Behind the scenes at the museum

The deed of sale of land at Mystic by the Squaw Sachem of the Pawtucket to Jotham Gibbons, July 1, 1639. One of many original sources documenting the troubled relationship between Puritan colonists and Native people at the Massachusetts Archives - in this case, a deed marking the ongoing loss of Indigenous land. Source: Massachusetts Archives Collection, v. 30 p. 1. SC1/series 45X. Massachusetts Archives, Boston, Massachusetts

What hidden treasures exist deep in the files of the Massachusetts Archives and in the galleries of the Commonwealth Museum? In June 2023, Stephen Kenney, director of the Commonwealth Museum, showed us firsthand some of the remarkable documents of 17th century history. From the cost of imprisoning the accused in the Salem witch trials to a petition by a Native man imprisoned on Deer Island after King Philip’s War to the “A for adultery” act of the Massachusetts legislature - these documents bring the past alive as almost nothing else can.

Below are some of the key documents of Dr. Kenney’s tour. You can also watch two short films of the director’s presentation and of the stunning Commonwealth Museum 17th century gallery, courtesy of Dave Weed of the Sowams Heritage Area Project, here and here.

The cost of witchcraft: a record of expenses for the accused imprisoned during their trials for witchcraft in Salem, 1692. Sarah Good was given two blankets; Rebecca Nurse’s imprisonment cost 17 shillings and sixpence. Other expenses included locks and shackles. There was also a record of expenses for Tituba, the enslaved woman whose accusations in Salem Village sparked the witchcraft hysteria. Source: Massachusetts Archives Collection, v. 40 p. 621. SC1/series 45X. Massachusetts Archives, Boston, Massachusetts

An Act against Conjuration, Witchcraft, and Dealing with Evil and Wicked Spirits, passed by the Massachusetts General Court in the wake of the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692. Despite its ominous overtones, this law was actually a step back from the extreme hysteria of the witchcraft trials. It banned the use of “spectral evidence” - the principle under which the majority of the accused had been convicted and executed - which had broken the legal tradition of the Massachusetts Bay Colony that a minimum of two witnesses were required for conviction. Instead, the introduction of “spectral evidence” had allowed testimony from a single individual and then, in court, that person’s claim of invisible forces as a second witness. Source: Engrossed Acts, 1692-3 c. 40. SC7/series 207. Massachusetts Archives, Boston, Massachusetts

This document records the remarkable case of the Rainbow, in which Massachusetts rejected the enslavement of an African man and ordered him returned to Africa. Slavery had been legalized by the 1641 Body of Liberties, following the Puritan interpretation of the Bible. But the law explicitly excluded people seized fraudulently. After the Rainbow made its first voyage to Guinea for slaves 1644/45, it was ordered in Boston to return an enslaved African man to the Guinea Coast because, the document tells us, he was “seized violently on a Sunday.” Agreement between Robert Shopton, Miles Causon and James Smith, bound on a voyage to Guinea for slaves, February 13, 1644/5 and order for Mr. Williams to send back a negro fraudulently taken and brought from Guinea by Captain Smith, October 14, 1645. Source: Massachusetts Archives Collection, v. 60 pp. 290-291. SC1/series 45X. Massachusetts Archives, Boston, Massachusetts

Bill of lading for the ship Friendship, bound for Barbados, 1693. Although Massachusetts was not deeply involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the 17th century, it had close trading ties to the slave islands of the Caribbean. This bill of lading lists cargo bound for Barbados which included a “large horse” with “two little snipps off each ear.” Horses were used to power machinery and to help overseers maintain control, not to ease the workload for enslaved people in the fields. On return voyages ships often carried Africans to be sold in Massachusetts. Source: Massachusetts Archives Collection, SCI 45X MA vol. 61 p. 430. Massachusetts Archives, Boston, Massachusetts

Deed of the sale of land, Mystic, Massachusetts, 1643. After the death of her husband Nanepashemet, sachem of the Pawtucket Confederation, the Squaw Sachem wielded considerable influence. When it became apparent that Native people were losing much of their lands, she was involved in several sales, perhaps making the best deals possible under the circumstances. This deed contains her mark and that of her second husband, Webcowites, as well as the names of John Winthrop and John Endicott. Source: Massachusetts Archives Collection, v. 30 p. 1. SC1/series 45X. Massachusetts Archives, Boston, Massachusetts

Petition of John Eliot for land in Dedham, 1641. The Rev. John Eliot, known in the Puritan community as the “apostle to the Indians,” received land from Dedham to establish the “Praying Indian” town of Natick. In this petition, he unsuccessfully requested additional land in Dedham, Massachusetts. While sincere in his religious convictions, Eliot is often criticized today for suppressing Native culture. During King Philip’s War, "Praying Indians” from Natick and other Eliot-founded communities were rounded up and sent to Deer Island, where hundreds perished of the cold, malnutrition and illness. Source: Massachusetts Archive Collection, SCI 45x Massachusetts Archives, vol. 30 p. 21. Massachusetts Archives, Boston, Massachusetts

In a town built of wood, such as Boston, fire was a constant threat. This 1646 order from John Winthrop, then governor, forbid smoking in designated areas that included most of central Boston.

Of note here is the distinctive and elegant signature of Edward Rawson, secretary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Rawson’s daughter was victimized by a man claiming to be a member of a prominent English family. After marriage and a voyage to England, Rebecca Rawson discovered that her husband had abandoned her and stolen valuable dowry items.  During her return voyage to America several years later, her ship landed in Jamaica, where she died in an earthquake.  Source: Massachusetts Archives Collection, SCI 45X MA vol. 47 p. 6. Massachusetts Archives, Boston, Massachusetts

Historians of 17th-century New England society such as David Hackett Fischer tell us that the Puritans discouraged excessive drinking but often indulged after a funeral.  This list of food and drink for the funeral of Nathaniel Holmes in 1699 bears out his view. As you can see, the purchases included 32 gallons of wine, two barrels of “Strong beer.” Mourning gloves were also purchased - like the alcohol, all “bourne by the publick charge.” Nathaniel Holmes was killed when a cannon exploded on Castle Island. Source: Massachusetts Archives Collection, SCI 45X MA, vol. 70 p. 407. Massachusetts Archives, Boston, Massachusetts

The “scarlet letter” law passed in 1694 which inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, read by generations of students. The law made it mandatory to wear a large letter “A” if convicted of adultery. Source: Massachusetts Archives Collection, SC7 207 Acts 1694-5 ch. 5. Massachusetts Archives, Boston, Massachusetts