:04,280 Speaker 1: and him was routinely trusted with the vault key. Coldwater 364 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: incidentally quit the bank when the money was returned, exasperated 365 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:12,640 Speaker 1: that he and the other guards had been suspected. Another witness, 366 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:16,159 Speaker 1: John Cornick, who ran a lodging house, also testified that 367 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:19,359 Speaker 1: Thomas Cunningham had stayed at his house the night before 368 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: the robbery, and that he wore a large key on 369 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,440 Speaker 1: what Cornick called a garter around his neck. Witnesses verified 370 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:31,920 Speaker 1: Lyon's claims about the conditions of his incarceration, but more 371 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,080 Speaker 1: than anything, his counsel sought to prove that the four 372 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: accused men had conspired to keep Lyon in jail well 373 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,480 Speaker 1: after they knew he was innocent, to keep him from 374 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:47,320 Speaker 1: retaliating against them for everything he had endured. His legal 375 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 1: team of Alexander J. Dallas and Joseph Hopkinson argued, quote, 376 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:55,280 Speaker 1: after the grand jury had refused to consider Lyon as 377 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:59,280 Speaker 1: the accomplice of Davis and Cunningham, what could induce his 378 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:03,879 Speaker 1: persecutor to continue their endeavors to put and keep Lyon down? 379 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:08,679 Speaker 1: But malice and malice too, the most execrable kind. But 380 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 1: they assign another motive. They justify themselves on the principle 381 00:24:12,359 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 1: of self defense. We must put down Patrick Lyon, or 382 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,359 Speaker 1: he will put down us. We must cripple him in 383 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:22,359 Speaker 1: his cause and in his means, or he will dare 384 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,040 Speaker 1: to meet us in a court of justice. And they 385 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:28,760 Speaker 1: have hitherto pursued the road they laid down for themselves. 386 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:31,880 Speaker 1: But it is hoped you, gentlemen of the jury, will 387 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 1: stop their career. There was a clear display of prejudice 388 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,560 Speaker 1: against Lyon On behalf of the bank, as shown by 389 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:43,800 Speaker 1: the arguments of the bank's defense attorney, William Rawl. Even 390 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:47,679 Speaker 1: though Davis had confessed and had stated that Patrick Lyon 391 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:51,159 Speaker 1: was in no way involved, and even though there was 392 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:55,160 Speaker 1: ample evidence to place Lion in Delaware when the heist happened, 393 00:24:55,960 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: Rawl continued to suggest that Lion had to have been involved. 394 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:03,320 Speaker 1: It was claimed that he was the best key maker 395 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,159 Speaker 1: in Philadelphia and was the only man who could have 396 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:10,880 Speaker 1: possibly unlocked the vault outside of bank staff. The defense 397 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:13,960 Speaker 1: also argued that everything it did it did quote for 398 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: the interest of civil society. Ral argued that quote it 399 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 1: was an important and imperious duty imposed upon the defendant, 400 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:26,679 Speaker 1: who were entrusted in perilous times with great property and 401 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:30,080 Speaker 1: founded on correct principles. There were others as well as 402 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:34,200 Speaker 1: Lyon to be considered principle and duty, and not rancor 403 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:38,600 Speaker 1: and malice were the only motives that influenced the defendants. 404 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,200 Speaker 1: There was a great deal of discussion about the procedural 405 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:45,399 Speaker 1: use of the bank's keys, who had them, and when, 406 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: and whether the porters and guards had carried out the 407 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:52,400 Speaker 1: procedure as usual the night of the robbery. They claimed 408 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:56,280 Speaker 1: that Cunningham couldn't have gotten into the vaults, only into 409 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: the bank itself. Then there was more suggestion that's somehow 410 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:06,800 Speaker 1: Lyon was involved. Rawle also once again invoked the specificity 411 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 1: of Lion's account to the bank management as suspicious, noting quote, 412 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:15,160 Speaker 1: mister Lyon gave a minute account of all of his proceedings. 413 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: This from the time he left Philadelphia till his return. 414 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:25,280 Speaker 1: Minuteness and particularity appeared very remarkable and extraordinary to mister Wharton, Stalker, 415 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 1: and Fox. Upon his being told that they could prove 416 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,240 Speaker 1: it against him, he immediately became confused and called for 417 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,440 Speaker 1: a glass of water for that he was almost fainting. 