Sunday, November 6, 2011

Week 4 - Early Settler account

I have found an account from an early settler, a widow from Boston called Sarah Kemble Knight, tells her story of a five month trip round journey to New York, through a diary. she stops in Connecticut. She was dealing with family business after the death of her brother: I will pick out and post some points I think are important to the topic and that I think are interesting. The three most interesting points are as follows:

"They are Govern’d by the same Laws as we in Boston (or little differing) throughout this whole Colony

of Connecticut, And much the same way of Church Government, and many of them good, Sociable

people, and I hope Religious too: but a little too much Independent in their principles, and, as I have been

told, were formerly in their Zeal very Rigid in their Administrations towards such as their Laws made

Offenders, even to a harmless Kiss or Innocent merriment among Young people."


This was interesting to me because it says that their laws in Connecticut are similar to those in Boston but not exactly the same. She said was pleased that they practiced different types of religion as she thought this was a very big part of her life.


Next she says:

"Whipping being a frequent and counted an easy Punishment, about which as other Crimes, the Judges were absolute in their Sentences."


It may be short but, this sentence say a lot about sentences people received from committing a crime.

The primary punishment being whipping. She goes on to tell the story of a theft she was told about and how the criminal was teased in the court room and how he was angry by the way he was treated. It seems that in those days people who crimes were made fun of - a lot!


The final quote I found that I thought was relevant was this which refers to 'Training days' like the olympics:


"They generally marry very young: the males oftener as I am told under twenty than above; they generally make public weddings, and have a way something singular (as they say) in some of them, viz. [such as] Just before Joining hands the Bridegroom quits the place, who is soon followed by the Bridesmen, and as it were, dragg’d back to duty being the

reverse to the former practice among us, to steal ms. Pride."


This is the quote that seemed most important to me because back in those days women did marry very young and then,from what I can understand in the quote they must both go back to work soon after getting married.


Overall from the quotes that I have read and posted, I have discovered that this travelers experience was very different to what she expected but in some parts pleasant and shocking.






No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.