Join the 17th Century
Explore the story of early Boston, Massachusetts, and the wider 17TH century world
“Drawn by to be hanged”
On November 16, 1688, the merchant and future Salem witch judge Samuel Sewall wrote in his diary: "The widow Glover is drawn by to be hanged. Mr. Larkin seems to be Marshal…..The Constables attend, and Justice Bullivant there." Mrs. Glover was hanged under the Dominion government.
November 16, designated Goody Glover Day by the Boston city council in 1988, the tricentennial of her death, honors the last person executed for witchcraft in Boston. The day marks the death of an impoverished Irish Catholic widow whose life was cut short by religious suspicion and neighborhood panic.
Although her memorial plaque lists her name as Ann, there is no historical record of the widow Glover’s first name.
In the summer of 1688, Glover’s daughter, working as a laundress, was accused of stealing linen by Martha Goodwin, the teenage daughter of a local mason. When Glover angrily defended her daughter against the accusation, Martha and three younger siblings suddenly began suffering severe fits, barking, and bodily contortions. Convinced the children were under a diabolical curse, authorities arrested Glover.
Afflicted girls and young women in England had accused their neighbors of witchcraft for nearly a century before the Goodwin case in Boston. Among them were the Throckmorton sisters of Warboys in 1589, Anne Gunter of North Moreton in 1604, the Fairfax sisters of Fewston in 1621, and the Pacy sisters of Lowestoft in 1661.
At trial, Glover faced an unsympathetic Puritan magistracy. A native speaker of Irish Gaelic, she had to testify through interpreters and failed to recite the Lord’s Prayer in the approved English Puritan manner. Boston minister Cotton Mather took a leading role in her interrogation and documented her trial.
Joshua Moody, a Boston minister, wrote about the Goody Glover case in a letter to Increase Mather in October 1688. Ministers were brought into the case, as they were in the Salem witch trials. The Goodwin parents asked the four ministers of Boston and the minister of Charlestown to keep a day of prayer at their house. Cotton Mather wrote about Glover in Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions (Boston, 1689) and in Magnalia Christi Americana (London, 1702). A London edition of Memorable Providences came out in 1691 as Late Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions.
Puritans in the 21st century: a symposium
Are New England’s Puritans the first Christian nationalists? What would John Winthrop, who stood down after his election defeat, have to say about the state of US politics? Why can’t we budge the myths about the Puritans as fun-hating, sex-loathing, grim-faced martinets?
Join us on Saturday, November 7, for Puritans in the 21st Century: Politics, Myths and the Future, a day-long symposium, held online and in the gorgeous setting of American Ancestors, central Boston, asking whether the Puritans still matter today.
Register now to join Francis Bremer, Holly Brewer, John Coffey, David Hall, Abram Van Engen, Daniel Richter, Adrian Chastain Weimer, Neal Dugre, Lori Rogers-Stokes, and Meredith Neuman in the first major gathering of Puritan scholars in more than 25 years. The cost for the entire day is $25/person, $10/students, or free online. Come early for coffee and pastries, stay for the day. You’ll be captivated!
Puritans in the 21st Century is hosted by American Ancestors, the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, the Congregational Library & Archives, First Church Bostons, Massachusetts Historical Society and the Partnership of Historic Bostons. It is generously supported by the Colonial Dames of America, Masonic chapter of St Andrews and John Winthrop, Jr.
John Winthrop might well be turning over in his grave in King’s Chapel at the thought of today’s US politics. Or would he? Find out more at Puritans in the 21st Century, a symposium of Puritan scholars on Saturday, Nov 7. Image courtesy of American Ancestors
NOW THAT WE KNOW, WHAT DO WE DO?
Now that we know more about the true history of New England, and the enormity of the injustice to Indigenous people, what do we do? The PHB book club helps us ponder together the meaning of Indigenous-colonial history, the cost of enslavement, and how we reckon with it today. Because the publisher offered us a fabulous 50% discount on Linford Fisher’s masterful Stealing America, we passed it on to you, distributing nearly 100 copies. You’ve got the book, read it - now let’s discuss! Join our Stealing America discussion on Thursday, November 12.
If you missed two amazing events - Dan Richter and Brad Lopes on Puritan justifications for land expropriation; and Lin Fisher, Cheryll Toney Holley, Paula Peters and Lorén Spears on the groundbreaking project Stolen Relations - watch them here!
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The annual launch and paddle of the Merrimack mishoon (a dugout canoe) and aputamkon (a birchbark canoe) at Newburyport’s Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration. Image Laura Kozlowski Photography | https://laurakozlowski.com/
Events
there and yet not there
dorothy clark
ONLINE, THURSDAY, DECEMBER, 2026, 7-8:30PM
For years independent researcher Dorothy Clark has delved into the archives in search of the life of Zipporah Potter Atkins, thought to be the first Black woman to own property in Boston. How do you recover such a life from elusive documentation? This presentation argues that Zipporah’s story reveals both the possibilities and limits of reconstructing Black life in early Boston.
“We need a full and honest
reckoning with our history.”
— attendee, Tyranny vs Liberty series
Change at Peskeompskut
In May 2026, hundreds of people gathered to mourn the slaughter of 300 elders, women and children by colonial forces at Turners Falls, in one of the worst atrocities in King Philip’s War. But this Day of Remembrance was not just about mourning. It marked the telling of the truthful story of the massacre, as Liz Cold Wind Santana-Kiser and David Brule relate.
JOIN OUR BOOK CLUB!
“Vivid, insightful, and provocative”… “masterful”… “a much-needed history.” These descriptions of Linford Fisher’s Stealing America prompted us to purchase, distribute, and read his book - which entirely lives up to its reputation. Join Evana Rose Tamayo and Dorothy Clark in voicing your opinion of Stealing America - and why, or why not, it matters.
Tale of Two Bostons
Where did the name of the Massachusetts city Boston originate? Boston, LIncolnshire, on the east coast of the UK - and men from that town helped to lead the migration to the new colony. Neal Wright, historian of Boston, Lincs., offers his review of a new book out on the men of Boston who made the trans-Atlantic journey and made Boston, Mass., their home.
“This talk opened a new world for me.”
— attendee, ‘I Pledge Allegiance’: Sovereignty and Sanctuary in the Dawnland