Raped in Colonial New England — Lydia Fish

B. (probably) during the 1660s in Sandwich, Plymouth Colony¹
M. 6 Apr 1688 in Billerica, Massachusetts²
Husband: John Jefts
D. 8 Sep 1712 in Billerica, Massachusetts³

Lydia Fish has the distinction of being one of the few documented rape victims in 17th century New England. She was born in Sandwich in the Plymouth colony to Nathaniel Fish and Lydia Miller. The date of her birth is not known, but it’s likely to have been in the early 1660s, since her mother was born in 1640.¹ It’s unclear how many siblings Lydia had from her father’s two marriages; Lydia Miller was his second wife.

The act of rape on Lydia Fish happened on July 12, 1677 when a relative named Ambrose Fish did “by force carnally know and ravish” Lydia.⁴ It’s not known how Ambrose was related to Lydia and some speculate that he was her half-brother. The court record says the act was “contrary to the order of nature”⁴ and that may refer to it being incest. There is also the fact that no record specifies how old she was. Even though the record didn’t say she was a minor, she could have been well under the age of 20, as girls often got married at age 15 and younger.

Lydia’s rape case came to trial on October 30th; some say that the delay of several months was to see if she had become pregnant, which she hadn’t. Presiding over the court were some of the most noted men in the Plymouth colony, with John Alden heading up the group. Alden was a passenger on the Mayflower, and was in his 80s at the time of Lydia's case. A jury of 12 men found Ambrose Fish guilty, and ordered that he be publicly whipped.⁴ Afterwards he was released, and he seems to have gone back to a normal life in the community.

The man who raped Lydia received a whipping such as this.

Ten years passed after the rape before Lydia found a husband. On April 6, 1688, she married John Jefts in Billerica, Massachusetts.² It’s been suggested that perhaps Lydia left the Plymouth colony after the rape to avoid public embarrassment, and that she went to live with an aunt, Elizabeth Frost, who lived in Billerica.

Lydia and John went on to have a family of seven children, but John didn’t prove to be a good provider. In January 1697, he was one of three men in Billerica who required public assistance. The community took up a collection and divided up a sum of money between them, with each also receiving a bushel of corn.⁵ A few years later, somebody reported John to the town council saying that he had been “too slack in providing for the comfort of his wife and children.” He was told if he didn’t change, his case would be taken to authorities in Boston.⁵ There’s no further mention of this in the records, so we can assume that he straightened out.

1712 turned out to be a very bad year in Lydia’s family. On July 2nd, her daughter Hannah died at age 17,⁶ and this was followed a few months later by the deaths of both Lydia on September 8th,³ and John on September 28th.⁷ The closeness of John and Lydia’s death dates suggests that perhaps they died of the same contagious illness, but this is only speculation. 

Children:
1. Henry Jefts — B. 16 Jan 1689, Billerica, Massachusetts;⁸ D. 19 Aug 1772, Billerica, Massachusetts;⁹ M. (1) Elizabeth Hayward (~1689-1735), 10 Jul 1716, Billerica, Massachusetts;¹⁰ (2) Dinah Brown (1706-1764), 13 Nov 1735, Billerica, Massachusetts¹¹

2. Alice Jefts — B. 7 Sep 1691, Billerica, Massachusetts;¹² M. Joseph Baker (1696-1761), 11 Dec 1716, Concord, Massachusetts¹³

3. Hannah Jefts — B. 18 Aug 1694, Billerica, Massachusetts;¹⁴ D. 2 Jul 1712, Billerica, Massachusetts⁶

4. John Jefts — B. 19 Dec 1696, Billerica, Massachusetts;¹⁵ D. 8 May 1725, Billerica, Massachusetts¹⁶

5. Nathaniel Jefts — B. 29 Mar 1699, Billerica, Massachusetts¹⁷

6. William Jefts — B. 17 Mar 1701, Billerica, Massachusetts;¹⁸ D. 30 Sep 1738, Billerica, Massachusetts¹⁹

7. Ebenezer Jefts — B. 28 Jan 1703, Billerica, Massachusetts;²⁰ M. Elizabeth Farnsworth (1707-1781), 30 Dec 1729, Groton, Massachusetts²¹

Sources:
1    Estimated birth of Lydia Fish based on birth year of her mother, Lydia Miller
2    Marriage record of John Jefts and Lydia Fish, Massachusetts Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, FamilySearch.org
3    Death record of Lydia Jefts, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
4    Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691, Eugene Aubrey Stratton, 1986, pp. 198-199
5    Town records 1685-1779 Billerica, Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986, FamilySearch.org
6    Death record of Hannah Jefts, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
7    Death record of John Jefts, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
8    Birth record of Henry Jefts, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
9    Death record of Henry Jefts, Vital Records of Billerica, MA, to the year 1850, NEHGS, 1908
10  Marriage record of Henry Jefts and Elizabeth Hayward, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
11  Marriage record of Henry Jefts and Dinah Brown, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
12  Birth record of Alice Jefts, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
13  Marriage record of Joseph Baker and Alice Jefts, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
14  Birth record of Hannah Jefts, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
15  Birth record of John Jefts (younger), M.T.C., V. & T.R.
16  Death record of John Jefts, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
17  Birth record of Nathaniel Jefts, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
18  Birth record of William Jefts, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
19  Death record of William Jefts, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
20  Birth record of Ebenezer Jefts, M.T.C., V. & T.R.
21  Marriage record of Ebenezer Jefts and Elizabeth Farnsworth, M.T.C., V. & T.R.