Mumblings - Mary Barrett Dyer

In my last post, I wrote about Robert Henry Kemp.  Before I continue with stories about Kemp, I will diverge by introducig an ancestor of mine through Kemp, Mary Barrett Dyer.  Mary led an intriguing life as you will see below.  Before introducing Mary, here is my ancestral line to Mary:

     Donald Lester Dewey (my father) the son of:
     Francis Osman Dewey and Katherine Skeffington (grand parents).  Francis, the son of:
     Edgar Osman Dewey and Elizabeth Davis Kemp (gg).  Elizabeth, the daughter of:
     Robert "Father" Kemp and Elizabeth Jane Alden (2 gg).  Robert, the son of:
     Nathan Kemp and Hannah Doan Wharffe (3 gg).  Hannah, the daughter of:
     Joseph Wharre and Rebecca Paine (4 gg).  Rebecca, the daughter of:
     Jonathan Paine and Rebecca Dyer (5 gg).  Rebecca, the daughter of:
     Elijah Dyer and Deliverance Atkins (6 gg).  Elijah, the son of:
     Judeah Dyer and Phebe Young (7 gg).  Judeah, the son of:
     William Dyer and Mary Taylor (8 gg).  William, the son of:
     William Dyer and Mary Walker (9 gg).  William, the son of:
     William Dyer and Mary Barrett (10 gg).

Mary Barrett Dyer (10th great grandmother)

Mary Barrett Dyer was born about 1611 in England and she died June 1, 1660 in Boston, MA.  On October 27, 1633 she married William Dyer, a milliner, at St Martin in the Fields, Middlesex, England.  William was born around 1609 in Kirkby, England.  He died about October 1677 in Newport, RI.  Mary and her husband immigrated to Boston, MA around 1635.  Mary and William had eight children:

     William: b. Oct 1634 in London, d.Oct 1634
     Samuel: b. 1635 in Boston, married Ann Huthchinson
     (dau): b. Oct 1637, d. Oct 1637 in Boston
     William: b. abt 1640 in Newport, RI, d. 1687/88 Newport, RI
     Mahershallalhashbaz: b. abt 1643, Newport, RI, d. bef 1670
     Henry: b. 1647 Newport, RI, d. Feb 1690
     Mary: b. bef 1650 Newport, RI, d. Jan 1679
     Charles: b. abt 1650 Newport, RI, d. May 15, 1727

Political and Religious Persecution

Soon after arriving in Boston in 1635, the Dyers became followers of John Wheelwright and Anne Hutchinson, leaders of the Antinomian Controversy [def. antinomism: being against or opposed to the law].  Hutchinson was excommunicated in March of 1638 and she left the Mass Bay Colony for Rhode Island.  In March 1637, William Dyer signed a petition in supporting Wheelwright.  Dyer and other followers of Hutchinson moved to Rhode Island and signed the Portsmouth Compact, severing political and religious ties with England.  This group soon thereafter settled the town of Newport, RI.

Mary went back to England in 1650 and became a follower of George Fox, joining the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).  Mary became a Quaker preacher.  She left England in 1657 and upon arrival in Boston she was arrested.  After spending three months in prison, she was released and expelled from the colony.  She returned to Massachusetts several times and was arrested each time. In 1659 she returned to Massachusetts to visit two jailed Quakers (William Robinson and Marmaduke Stephenson) and as a result, was imprisoned again.  She and the others were released on September 12, expelled from the colony, and threatened with execution should they return.  The three returned in October, were arrested, put on trial, and sentenced to death.  Robinson and Stephenson were hung but Mary, with a noose around her neck, was given a reprieve at the last minute.  She was forced to return to Rhode Island.  Once again though, in April 166, she defiantly returned to Boston.  Once again she was arrested, went on trial, and was sentenced to be hung.  The sentence was carried in Boston on June 1, 1660.

In 1959, a statue to Mary's memory was erected at the Massachusetts State House.  A statue to Anne Hutchinson is nearby.  Most of the details on Mary life can be found on many websites.  A link from which most of the above and more can be found here.