418 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:38,920 Speaker 1: Mister Wharton, then, supposing that he was about to disclose 419 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:41,840 Speaker 1: the whole affair, said if you discharged him, you would 420 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:45,919 Speaker 1: do wrong. You ought certainly to commit him. So the 421 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:49,680 Speaker 1: defense also clearly stated that Lyon was held that's committed 422 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:54,240 Speaker 1: based on nothing other than suspicion. Incidentally, when Wharton was 423 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,480 Speaker 1: called to testify, he clarified that he said to the 424 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 1: other men involved in Lyon's questioning quote, the importance of 425 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: his examination and the embarrassed situation he appears in, would 426 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:07,960 Speaker 1: if I were the magistrate, induce me to commit him. 427 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:11,760 Speaker 1: I believe mister Stocker then committed him. Patrick Lyon was 428 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:15,160 Speaker 1: extremely minute in his narrative, as I have mentioned before, 429 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:17,680 Speaker 1: and this formed, in my opinion, the ground of my 430 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:23,200 Speaker 1: advice where I was convinced that he had been concerned. Yeah, 431 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:25,199 Speaker 1: Wharton is definitely trying to be like, no, No, I 432 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:27,679 Speaker 1: didn't do it. I just said like I would do 433 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 1: it based on what he said. Uh. When it was 434 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:34,480 Speaker 1: time for jury deliberation, the judge made clear to them 435 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:37,480 Speaker 1: that they had to determine if the bank had probable 436 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 1: cause to detain Lion, and if the bank did, the 437 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:45,919 Speaker 1: malice charge could not stand. After just four hours of deliberation, 438 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:48,960 Speaker 1: the jury found in favor of Lion, and they awarded 439 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 1: him twelve thousand dollars. He didn't actually get that much, though. 440 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,040 Speaker 1: The defendants appealed and the new trial was scheduled for 441 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:01,320 Speaker 1: March eighteen oh seven. But as that second trial date approach, 442 00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:04,800 Speaker 1: the bank and Patrick Lyon reached an out of court settlement, 443 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:08,800 Speaker 1: and he received a payout of nine thousand dollars. Once 444 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:11,959 Speaker 1: Lion's suit was concluded, he went back to his life 445 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,840 Speaker 1: and his business. He had remarried to Catherine Taggart even 446 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:18,359 Speaker 1: before the eighteen oh five trial had started, and he 447 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,600 Speaker 1: didn't go back to blacksmithing. He had worked on various 448 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,199 Speaker 1: mechanical projects even before he was wrongfully detained, and he 449 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:29,199 Speaker 1: focused more on that after he was released. This may 450 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,080 Speaker 1: have also been a pivot that was necessitated by the 451 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:36,359 Speaker 1: damage to his blacksmithing reputation, but even so, it also 452 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,840 Speaker 1: turned out to be quite lucrative. He started making pump engines. 453 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:45,240 Speaker 1: That's early fire engines. He's credited with building several dozen 454 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:48,280 Speaker 1: fire engines that were put to use in Pennsylvania and 455 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:53,000 Speaker 1: the surrounding states, and several still exist in museums. In 456 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 1: addition to focusing on engineering, Lyon invested his money in 457 00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:01,080 Speaker 1: real estate. Yeah, there is. It'ld be a whole other 458 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 1: story about his pump engines. There are people that really 459 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:09,040 Speaker 1: really love, specifically Lion designed fire engines, and you can 460 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 1: find lists of where you can go visit them, which 461 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,920 Speaker 1: is just kind of an interesting thing. In eighteen twenty five, 462 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:18,400 Speaker 1: Lyon commissioned a portrait of himself by painter John Nagle. 463 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:22,320 Speaker 1: That portrait titled pat Lyon at the Forge or it's 464 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,800 Speaker 1: much longer name, full length portrait of mister Patrick Lyon, 465 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:29,880 Speaker 1: representing him as engaged at his anvil, is an unusual 466 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: portrait for a number of reasons. For one, it's considered 467 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:37,680 Speaker 1: one of the great examples of early US portraiture. For another, 468 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:40,960 Speaker 1: the artist Nagel was young, just twenty nine at the time. 469 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:45,080 Speaker 1: But the most unique attribute of this image is the 470 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:49,360 Speaker 1: way in which Lion chose to be represented at this point. Lyon, 471 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 1: who was in his late fifties, was wealthy and successful 472 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:54,360 Speaker 1: and had not had to work at the forge in 473 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:57,520 Speaker 1: quite a while. But that is how he wanted to 474 00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 1: be painted, not informal atti looking like a well to 475 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:05,480 Speaker 1: do businessman, but as a blacksmith where he started. This 476 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,080 Speaker 1: is believed to be in part because he associated the 477 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:11,120 Speaker 1: portraits of men in their finest attire with the type 478 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,360 Speaker 1: of men who had seen to it that he was 479 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:17,280 Speaker 1: wrongfully imprisoned. This is kind of supported by something he 480 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 1: asked to have included in the artwork in the top 481 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,880 Speaker 1: left of the image, through a window in the blacksmith workshop. 482 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:28,320 Speaker 1: The cupola of the Walnut Street prison is visible. That's 483 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:32,320 Speaker 1: a detailed Lion insisted on. That portrait is now part 484 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 1: of the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 485 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:36,920 Speaker 1: and it can be seen in the Kristen and Rogers 486 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 1: Servicing Gallery. There is actually a second version of this painting, 487 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:45,480 Speaker 1: which Lion commissioned for himself after he let the Boston 488 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:48,960 Speaker 1: Athenam display the first one. This second one is a 489 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:52,440 Speaker 1: slightly more detailed rendering, but it's very similar, and that 490 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 1: second one is displayed at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. 