“Ruth!”
“Yes, good Reverend?” she asked, looking up at him from the straw mattress on the cold stone floor.
“You have been judged guilty of your crimes and you shall be hung by your wretched neck until you are dead.”
“Have you no mercy for me Reverend Jensen?”
“Woman I have none. Pray God that He might find some before this
week is done. I shall see you hung on Saturday next.”
“Peter Jensen are you so pure of heart that you might judge me?”
“You will not test me woman!”
With that Reverend Jensen slammed the cell door closed and with a tick of the key in the iron box he locked it securely. His retreating footsteps echoed through the long hall, ending as the heavy front door slammed behind him. She knew that he would not return again until Saturday, when he would watch, with satisfaction, as she swung from the gallows.
*
Ruth was hung at East Grantham, Province of Maine, on November 28, 1762. At only twenty-three years old she had spent nearly a year and a half in the cell of the County Jail, awaiting her fate. On the morning of her execution her rich auburn hair was covered by a black bonnet. Her enchanting dark brown eyes were hidden behind an attached veil. She was dressed in a fine black taffeta dress, chosen by her mother for her burial. In handcuffs and leg-irons she was escorted by the Jailer, Abner Pelletier and Sheriff Lazarus Elliott. Reverend Jensen followed, reading scripture aloud as he traipsed behind them.
At the far side of the Jail the blacksmith, Ruth’s Uncle Hosea Sotton, waited for them. He removed the restraints as painlessly as he could. Her hands were then tied in front of her to permit her to continue her prayers. A cord was wrapped around her waist, looped at her elbows, and secured to her wrists. Slowly she strode up the hill to the gallows, passing her coffin as she walked.
Like anyone prepared to suffer a painful death, Ruth must have been terrified but she concealed it behind her veil. Having accepted her destiny she crawled up the ladder to the wooden platform. The blue silk hood she had requested was drawn down over the black bonnet. Abner Pelletier slipped the noose smoothly over her cowl. He gently snugged it at her neck, turning the knot slowly to rest it under her left ear. “May God have mercy on your soul Ruth,” he whispered sadly before tightening the rope at her throat.
The few who had come to watch the hanging took great satisfaction from Ruth’s shudder as the loop was tightened. Pelletier and Sheriff Elliott strode across the platform and moved back down the ladder. Hesitantly Abner released the trap door, dropping Ruth only a few inches. The short drop hanging was a common, albeit brutal practice used through the 18th century. She was jerked up sharply, causing the noose to tighten around her neck. Swinging back and forth, she thrashed wildly in agony and panic. Her gurgling and choking sounds were unsettling to the few individuals who watched.
Ruth struggled for several minutes before Sheriff Elliott stepped beneath the platform, grasped her legs and used his full weight to mercifully hasten her death. Ruth’s lifeless body hung from the rope for another 30 minutes, as was the custom.
Abner Pelletier cut the noose free and Ruth’s body was lowered to the ground. Her corpse was carried to the waiting coffin as Reverend Jensen prayed over her. The box was then loaded into Lemuel Botts’ wagon and driven to his tavern.
In the scullery at the back of Botts’ Tavern he prepared her body for burial. At her mother’s behest, Ruth would not be laid out in the parlor, but would be taken directly to her grave. She would be buried on the hill behind the house where she had been born and raised. Not long after sunset on the day she was hung her coffin was lowered into the ground and the mourners, primarily family, had dispersed.
*
Growing up I had heard several versions of my great-great-grandmother, Ruth’s life story. Most of the family believed she had been innocent, but that was not a unanimous opinion. Last Christmas, over dinner with a cousin, the topic of Ruth came up. His opinion that Ruth was guilty and deserved to hang surprised me greatly. I contemplated his rendering of the tale and how he justified her death. Still I was confident that she had been falsely accused. Although it was clearly too late to save her, it might not be too late to find out with certainty whether she had been innocent or guilty.
On a mission, I set out to dig up the truth and hopefully to set my cousin straight. So many years had passed that no-one in my family knew the full story any longer. A great aunt granted me free access to her home, where Ruth had lived prior to her death. There I discovered journals and documents that had belonged to Ruth and family. With additional research through public records and newspaper archives I was able to piece together more of her story. But the biggest surprise was uncovered in the journal I obtained from the archives of the judge who had presided over Ruth’s trial. This is the unexpected true story of the demise of my ancestor, Ruth Chernock.
Regarding Ruth by Kim Scott (c) 2012
http://www.amazon.com/Regarding-Ruth-Chernock-Series-ebook/dp/B0089Y77C8
“Peter Jensen are you so pure of heart that you might judge me?”
