Massachusetts -- Church history; Massachusetts -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775; Puritans -- Massachusetts
Soon after, on Sunday,--“Whilst Alice Ambrose was at prayer, two
constables ... came ... and taking her ... dragged her out of doors, and
then with her face toward the snow, which was knee deep, over stumps and
old trees near a mile; when they had wearied themselves they ... left
the prisoner in an house ... and fetched Mary Tomkins, whom in like
manner they dragged with her face toward the snow....On the next
morning, which was excessive cold, they got a canoe ... and so carried
them to the harbour’s mouth, threatning, that ‘They would now so do with
them, as that they would be troubled with them no more.’ The women being
unwilling to go, they forced them down a very steep place in the snow,
dragging Mary Tomkins over the stumps of trees to the water side, so
that she was much bruised, and fainted under their hands: They plucked
Alice Ambrose into the water, and kept her swimming by the canoe in
great danger of drowning, or being frozen to death. They would in all
probability have proceeded in their wicked purpose to the murthering of
those three women, had they not been prevented by a sudden storm, which
drove them back to the house again. They kept the women there till near
midnight, and then cruelly turned them out of doors in the frost and
snow, Alice Ambrose’s clothes being frozen hard as boards.... It was
observable that those constables, though wicked enough of themselves,
were animated by a ruling elder of their church, whose name corresponded
not with his actions, for he was called Hate-evil Nutter, he put those
men forward, and by his presence encouraged them.” [Footnote: Besse, ii.
228.]
Subsequently, Mary Tomkins committed the breach of the peace complained
of, which was an interruption of a sermon against Quaker preaching.
[Footnote: _New England Judged_, ed. 1703, p. 386.]
Deborah Wilson, one of the women who went abroad naked, was insane, the
fact appearing of record subsequently as the judgment of the court. She
was flogged. [Footnote: _Quaker Invasion_, p. 104.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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