The 1635 Perplexing Death of Maid Mary Sholy
In 1635, Mary Sholy had the tragic misfortune of meeting William Schooler. Schooler was not the sort of man the early settlers of Massachusetts wanted in their midst. The Puritans who came to America...
View ArticleThe Great September Gale of 1815
When the Great September Gale struck New England in the fall of 1815, few could remember the last time such a devastating storm had hit. That was the Colonial Gale of 1635, which almost killed Richard...
View ArticleHow the Puritans Raised New England Living Standards to the World’s Highest
New England living standards were higher than anyplace else in the world during much of the 17th and 18th centuries. By 1700, just 70 years after the Puritans’ Great Migration began, colonial Americans...
View ArticleThe Puritans Blame Provoking Evils for King Philip’s War
Increase Mather could see King Philip’s War coming from his pulpit. All around him he saw sinful activity: periwigs, high prices, tippling in the ordinary, even people leaving the Sunday meeting before...
View ArticleIn 1640, More Puritans Left New England Than Arrived
The year 1620 is well known as the date the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth, but 1640 is less well-known as the year they left New England for old England. Some couldn’t stand the harsh winters. Some saw...
View ArticleThe Puritans Burn the Book of Sports
Merrie Old England used to spend Sunday afternoons the way we do now: enjoying sports. King James actually encouraged his subjects to play games and have fun after church. He even sent out a list of...
View ArticleWhen John Winthrop Jr. Doctored the Connecticut Colony. For Free.
Though he wasn’t even a doctor, John Winthrop Jr. diagnosed and medicated hundreds of New Englanders in the latter part of the 17th century. He actually had another job during most of that time --...
View ArticleThe Mysterious Moodus Noises of Connecticut
The mysterious Moodus noises in south central Connecticut for many years frightened the Puritan settlers. They weren’t alone. The Wangunk Indians had told the colonists of the fearful noises that they...
View ArticleThe Great Puritan Periwig Controversy
Cotton Mather and Samuel Sewall were close and lifelong friends. They moved in the same Boston social circles, shared companions, dined together and discussed politics. But on one important matter they...
View ArticleHow John Adams Became A “Church going Animal”
It took a lifetime of study and reflection for John Adams to come up with his religious credo. In the end, the self-styled church going animal boiled it down to just four words. He was an elderly...
View ArticleThe 1635 Perplexing Death of Maid Mary Sholy
In 1635, Mary Sholy had the tragic misfortune of meeting William Schooler. Schooler was not the sort of man the early settlers of Massachusetts wanted in their midst. The Puritans who came to America...
View ArticleThe Great September Gale of 1815
When the Great September Gale struck New England in the fall of 1815, few could remember the last time such a devastating storm had hit. That was the Colonial Gale of 1635, which almost killed Richard...
View ArticleHow the Puritans Raised New England Living Standards to the World’s Highest
New England living standards were higher than anyplace else in the world during much of the 17th and 18th centuries. By 1700, just 70 years after the Puritans’ Great Migration began, colonial Americans...
View ArticleThe Puritans Blame Provoking Evils for King Philip’s War
Increase Mather could see King Philip’s War coming from his pulpit. All around him he saw sinful activity: periwigs, high prices, tippling in the ordinary, even people leaving the Sunday meeting before...
View ArticleIn 1640, More Puritans Left New England Than Arrived
The year 1620 is well known as the date the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth, but 1640 is less well-known as the year they left New England for old England. Some couldn’t stand the harsh winters. Some saw...
View ArticleThe Puritans Burn the Book of Sports
Merrie Old England used to spend Sunday afternoons the way we do now: enjoying sports. King James actually encouraged his subjects to play games and have fun after church. He even sent out a list of...
View ArticleWhen John Winthrop Jr. Doctored the Connecticut Colony. For Free.
Though he wasn’t even a doctor, John Winthrop Jr. diagnosed and medicated hundreds of New Englanders in the latter part of the 17th century. He actually had another job during most of that time —...
View ArticleThe Mysterious Moodus Noises of Connecticut
The mysterious Moodus noises in south central Connecticut for many years frightened the Puritan settlers. They weren’t alone. The Wangunk Indians had told the colonists of the fearful noises that they...
View ArticleThe Great Puritan Periwig Controversy
Cotton Mather and Samuel Sewall were close and lifelong friends. They moved in the same Boston social circles, shared companions, dined together and discussed politics. But on one important matter they...
View ArticleHow John Adams Became A “Church going Animal”
It took a lifetime of study and reflection for John Adams to come up with his religious credo. In the end, the self-styled church going animal boiled it down to just four words. He was an elderly...
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