RT Book T1 Puritans behaving badly: gender, punishment, and religion in early America A1 Fitzgerald, Monica D. 1966- LA English PP Cambridge New York PB Cambridge University Press YR 2020 UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1699240108 AB "The gossip surrounding Content Mason and Peter Wood had circulated for years. Many thought the young widow Mason would quickly remarry. Instead, she found company with the already-married Mr. Wood. Juicy gossip surrounding their relationship turned into serious accusations once Peter's wife conspicuously left town after the birth of Content's second illegitimate child. Content realized that they had to get away. So she packed what she could from her father's house, pocketed some money, and fled with Peter. Along with all of her hurried thoughts on abandoning her home, she must have conceded that life could take unexpected turns. Thirteen years prior, in 1679, the twenty-year-old Content was just beginning her married life and settling in as a goodwife in the Massachusetts Bay town of Dorchester. Unfortunately, her husband died after only three years of marriage, leaving Content a young widow with two little children. She must have had suitors over the years, but no single man could win her hand in marriage. Rumors started to spread about exactly where her heart wandered. Things got worse when Content and Peter's wife, Abigail, both delivered sons only ten days apart, in the spring of 1688. Not until a few years later, though, with the birth of Content's second illegitimate baby, did things come to a head"-- NO Enthält bibliographische Angaben und Index CN BX9355.N35 SN 9781108478786 K1 Puritans : New England : History : 17th century K1 Puritan women : Social conditions : New England K1 Sex role : Religious aspects : Puritans K1 Church discipline : History K1 Protestant Churches : Doctrines