From the diary of Anne Hutchinson:

The Day of Our Lord
22, March 1638

I am, Lord, Mistress Anne Hutchinson, one who stood trial from, November last to this day.

My eight children and I pack what belongings we can carry and make ready to join my husband, William, in Aquidneck, a place where other Puritan outcasts have found refuge.

Our instructions from William are to travel south, then east. We are to continue along the Indian path until we arrive at the bent tree where we will be met. But by whom, I do not know.

"How long to the bent tree?" I ask my son, Francis.

"At least two days walk," he replies.

Anne Marbury Hutchinson (1591–1643) a woman who believed in the right to freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and freedom to worship, during a time when women weren’t allowed to think for themselves.

     Born in Alford, Lincolnshire, England, in July, 1591, Anne was homeschooled and often read from her father's library, where she found as many questions about faith as answers. As a result she wasn't afraid of questioning the principles of faith or the churches authority.

        

     At age 21 Anne married William Hutchinson and settled down in Alford England,. In 1634, Will and Anne, along with their children, followed John Cotton when he relocated to the Puritan colonies of New England.  They came to America aboard the “Griffin” with John Lothrop and other colonists thinking the new colonies would be a haven for those who wished to worship God as they saw fit and with the hopes of practicing their faith in an environment more favorable to the new ideas of “Puritanism”. 

   Protestants, concerned about corruption within the Catholic, and Protestant Churches started a reformist movement known as “Puritanism” with the objective to "purify" the National Church of all Catholic influence. 

 Anne had hoped that once in America, she could speak her mind, and would not have to hide her personal beliefs from other Puritans. While aboard the “Griffin” word got out that Anne had known in advance the exact day of their arrival and that God had given her the power of clairvoyance upon hearing this John Cotton became reluctant to include Anne and her family into his congregation. Anne confessed to being "guilty of wrong thinking" in order to gain acceptance within Cotton's congregation.

She would eventually realize that there wasn't really any religious freedom in the new Colony, especially for an educated English woman such as herself.  She found the hardships of colonial life and the rigid union of Church and State more stifling than liberating. The Puritan interpretation of freedom of religion meant they would tolerate the freedom to worship in any way an individual saw fit.

     The freedom to worship was one thing, the freedom of thought another.
     

     Anne’s only sin was being able to think at a time when women were considered to be servants to their husbands. Rules were strictly enforced in accordance to the teachings of the Old Testament, women were viewed as morally feeble, and like Eve they would lead men to damnation if allowed to form an opinion or express a thought of their own. Women were considered inferior beings, with inferior minds, who needed to be governed by men who believed themselves created in the image of G*D. 

 Anne kept quiet, but not quiet enough. Feeling the need to express her opinions, Anne started a woman's club which would meet in her home, where they would discuss the Scriptures, pray and review sermons. This generated a fair amount of interest amongst the community, the magistrates and scholars took special interest in what she had to say, their lively hoods depended on it.

While small women's prayer groups were allowed by law, large groups listening to one individual leader were not, so Governor John Winthrop took legal action against Anne's meetings and arrested her.

While in custody at the house of the marshal in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Anne Hutchinson's beliefs were examined. Believing all one needed to be admitted into Heaven was faith didn’t leave room for the Church to govern its God-fearing flock, and was therefore unacceptable. In his diary John Winthrop refers to Anne as "an American Jezebel, who had gone a-whoring from God”.

     

    Charged with Antinomianism for believing that inner light was the guarantee of salvation, that the law should be interpreted by each person as their conscience would dictate, and Indian slavery along with racial prejudice were wrong, stirred a bit of controversy, so much so that fellow Puritans were convinced of Anne's heresy. After all without Indians and other racially inferior people who would do the labor?

     Upon conviction Anne was banished from the colonies, ordinarily threatening the prevailing government was a death sentence as in the case of Anne’s friend Mary Dyer. Speculation has it Anne was spared this fate for various reasons including her lineage, education, and/or her husband’s status in the community.

     Regardless Anne left the colonies with a small following and set out for Aquidneck Island to join her husband Will, who had been meeting with Roger Williams to acquire this island of Peace from the local inhabitants. A deal was struck, the trade was made, the island for forty fathoms of white peage, (Seashells) twenty hoes, (Garden not street) ten fur coats and five more fathoms of wampum (purple portion of a quahog shell) for the local sachem. It is reported that Sachem Canonicus and his nephew, Miantonomi, signed over a "deed" to this Island. Whether or not they comprehended what they were signing is still open for debate.

    

     The first recorded town meeting held at Portsmouth commenced on March 13, 1638.  The colony led by William Coddington under the spiritual leadership of Anne Hutchinson and Samuel Gorton based this settlement on farming not religion. They grew corn, peas, beans, and tobacco, they also raised livestock. Admission as a freeman wasn’t easy as an increase in their numbers meant a potential reduction in the size of the existing farms.

The rifts and civil difficulties began less than a year after Portsmouth's first meeting. William Coddington, who had openly supported Anne following her trial, began to alienate her. In 1639 Anne became acquainted with Samuel Gorton, who questioned the legitimacy of the magistrates. On April 28, 1639, Gorton and a dozen other men removed Coddington from power, it’s unknown if Anne supported this rebellion but her husband Will was selected as the new governor. Over 30 men signed a document forming this new "civil body politic." John Winthrop noted in his journal that "the people grew very tumultuous and put out Mr. Coddington and the other three magistrates, and chose Mr. William Hutchinson only, a man of very mild temper and weak parts, and wholly guided by his wife, who had been the beginner of all the former troubles in the country and still continued to breed disturbance”.

  

William Coddington and his crew left Portsmouth to become the eight founders and first officers of what would become the City of Newport. They were William Brenton, Henry Bull, Jeremy Clark, John Clarke, William Coddington, John Coggeshall, Nicholas Easton, and Thomas Hazard.

Will Hutchinson passed away in 1642. In early 1643 Anne left Portsmouth with all but her five eldest children.  She relocated to the Dutch Colony of New Netherlands (New York), settling at Pelham Bay (the Bronx today). In fact the Hutchinson Parkway is named after her.

A few months after Anne's arrival, fifteen Dutchmen were killed in a battle between Mohicans and the Mohawks, in August of 1643 the Mohicans raided the Hutchinson farm slaughtering Anne and her children, only one daughter Susanna survived.

Not all scholars agree that this was a random attack. One person writes: "Strong circumstantial evidence suggests that their settlement near New Amsterdam was too opportune a target to miss: Anne Hutchinson and her associates could not be brought back into the fold; their wealth, stability, and reputation strengthened the Dutch and would attract followers; a violent death at the hands of "savages" would be a powerful deterrent to others and would promote the ruin of the Dutch plantation. Depicted as divine justice by the pulpit and in letters to England, such a death could help repair the Bay's reputation among English supporters and investors.”

 Was Anne’s murder a business decision?

 That wouldn’t come as a surprise to this Ocean State whose silent motto is “Don’t take it personal, it’s only BUSINESS”

 The history of the smallest state in this once great nation indicates it had a very large say in how the future “United States” would be shaped, at times appearing to be the testing ground for future social and business developments that turned a once beautiful landscape into a concrete jungle, an intriguing metamorphose to say the least. Feel free to check in anytime to view the progress.

    

Thank You!