M. (1) about 1647 in Massachusetts
Wife: Susannah ________
M. (2) 10 Nov 1684 in Billerica, Massachusetts
Wife: Ruth ________
D. 22 Jan 1687 in Billerica, Massachusetts
Not every Puritan in early New England lived a life of piety and virtue, as is evidenced by Thomas Dutton, whose neighbors once witnessed him beating his wife.
Thomas started out life in the village of Dutton, England when he was born there on October 6, 1621. His parents were John Dutton and Mary Neeld, and the family migrated to New England with the Winthrop fleet, settling in Reading.
In about 1647, Thomas married a woman named Susannah; her maiden name is unknown. Between 1648 and 1669, they had nine children. In 1659, they moved to Woburn, and it was there that one of Thomas' neighbors, John Carter, claimed he acted violently against Susannah. The incident began on September 29, 1661 when Carter’s two teenaged daughters said they saw Thomas attack Susannah with a stick. The girls said Thomas’ wife was holding a child as he hit her repeatedly, and she told him she feared he would kill the child. Carter’s wife Elizabeth and a servant both said they heard Susannah “crying out between the blows.” Meanwhile, the Duttons 10-year-old daughter Mary ran to the Carters house and hid there, afraid of her father.
The following morning, Carter along with another man went to Thomas’ house and confronted him. They could see Susannah had been crying because her eyes were swollen, but he seemed to deny being guilty of anything. Later that day, Susannah visited the Carters and she seemed terrorized, saying she could still feel his blows upon her arms.
Thomas was charged with assault and the case was presented in court that December. The Carters and their servant were the only witnesses against him because Susannah wouldn’t testify against her husband, claiming it never happened. Thomas had a document signed by 21 people from Reading saying that when he lived there, he was “tender and loving” to his wife and he displayed no evidence of violence against her. Another document signed by 11 people, presumably from Woburn, stated the same thing. Thomas also challenged the credibility of Carter’s servant by accusing him of being a drunkard. But the court decided that Thomas was guilty, and he was fined £5 for his crime.
Thomas' signature.
Thomas was involved in another strange case in 1668, when a man named Michael Bacon claimed he stole “a napkin and a spoon.” Presumably these were valuable items, because Thomas sued Bacon for slandering him. This time Thomas won his case and Bacon was fined £15. Again it was the men of Woburn who came to his defense by saying that he was an “industrious” man who would never steal anything.
In 1669, Thomas and his family moved to Billerica, and Susannah died there in 1684. He remarried within a few months, on November 10, 1684 to a widow named Ruth Hooper. Thomas died about two years later on January 22, 1687.
Children (all by Susannah):
1. Thomas Dutton — B. 14 Sep 1648, Reading, Massachusetts; M. (1) Rebecca Brabrook (1648-1721), 10 Jan 1679, Billerica, Massachusetts; (2) Sarah Converse (~1648-1738), Nov 1721
2. Mary Dutton — B. 14 Sep 1651, Reading, Massachusetts; D. 9 Jul 1678, Billerica, Massachusetts; M. Jacob Hamlet (~1641-1703), 21 Dec 1669, Billerica, Massachusetts
3. Susannah Dutton — B. 22 Feb 1654, Reading, Massachusetts; D. Dec 1723, Billerica, Massachusetts; M. (1) John Durrant (1650-1692), 16 Nov 1670, Billerica, Massachusetts; (2) Justinian Holden (1644-1699), 6 Dec 1693, Woburn, Massachusetts
4. John Dutton — B. 2 Mar 1656, Reading, Massachusetts; D. 7 Apr 1735, Billerica, Massachusetts; M. (1) Sarah Shedd (1658-1721), 20 Sep 1681, Billerica, Massachusetts; (2) Ruth ?-1738), May 1721, Billerica, Massachusetts
5. Elizabeth Dutton — B. 28 Jan 1659, Woburn, Massachusetts; D. 7 Apr 1698, Concord, Massachusetts; M. William Baker (1650-1702), 5 May 1681, Woburn, Massachusetts
6. Joseph Dutton — B. 25 Jan 1661, Woburn, Massachusetts; D. 24 Jan 1734, Haddam, Connecticut; M. (1) Rebecca Merriam (1662-1693), 19 Aug 1685, Reading, Massachusetts; (2) Mary Cutler (1663-1744), 7 Dec 1693, Charlestown, Massachusetts
7. Sarah Dutton — B. 5 Mar 1662, Woburn, Massachusetts; D. about 1757, Malden, Massachusetts; M. Samuel Lewis (1641-1698), 1683, Charlestown, Massachusetts
8. James Dutton — B. 22 Aug 1665, Woburn, Massachusetts; D. 12 Jul 1755, Chelmsford, Massachusetts
9. Benjamin Dutton — B. 19 Feb 1669, Woburn, Massachusetts; D. 11 Feb 1693
Sources:
Sex in Middlesex: Popular Mores in a Massachusetts County, 1649-1699, Roger Thompson, 1989
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