American History Revisited

Being snowbound for almost seven days gave me lots of time to read. After my first glimpse into the life of Anne Hutchinson while reading “American’s Hidden History” by Kenneth C. Davis, I had to know more about her.


She is the woman who defied the Puritan leaders and was banned from Boston in 1637 as a result. The author of “American Jezebel”, Eve LaPlante, Anne’s eleventh great-granddaughter tells her story plainly.

Growing up, Eve heard the story many times from an aunt who relished in describing the gory details of the trial and Anne’s death at the hands of Native Americans. Eve brings her great-grandmother to life through Anne's letters and her trial transcript.

Anne demonstrated leadership, wisdom and great knowledge in a culture where leadership by a woman was rejected concept. However, her legacy to our country cannot be ignored. A few years after her death, her descendants held public power. Her son-in-law John Sanford was governor of the colony of Rhode Island, as was her grandson Peleg Sanford. Great-grandson Thomas Hutchinson governed Massachusetts less than 150 years after her expulsion.

In the twentieth century her sixth great-grandson Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president of the United State. President George H. W. Bush was a ninth great-grandson of Anne’s. Bush’s son, George W. is her tenth great-grandson.

Mrs.RGS