Anne Hutchinson Info by Karen Abraham, revised 5/3/98
Anne Hutchinson was born in 1591 in England. Anne was courted by William Hucthinson, a man from her childhood town of Alford, England; they married shortly after in 1612, and had a total of 14 children. Together they moved from to New England, following their inspiring rolemodel, reverand John Cotton. In Boston, she was a trusted midwife while she held biweekly meetings in her home in which to discuss church sermons. The majority of those who gathered in her house in Boston were women; though in later years as the groups got bigger and bigger, men came as well. Though her meetings were merely intellectual conversations, women greatly enjoyed them because they were about topics women were never included in. Originally, Hutchinson held these meetings to pass time; she did not do it to compete with the men in any way, or to create problems. Soon though, they transformed into heated discussions about the church and state, because Hutchinson believed they had begun to practice the Covenant of Works. Despite AnneÕs original intentions, her meetings became extremely controversial, and Governor John Winthrop was determined to have her stopped.
Anne Hutchinson was charged with several charges, on the basis that she committed acts allegedly "not fitting for her sex." Winthrop stacked the deck by appointing a jury which, in his mind, would undoubetly convinct Anne. After a heated trial in which Anne provided a great argument, she was convicted. In 1637, Anne Hutchinson was excommunicated from the Massachusetts Bay Colony Church and exiled from the state of Massachusetts. Betrayed by her idol, reverend John Cotton, Anne took her family to Rhode Island to settle near Roger Williams who shared common views. Several years later, Anne's husband, William, died. Anne took her family and moved to a small town in New York, near Long Island. In 1642, Anne's family was attacked by a group of Indians; her entire family was killed except for her youngest daughter.
Anne Hutchinson challenged the role of women in Puritan society; she stood up for her beliefs and was not intimidated by men as other women in the colony had been. She was extremely bold and strong and she broke the mold of the average woman during her time.
