Hey, there! Log in / Register

Before Yelp, complaining about a business in Boston could get you excommunicated and hanged

New England Folklore recounts the life of Ann Hibbins, a 17th-century Bostonian whose downfall began when she complained about what she thought was shoddy work by a carpenter on her home. One thing led to another, and in 1655 she was convicted of witchcraft. The General Court, on which her husband had served before his own death (from natural causes), upheld the conviction and she was hanged on Boston Common on June 19, 1656.

Neighborhoods: 
Topics: 
Free tagging: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

I always found it fascinating that the Puritans, who fled England due to religious persecution, were the most intolerant, sanctimonious bunch of bastards on two feet after they showed up in Boston.

up
Voting closed 0

Actually it's because they were dicks.

My maternal ancestors, gotta love them.

up
Voting closed 0

Rich Brookline socialite with husband in high position of government annoys many by refusing to pay local carpenter for work completed, claiming it was substandard. Makes similar accusations toward inspector asked to verify the job. .

up
Voting closed 0

gets hanged for witchcraft. :-)

up
Voting closed 0

There are those that claim that preventing them from doing monstrous things to those of whom they don't approve constitutes religious persecution.

up
Voting closed 0

PREACH.

up
Voting closed 0

will notice certain things about human nature. One thing is: those who love proclaiming their tolerance are often not.

up
Voting closed 0

As mentioned above, the Puritans were intolerant dicks and were basically hounded out of England for being dicks and came here initially so they could practice their dickishness in peace (the Plymouth Puritans were absolute segregationists who felt the Church of England was beyond redemption, the later Massachusetts Bay Puritans believed the Church of England could still be reformed, but they still hated pretty much everybody who wasn't one of them).

So it is kind of ironic, nearly 400 years later, that both the Congregationalists and the Unitarians sprang from them, along with the Quakers, who started in England as a Puritan sect, but who were seen by the Massachusetts Puritans as heretics, deserving only of being hanged on the Common.

up
Voting closed 0

I think the irony is, imo, today's self described progressives are as puritanical as the puritants who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony 400 years ago. The puritants have swung from being extremely conservative to being extremely liberal. Not really that surprising since the psychology behind people with extremist (far left-far right) views area quite similar.

up
Voting closed 0

Congregationalists are far left?

up
Voting closed 0

that group in England started to believe that the Church of England (among other things) could be reformed or even abolished. Beheading an Archbishop of Canterbury helped with that, and then they moved on to an even bigger target.

A lot of the more fanatic Puritans in New England actually went back then.

up
Voting closed 0

I always enjoy these deep reads and callbacks to our history.

up
Voting closed 0

Some for better and some for worse.

up
Voting closed 0

Corporations really are people!

up
Voting closed 0

Burn it!

up
Voting closed 0

Especially if you were a woman (wait, is that still the case??).

up
Voting closed 0

Trophy husband visits Florida strip mall...

up
Voting closed 0