This is not my William Nelson (who came in the ship Fortune to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621), but I imagine he might have looked quite like this. Just like folks living today, William saw himself in General Court in Plymouth in 1658 for “vnciuell (uncivil or rude) carriages (bearing or deportment) towards several women at several times, it being cleared to the court that he was guilty by several testimonies and so he was sentenced by the Court to sit in the stocks for a time at the leisure of the Court and likewise to find sureties for his good behavior.
The sketch of his life, as found in the Nelson Families of Plymouth, Middleboro, Lakeville, Mass by W. Ripley Nelson, 1963 goes on to explain “one can only surmise as to William Nelson’s crime but in so doing the religious fanaticism and puritanical judgments of the time must be borne in mind.” Whatever his offense, he was found guilty of a breach of deportment and his offence considered serious in view of the surety required: 40 pounds.
Cannot help but compare this with what goes on in today’s communities, as shown on the nightly news. Almost everybody would be guilty by those strict New England standards!!
And don’t you think if many miscreants of smaller things were made to sit in public in the stocks might would shame them into better behavior?? Did it work for our ancestors? For your ancestor?
Donna, aka Mother Hen, until next peek.