Without historical context, family history is often reduced to a series of “begats.” Few sources rival records of our criminal justice system as a tool for unveiling the societal customs and values that guided our ancestors in the course of their everyday lives. Join Diane Florence Gravel for "Guilty as Charged! Strange and Unusual Punishments in Early America," and explore some rather bizarre cases from buggery and nightwalking, to vagabonds and scolds. Perhaps your ancestor spent time at the whipping post or the pillory! Were their ears cropped or their faces branded? Or maybe a neighbor was sentenced to be dipped on the Ducking Stool or paraded through town in a Drunkard’s Coat! Was your soldier-ancestor ever sentenced to ride the “Stang”? Learn of many strange and unusual punishments and the secrets they hold about the lives of your ancestors. Don’t miss it!
Saturday, 8:00 a.m., S403, “Guilty as Charged! Strange and Unusual Punishments in Early America.”
A Certified Genealogist
SM since 2002, Diane worked in the legal field for nearly twenty years before becoming a professional genealogist. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, she now lives in Thornton, New Hampshire, and frequently haunts the courthouses and other repositories of historic New England.
Speaker Profile-Diane Gravel, CG
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