The story of Anne Hutchinson, a revolutionary
Toby Liederman held a
dinner celebrating the close
of the Anne Hutchinson year
at Artie’s on City Island last
Thursday. The occasion reminded
REPRINTED FROM 12-08-2011
Anne Hutchinson, 1591-1643
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J BTR ANUARY 11-17, 2019 35
me that it’s been a good
while since I’ve written anything
substantive about this indomitable
woman who has both
a major parkway and a river
named in her honor. That’s
quite an accomplishment for
someone who lived in the area
we now call the Bronx for such
a short period of time.
Anne Hutchinson was born
in Alford, England in 1591 and
was the daughter of an Anglican
minister and teacher by
the name of Francis Marbury.
The trouble was that Francis
was somewhat revolutionary
in his ideals and practices often
putting him at odds with
the church. He was, in effect,
silenced and even placed under
house arrest.
He did, however, use his
time benefi cially and taught
his children well so that they
were well trained in both the
bible and discourse.
Anne was very well educated
for a woman of that era
and certainly not afraid to
speak her mind.
She fell in love with a young
merchant named William
Hutchinson and the couple returned
to Alford to raise their
family. They visited the various
local churches until they
heard a young minister by the
name of John Cotton at a church
about 21 miles away, a good distance
in those days. Anne was
so enraptured by his preaching
that the couple became regular
followers of Cotton.
Then the unthinkable happened
and Cotton was about to
be arrested for preaching Puritan
ideals so he fl ed to America.
The Hutchinson’s now had
14 children, but that didn’t stop
them from following their feisty
minister to America in 1634.
Anne was a midwife and a
natural leader, so was readily
accepted in the colony. Because
of her superior education and
speaking ability, it wasn’t long
before crowds of women began
gathering at her house weekly
to hear her interpretation of
the minister’s discourses.
As the crowds continued to
grow, men also began appearing
and the authorities grew
alarmed that a woman could
attract such crowds at a time
when women were still cast
in an inferior mold. This one
woman dared to be different
and Boston would never be the
same.
Anne believed that a covenant
of grace, not good works,
was necessary for salvation.
This ran contrary to the
preaching of most of the ministers
with the exception of John
Cotton and a few others.
Obviously, the ministers began
complaining to Governor
John Winthrop, that their authority
was being usurped by
this upstart woman and they
demanded that she be silenced.
Thus began the proceedings
leading up to her trials of
1637 and 1638. Boston was still
a theocracy at the time so while
the civil trial of November 7th
and 8th, 1637 found her guilty
in Newton (now Cambridge)
and declared her banished
from the colony, she could not
leave while still under the
church’s authority.
She was placed under arrest
in the home of a friend of the
court in Roxbury until the religious
trial could be held.
The religious trial was held
in Boston on March 22, 1638
and it was no surprise that she
was found guilty and excommunicated
from the church.
BRONX SCENE