Essays on Anne Hutchinson

Anne Hutchinson was born in 1591 in Lincolnshire, England. Anne was the daughter of a silenced clergyman and she grew up in an atmosphere of learning and was taught to question authority. In 1612, she married William Hutchinson, a merchant, and the Hutchinsons became followers of Puritan minister John Cotton.

In 1634 the Hutchinsons migrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony. After settling in Boston, Anne served as a midwife and herbalist. Later, organized weekly meetings of Boston women to discuss the ministers’ sermons, sometimes gathering 60 to 80 people.

The Puritan leadership decided that Anne’s ideas were dangerous. Her opponents accused her of antinomianism. In 1637, the magistrates determined she was dangerous to the community and Anne was proclaimed a heretic. In 1638, with some of her followers, Anne joined a colony in what is now Portsmouth, Rhode Island, joining Roger Williams.

After the death of her husband in 1642, she settled on Long Island Sound. In 1643, Anne’s family was attacked by Indians at their home, their bodies were burned.