Anne Hutchinson, the daughter
of a clergyman, was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1615. A Puritan,
Hutchinson emigrated with her husband to America in 1634.
Hutchinson settled in Massachusetts Bay,
where she soon obtained a following as a preacher. Hutchinson began
to claim that good conduct could be a sign of salvation and affirmed
that the Holy Spirit in the hearts of true believers relieved them
of responsibility to obey the laws of God. She also criticised New
England ministers for deluding their congregations into the false
assumption that good deeds would get them into heaven.
Complaints were made about Hutchinson's teachings and John
Winthrop, the governor of Massachusetts, called her to appear
before the authorities. During her cross-examination she claimed that
she had received a revelation from God. To the Puritan authorities
this was blasphemy and she was banished from the community.
Hutchinson joined Roger Williams and
his colony on Rhode Island. The colony was a haven of religious toleration
and admitted Jews and Quakers
and other religious dissenters.
After the death of her husband in 1642, Hutchinson moved to a new
settlement in Pelham Bay. The following year Anne Hutchinson and fourteen
members of her family were murdered by Native Americans in the area.
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