“You will not test me woman!”
With that Reverend Jensen slammed the cell door closed and with a tick of the key in the iron box he locked it securely. His retreating footsteps echoed through the long hall, ending as the heavy front door slammed behind him. She knew that he would not return again until Saturday, when he would watch, with satisfaction, as she swung from the gallows.
*
Ruth was hung at East Grantham, Province of Maine, on November 28, 1762. At only twenty-three years old she had spent nearly a year and a half in the cell of the County Jail, awaiting her fate. On the morning of her execution her rich auburn hair was covered by a black bonnet. Her enchanting dark brown eyes were hidden behind an attached veil. She was dressed in a fine black taffeta dress, chosen by her mother for her burial. In handcuffs and leg-irons she was escorted by the Jailer, Abner Pelletier and Sheriff Lazarus Elliott. Reverend Jensen followed, reading scripture aloud as he traipsed behind them.
At the far side of the Jail the blacksmith, Ruth’s Uncle Hosea Sotton, waited for them. He removed the restraints as painlessly as he could. Her hands were then tied in front of her to permit her to continue her prayers. A cord was wrapped around her waist, looped at her elbows, and secured to her wrists. Slowly she strode up the hill to the gallows, passing her coffin as she walked.
Like anyone prepared to suffer a painful death, Ruth must have been terrified but she concealed it behind her veil. Having accepted her destiny she crawled up the ladder to the wooden platform. The blue silk hood she had requested was drawn down over the black bonnet. Abner Pelletier slipped the noose smoothly over her cowl. He gently snugged it at her neck, turning the knot slowly to rest it under her left ear. “May God have mercy on your soul Ruth,” he whispered sadly before tightening the rope at her throat.
The few who had come to watch the hanging took great satisfaction from Ruth’s shudder as the loop was tightened. Pelletier and Sheriff Elliott strode across the platform and moved back down the ladder. Hesitantly Abner released the trap door, dropping Ruth only a few inches. The short drop hanging was a common, albeit brutal practice used through the 18th century. She was jerked up sharply, causing the noose to tighten around her neck. Swinging back and forth, she thrashed wildly in agony and panic. Her gurgling and choking sounds were unsettling to the few individuals who watched.
Ruth struggled for several minutes before Sheriff Elliott stepped beneath the platform, grasped her legs and used his full weight to mercifully hasten her death. Ruth’s lifeless body hung from the rope for another 30 minutes, as was the custom.
Abner Pelletier cut the noose free and Ruth’s body was lowered to the ground. Her corpse was carried to the waiting coffin as Reverend Jensen prayed over her. The box was then loaded into Lemuel Botts’ wagon and driven to his tavern.
In the scullery at the back of Botts’ Tavern he prepared her body for burial. At her mother’s behest, Ruth would not be laid out in the parlor, but would be taken directly to her grave. She would be buried on the hill behind the house where she had been born and raised. Not long after sunset on the day she was hung her coffin was lowered into the ground and the mourners, primarily family, had dispersed.
*
Growing up I had heard several versions of my great-great-grandmother, Ruth’s life story. Most of the family believed she had been innocent, but that was not a unanimous opinion. Last Christmas, over dinner with a cousin, the topic of Ruth came up. His opinion that Ruth was guilty and deserved to hang surprised me greatly. I contemplated his rendering of the tale and how he justified her death. Still I was confident that she had been falsely accused. Although it was clearly too late to save her, it might not be too late to find out with certainty whether she had been innocent or guilty.
On a mission, I set out to dig up the truth and hopefully to set my cousin straight. So many years had passed that no-one in my family knew the full story any longer. A great aunt granted me free access to her home, where Ruth had lived prior to her death. There I discovered journals and documents that had belonged to Ruth and family. With additional research through public records and newspaper archives I was able to piece together more of her story. But the biggest surprise was uncovered in the journal I obtained from the archives of the judge who had presided over Ruth’s trial. This is the unexpected true story of the demise of my ancestor, Ruth Chernock.
Regarding Ruth by Kim Scott (c) 2012
http://www.amazon.com/Regarding-Ruth-Chernock-Series-ebook/dp/B0089Y77C8
Book 2 - 'IN RUTH'S MEMORY
Book 3 - 'ON GRACE'S SHOULDERS'
Book 4 - 'FALLEN ACORNS' coming in November 2012
These books are available on Kindle and in paperback from Amazon.com. They will be available on Nook and other ebook platforms in September. : )
Book 4 - 'FALLEN ACORNS' coming in November 2012
These books are available on Kindle and in paperback from Amazon.com. They will be available on Nook and other ebook platforms in September. : )
