Mary (Peck) Butterworth (1686 - 1775)

Born 27 Jul 1686 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Wife of John Butterworth Jr. — married 1 Mar 1711 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay

Died 7 Feb 1775 at age 88 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Mary (Peck) Butterworth is Notable.

"'Richard LeBaron Bowen, Early Rehoboth'; Higginson Book Co; Salem, Ma; 1999: Mary was an expert counterfeiter and she had a group of family and friends who passed her bills for seven years before she was caught, but she only served 30 days in gaol in 1723 while awaiting trial then was released due to a lack of evidence." ^[1]

"Ancestry World Connect; Rootsweb: 'Notorious Women: BUTTERWORTH, Mary Peck', by Sam Behling: 'The first paper currency in the New England colonies, known as 'Bills of Credit' were issued by Massachusetts about the time of King William's War. Rhode Island and Connecticut soon followed with issues of their own. These rather crudely engraved bills were easily counterfeited by the use of copper plates. Counterfeiters who were caught were easily indicted when the copper plates were discovered in their possession. The usual punishment for the crime of counterfeiting was either a fine or to have one's ears cropped.

Little is known about Mary Peck Butterworth until 1716 when she presumably began counterfeiting the £5 bills of credit issued by Rhode Island the previous year. (There are no existing court records which show that she was ever convicted for this crime. All the records in this case are of unproven charges.)

Mary was the daughter of one of the most influential first families of Rehoboth, Massachusetts and related, both by blood and through her marriage to nearly every other first family. She was born at Rehoboth on July 27, 1686, the first child among four daughters and five sons of Joseph3 (Nicholas2, Joseph1) Peck, an innkeeper, and Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Ensign Henry and Elizabeth (Cooper) Smith. Mary's early history is unknown, but she appears on the record books when she married John4 (John3, John2, Henry1) Butterworth, Jr. on March 1, 1710/11. John was a skilled housewright who employed at least two carpenters to help him, so the couple was well off financially.

Why this young, married, Puritan woman began a life of crime in what would be considered a man's field is unknown. But Mary was so successful that she became probably the biggest counterfeiter in New England. Mary ingeniously invented a method of making counterfeit bills of credit without using a copper plate which could've been used as evidence against her. Nicholas Campe, the only accomplice who ever confessed, said-'

'Mary Peck Butterworth was the most clever counterfeiter of her time. There is no record of any other man or woman counterfeiter at this period in New England who ever continued operations for seven years without being convicted and sentenced.'" ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com
2. ↑ Ancestry.com

• "Wheaton JK.co.uk: 'Descendants of Robert WHEATON.'"

• "Ancestry World Connect Rootsweb: 'Rehoboth Roots.'"

• Bowen, Richard LeBaron. Early Rehoboth Families and Events, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1943) Vol. 97, Page 114.
• Saxbe, William Bart. Richard Bowen (1594?-1675), of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and His Descendants (Rhode Island Genealogical Society, 2011) Page 93.