Rebekah Chamblit
Encyclopedia
Rebekah Chamblit lived in Boston
, Massachusetts
in the 18th-century. She was tried and executed in 1733 for infanticide
.
When she was 26 years old, the unmarried Chamblit became pregnant. In May, 1733, she gave birth to what was probably a stillborn. By her own account: "On Saturday the fifth day of May last, being then something more than eight months gone with child, as I was about my household business reaching some sand from out of a large cask, I received considerable hurt, which put me into great pain, and so I continued till the Tuesday following; in all which time I am not sensible I felt any life or motion in the child within me; when, on the ... Tuesday of the eighth day of may, I was delivered when alone of a male infant; in whom I did not perceive life...."
At length the situation was brought before a jury, "who brought in their verdict, Guilty. Accordingly ... the poor woman received Sentence of Death." Her "declaration," "read at the place of execution," September 26th, 1733, may not have been in fact written by Chamblit herself; scholars suggest the text represents a forced confession.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in the 18th-century. She was tried and executed in 1733 for infanticide
Infanticide
Infanticide or infant homicide is the killing of a human infant. Neonaticide, a killing within 24 hours of a baby's birth, is most commonly done by the mother.In many past societies, certain forms of infanticide were considered permissible...
.
When she was 26 years old, the unmarried Chamblit became pregnant. In May, 1733, she gave birth to what was probably a stillborn. By her own account: "On Saturday the fifth day of May last, being then something more than eight months gone with child, as I was about my household business reaching some sand from out of a large cask, I received considerable hurt, which put me into great pain, and so I continued till the Tuesday following; in all which time I am not sensible I felt any life or motion in the child within me; when, on the ... Tuesday of the eighth day of may, I was delivered when alone of a male infant; in whom I did not perceive life...."
At length the situation was brought before a jury, "who brought in their verdict, Guilty. Accordingly ... the poor woman received Sentence of Death." Her "declaration," "read at the place of execution," September 26th, 1733, may not have been in fact written by Chamblit herself; scholars suggest the text represents a forced confession.
Further reading
- Records of the Superior Court of Judicature. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston. 1733; Reel 134, vol. 251, #35693. (Cited in Harris, 1999; p.92).
- Thomas FoxcroftThomas FoxcroftThomas Foxcroft was a minister of the First Church in Boston, Massachusetts in the 18th-century.-Biography:Foxcroft was born on February 26, 1697 in Boston to "Colonel Francis Foxcroft, warden of King's Chapel" and "Elizabeth Danforth, daughter of Governor Danforth." He was educated at...
. Lessons of caution to young sinners. A sermon preach'd on Lord's-Day Sept. 23. 1733. Upon the affecting occasion of an unhappy young woman present in the assembly under sentence of death. 1733. - Sharon M. Harris. Feminist Theories and Early American Studies. Early American Literature, Vol. 34, No. 1 (1999), pp. 86-93.