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Tag Archives: Murder

Early American Criminals: William Fly’s Revenge

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

To this vile Crue you may the PIRATE add Who puts to Sea the Merchant to invade, And reaps the Profit of another’s Trade. He sculks behind some Rock, or swiftly flies From Creek to Creek, rich Vessels to surprise. By this ungodly Course the Robber gains, And lays up so much Wealth, that he […]

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Crime Poems: The Memory of Infanticide Committed by Elizabeth Shaw

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

On June 29, 1745, Elizabeth Shaw, a “weak, simple girl, deficient in mental capacity,” gave birth to a boy in Windham, CT. She was not happy. Her son was a bastard child, which could not only bring punishment and public humiliation upon her, but also incur the wrath of her “stern and rigid” father. She […]

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Early American Criminals: Thomas Hellier’s “Hell upon Earth”

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

With the ill treatment by his mistress “burning and broyling in [his] Breast,” Thomas Hellier, an indentured servant on a Virginia plantation, knew he had to escape. In 1677, Hellier was tricked into signing an indentured servant contract back in England with the promise that he would not be forced to perform physical labor and […]

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Crime Poems: Competing Accounts of Moses Paul and the First Native American Publication

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

When Mrs. Clark refused to let Moses Paul, a Native American, “have a dram” at Clark’s Tavern in Bethany, CT on a Saturday night, he was incensed. He became so disorderly, in fact, that he was forcibly removed from the tavern, but not before he vowed to exact revenge. Not long after the disturbance, Moses […]

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Early American Criminals: Samuel Bellamy’s Treasure

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

It was love at first sight for Samuel Bellamy and Mary Hallett. According to local lore, when the two met on a spring evening in 1715 in a tavern in Eastham, MA on Cape Cod, they began to talk about marriage. But when Hallett’s wealthy parents put a stop to the plan when they learned […]

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