#61 AN UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH

                                            RICHARD HUTCHINSON

Richard Hutchinson was born in Nottinghamshire, England in 1601/02. In 1627 he married Alice Bosworth. In 1634, Richard, Alice and four children emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and settled near Salem; more children were born in the new colony. Richard applied to be a freeman of the Colony in 1634. The town granted land to Richard in 1637 and more land in 1654 and 1660.

                                                Richard's land #77 across from Salem church

Alice was admitted to the Salem Church in 1636 and Richard became a member in 1647.  The First Church of Salem, founded in 1629, is one of the oldest churches in North America. The Puritans who founded this church intended to build a City Upon a Hill as a model of an uncorrupted church and godly society. They intended to purify the Church of England of all remaining vestiges of popery and medieval Roman Catholicism, establish a more biblical understanding of faith, practice and worship and prove that the ideals of the New Testament could work on earth. Heresy would be suppressed, public morality enforced and posterity would be preserved from the corruption of the evil world.

Religion shaped the Puritan view of wealth and success. They believed that any person who adhered to the Puritan ethic (honesty, hard work, frugality) would be successful. Thus, Puritans believed that an individual’s wealth was a visible sign that he was among God’s “Elect”. Wealth itself was less important than that it was a sign of God’s favour. By this measure, Richard was indeed among the chosen as he became a prosperous landowner, community leader, father of eight.

Richard was married three times. After Alice died in 1668, he married widow Susanna Archer and then widow Sara Standish in 1674.

Richard died in Salem in 1682, aged 80. He was buried in the Old Burying Point Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Salem.

                                             Burying Point Cemetery, Salem, Massachusetts

Richard’s will exists. He signed it with his mark.

He gave money to his sons-in-law and deeded land to his children and grandchildren. His son Joseph was the main beneficiary.  Richard requested that his widow remain at his son Joseph’s house “during her natural life…and to be provided with house room, meal, drink, lodging and all other things whatsoever that may be comfortable for one of her age and ten shillings yearly to be at her dispose to be paid by him in money or butter.” If the widow remarried or moved out, then she was entitled to take the estate she brought into the marriage. (Sara did remarry and there was a legal dispute between her and her step-son Joseph as to what she was entitled.)

Richard also left four acres of land to “black Peter, my servant”. I was hopeful that this was Richard’s acknowledgement of a loyal employee. But this wasn't so for the will later stated, “I do freely give unto my son Joseph and his heirs Peter my servant and all the rest of my estate both moveable and immovable.” There is no hiding the fact that Richard and Joseph Hutchinson, my 10^th and 9^th great-grandfathers, owned slaves. It is ironical that these Puritans who came to New England for religious freedom enslaved Africans. Puritans sought freedom for themselves, but they were quite exclusive of anyone outside their own doctrine; they even felt their Bible approved of slavery.

African slaves arrived in Massachusetts in1638 when the Desire, a New England slave ship, took indigenous peoples captured in wars between the natives and colonists to the Caribbean for sale into slavery; the ship then returned with the first documented shipment of enslaved Africans. This reciprocal trade continued throughout the 17^th century as merchants and colonial governments exported “troublesome” Native Americans for more desirable African labourers. Enslaved peoples were brought into New England throughout the entire colonial period. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island had the largest enslaved population in New England. Ten percent of Boston’s population were enslaved peoples.

Slavery was legally sanctioned in Massachusetts in 1641 with the Body of Liberties Law. This law stated that no there would be no bond slavery or captivity in the colony unless they were lawful captives in just wars and “such strangers as willingly sell themselves or are sold to us.” There was so much deviousness to this law. Any war could be considered a “just” war because New England Puritans felt they were bringing Christianity and civilization to this new land; for Puritans, “stranger” came to mean Native Americans and Africans; and the law meant it was all right to have slaves if someone “sold” them to them. Later laws made it legal for children of enslaved peoples to be sold into bondage (1670), restricted the movement of blacks (1680). In Boston, both enslaved and free people of colour had a 9 pm curfew, could not possess firearms or liquor, were prohibited from marrying white people, were not allowed to join associations like militias. Punishments ranged from public whipping to exile to hanging. However, unlike in the American South, enslaved people in Massachusetts had some legal rights, including the ability to file legal suits in court.

                                             Newspaper advertisement from Salem, Massachusetts

One in four Boston households owned enslaved people, generally one or two. Such a household would be middle class—ministers, doctors, artisans, small merchants, ship captains. Enslaved peoples in Boston worked as domestics, artisans and sailors. Boston enslavers used slaves in their own homes or businesses or hired their labour out to others. Some allowed their enslaved people to conduct their own business, although they could not benefit financially. Enslaved people could be found in every field of economic activity as domestics, sailors, carpenters, shipwrights, sailmakers, printers, tailors, shoemakers, coopers, blacksmiths, bakers, weavers, goldsmiths.

What happened to Peter? Did he have a family? If not, according to Richard’s will, his four acres reverted to the Hutchinson estate. Joseph’s will does not exist. Did a benevolent or sentimental Joseph grant Peter manumission after his long years of devoted service? Or did Peter purchase his own freedom? Or?

It was case law that gradually ended the practice of slavery in Massachusetts, but there is no definitive date or moment that it was abolished; it was just slowly phased out. As a result, Massachusetts was the only state to have zero slaves enumerated on the 1790 census. 

RICHARD HUTCHINSON                                                                                                                              b. 1602, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England                                                                                m.  1. Alice Bosworth (1606-1668) on Dec 7, 1627 in Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire, England                            2. Susanna Archer (1619-1671) on Oct 1 1668, in Salem, Massachusetts                                                    3. Sarah Standish (1615-1683) on Nov 26 1674 in Salem, Ma                                                              d. 1682 in Salem, Massachusetts                                                                                                        my 10th great-grandfather (Homuth-Pierson-Farnum line)