Skip to content

Author Archives: Anthony Vaver

Anthony Vaver has broad expertise in the social and cultural history of crime and punishment. He holds a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and an M.L.S. from Rutgers University.

Early American Criminals: Elizabeth Wilson’s Secret

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Near the beginning of the year in 1785, a traveler paused while walking through the countryside near Chester, PA to watch as his dog began to sniff and scratch among some brush. The man’s curiosity soon turned to horror when his faithful companion emerged from its feverish digging with the separated head of an infant […]

Filed in Criminals | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Crime Poems: Elizabeth Smith and John Sennet

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

On March 10, 1772, Elizabeth Smith appeared before the Massachusetts Superior Court and for a second time was found guilty of theft. Her first conviction came almost a year ago, when she received 20 lashes as punishment for the same crime. This time, Smith was sentenced to sit on the gallows for one hour with […]

Filed in Poems | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (4)

Early American Criminals: Rachel Wall’s Fall From Grace

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Rachel Wall knew exactly what to say and how to say it in her Life, Last Words and Dying CONFESSION, where she eloquently appealed to God and her “dear Savior and Redeemer JESUS CHRIST, who is able to save all those that, by faith, come unto him, not refusing even the chief of sinners.” After […]

Filed in Criminals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Jeremiah Swift, Convict and Child Murderer by Robert Barnes

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Note: This week Early American Crime welcomes historian and genealogist Robert Barnes as a guest author. Even though Robert’s guest post is a first for him on this website, it is not the first time his work has appeared in this space, since his book, Colonial Families of Maryland: Bound and Determined to Succeed, served […]

Filed in Convict Transportation | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Early American Criminals: The Mother of the Infant in the Well

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

On Saturday morning, August 11, 1739, a female infant was discovered in a well near the outskirts of Portsmouth, NH. Warrants were immediately issued, and a search was conducted to find the mother who presumably had murdered the baby. By the afternoon, officers focused their attention on Sarah Simpson, a 27 year-old widow. Neighbors believed […]

Filed in Criminals | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)