491 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:00,600 Speaker 1: Patrick Lyon died on April fifteenth, eighteen twenty nine, at 492 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:10,040 Speaker 1: the age of sixty. I love that weird story. It 493 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:13,600 Speaker 1: is very weird and it's sort of wonderful, and I 494 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:16,880 Speaker 1: hate that he went through all that. It's also just 495 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:21,680 Speaker 1: a great example of like us, as you and I 496 00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:25,960 Speaker 1: discussed right before we recorded, this was like fresh after 497 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: all of our you know, governing documents that theoretically were 498 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:37,840 Speaker 1: to create some version of freedom inequality obviously not right 499 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:41,720 Speaker 1: full freedom and equality for everyone, and yet it was 500 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:44,760 Speaker 1: not as though those were truly the things that were 501 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:48,920 Speaker 1: dominating people's judgment. At the time. Yes, throwing someone into 502 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:52,640 Speaker 1: effectively a root seller without cause and keeping them there 503 00:31:54,440 --> 00:32:00,400 Speaker 1: one of the things purportedly prevented through things in the Constitution, right, 504 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:07,400 Speaker 1: and yet there it goes. I really really just wildly 505 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:09,440 Speaker 1: enjoy the story though, and we'll talk more about it 506 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:14,240 Speaker 1: in the behind the scenes on Friday. But in the meantime, 507 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: I have a wonderful listener mail that includes animals we 508 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:23,239 Speaker 1: have not featured in our pet text before nice or 509 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 1: an animal that we have not featured. This is from 510 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:28,520 Speaker 1: our listener Tanya, who writes, Hi, ladies, I just finished 511 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:31,280 Speaker 1: listening to your Richer Dad episode and thought I would 512 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:33,400 Speaker 1: send a pet tax photo of a pet you may 513 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:36,560 Speaker 1: not have heard of before. This is my daughter's blue 514 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:39,680 Speaker 1: death feigning beetle Drogan, who is about the size of 515 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,920 Speaker 1: a nickel. I end up bug sitting him frequently when 516 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 1: she goes on trips. I'm also attaching a photo of 517 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:49,120 Speaker 1: my sweet moyam poodle Stella. Her mother was a standard 518 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:51,440 Speaker 1: and her father was a mini. She is a perfect 519 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:54,640 Speaker 1: twenty pounds size. I enjoy listening to your podcast on 520 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,160 Speaker 1: my drives to and from work and while working around 521 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 1: our mini farm in Pennsylvania. Which also tied it back 522 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:06,120 Speaker 1: to this episode, so voila. First of all, Stella is adorable. 523 00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:08,160 Speaker 1: Stella is also the name of one of my Jorro 524 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:13,880 Speaker 1: spiders this year, so clearly it's the best name. And 525 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:18,840 Speaker 1: this little blue death fainting beetle is so cute and 526 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:21,800 Speaker 1: one we have not had before. And I was trying 527 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:25,160 Speaker 1: to look up while we were doing this what their 528 00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:30,200 Speaker 1: lifespan is, and I couldn't easily find one. But it's 529 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:32,400 Speaker 1: really really sweet, and I've never seen one, and I 530 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:35,400 Speaker 1: want to know more about it because I like keeping 531 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:38,200 Speaker 1: all the bugs just as much as anything else. I 532 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:40,640 Speaker 1: was very excited that I caught our spider Stella doing 533 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:43,440 Speaker 1: some very active things last night. She's been kind of chill, 534 00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:47,040 Speaker 1: so apparently a raccoon on the deck startled her and 535 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:51,160 Speaker 1: she got very busy with her web. She's like intruder 536 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 1: alert and trudeer alert. She's great, she's fine. It just 537 00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:58,760 Speaker 1: startled her. It's she's completely out of reach, but she's very, 538 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,120 Speaker 1: very keenly aware of when animals are on the deck. 539 00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:04,600 Speaker 1: That's when she gets really busy. So thank you, thank 540 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:07,400 Speaker 1: you Antania for sending us those pictures again. Still it 541 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:10,360 Speaker 1: so cute, I want to boop, that's newt. If you 542 00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:12,279 Speaker 1: would like to write to us with a pet text 543 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:14,680 Speaker 1: or without, you don't have to have one, don't feel pressured. 544 00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:18,240 Speaker 1: You can do that at History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 545 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:21,600 Speaker 1: You can also subscribe to the show on the iHeartRadio 546 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:30,160 Speaker 1: app or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Stuff 547 00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:32,960 Speaker 1: you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 548 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:37,919 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 549 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:41,560 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.