Nov 3, 2019 2 min read

Oral history in Walter Seal’s ancestry linked a simple hand-carved cane as a gift from Thomas Jefferson to his great-great-great-great-uncle, who operated a ferry in what would become Monongahela.

It was presented to Joseph Parkinson by Albert Gallatin who made history for quelling the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 with a speech before the rebels in a part of Monongahela known as Whiskey Point, said Seal, of Carroll Township.

Seal said Parkinson, his great-great-great-great-uncle, was a “well known friend of Albert Gallatin,” and that he felt the need to return the cane to Jefferson’s property in a donation to Monticello, the former president’s plantation near Charlottesville, Va.

Seal said he believed the cane was made from a white ash tree by one of Jefferson’s slaves, who was given a silver dollar for his handiwork.

Historians believe Gallatin, who was secretary of the federal treasury under Jefferson, gave the famous speech behind Parkinson’s tavern, a log building that once stood in the 100 block of West Main Street.

Seal said he believes Parkinson was given the walking stick after the whiskey excise tax was repealed in 1802. The rebellion went down in history as the first challenge to the federal government.

The Parkinsons were at the center of the revolt.

Joseph Parkinson’s brother, Benjamin, spent two years in federal custody and eventually was pardoned for intercepting mail to spy on opponents during the rebellion, Seal said.

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation was grateful for Seal’s donation, its spokeswoman Jennifer A. Lyon said.

Lyon said the foundation is “studying the cane to see if we can learn more about its history and provenance.”