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Free Grace Advocates of 1636

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Anneontrial

Anne Hutchinson on trial.

Free Grace Advocates (also referred to at the Antinomian Controversy), were a religious and political conflict in the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1636 to 1638. It pitted most of the colony's ministers and magistrates against some adherents of the Free Grace theology of Puritan minister John Cotton. The most notable Free Grace advocates, often called "Antinomians", were charismatic Anne Hutchinson, her brother-in-law Reverend John Wheelwright, and Massachusetts Bay Governor Henry Vane. The controversy was a theological debate concerning the "covenant of grace" and "covenant of works".

Anne Hutchinson has historically been placed at the center of the controversy, a strong-minded woman who had grown up under the religious guidance of her father Francis Marbury, an Anglican clergyman and school teacher. In England, she embraced the religious views of dynamic Puritan minister John Cotton, who became her mentor; Cotton was forced to leave England and Hutchinson followed him to New England.

In Boston, Hutchinson was influential among the settlement's women and hosted them at her house for discussions on the weekly sermons. Eventually, men were included in these gatherings, such as Governor Vane. During the meetings, Hutchinson criticized the colony's ministers, accusing them of preaching a covenant of works as opposed to the covenant of grace espoused by Reverend Cotton. The Colony's orthodox ministers held meetings with Cotton, Wheelwright, and Hutchinson in the fall of 1636. A consensus was not reached, and religious tensions mounted.

To ease the situation, the leaders called for a day of fasting and repentance on January 19, 1637. However, Cotton invited Wheelwright to speak at the Boston church during services that day, and his sermon created a furor which deepened the growing division. In March 1637, the court accused Wheelwright of contempt and sedition, but he was not sentenced. His supporters circulated a petition on his behalf, mostly people from the Boston church.

The religious controversy had immediate political ramifications. During the election of May 1637, the free grace advocates suffered two major setbacks when John Winthrop defeated Vane in the gubernatorial race, and the Boston magistrates were voted out of office who had supported Hutchinson and Wheelwright. Vane returned to England in August 1637. At the November 1637 court, Wheelwright was sentenced to banishment, and Anne Hutchinson was brought to trial. She defended herself well against the prosecution, but she claimed on the second day of her hearing that she possessed direct personal revelation from God, and she prophesied ruin upon the colony. She was charged with contempt and sedition and banished from the colony, and her departure brought the controversy to a close. The events of 1636 to 1638 are regarded as crucial to an understanding of religion and society in the early colonial history of New England.

The idea that Hutchinson played a central and singular role in the controversy went largely unchallenged until 2002, when Michael Winship's account of the controversy portrayed Cotton, Wheelwright, and Vane as equally complicit with her.

List of the Advocates[]

Core group[]

This group included the strongest supporters of Hutchinson and Wheelwright. The most serious action was taken against them; all of them left the Massachusetts Bay Colony, though several of them recanted and returned.[1] Most of these men signed the petition in favor of Wheelwright and were thus disarmed. Several of these individuals signed the Portsmouth Compact, establishing a government on Rhode Island (Aquidneck Island), and some became presidents, governors, or other leaders in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

Core group
Name Place of origin Year of arrival Residence Vocation Disposition Went to Comments
William Alford London 1634 Salem Skinner, merchant[2] Disarmed Portsmouth, but returned
William Aspinwall (1602-1663) 1630 Boston Notary, court recorder[3] Disarmed
Disfranchised 		Portsmouth, but returned Signed Portsmouth Compact
William Baulstone (1605-1678) 1630 Boston Innkeeper Disarmed
Disfranchised
Banished 		Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact
William Brenton (1610-1675) 1633[4] Boston Merchant Portsmouth Not a core follower? Not Disarmed or Banished?
Richard Bulgar 1630 Boston Bricklayer Disarmed Exeter, but returned
Henry Bull (1609-1693) 1635 Roxbury, Boston[5] Servant Disarmed
Disfranchised
Excommunicated 		Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact
Became a Quaker
12th Gov of RI
Richard Carder (1618-1674) before 1636 Boston Disarmed
Banished 		Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact
Follower of Gorton
William Coddington (1601-1678) Lincolnshire 1630 Boston Merchant, magistrate[6] Banished Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact
Became a Quaker
John Coggeshall (1601-1665) Essex 1632 Boston Silk mercer, merchant[6] Disarmed
Disfranchised
Banished 		Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact
John Compton (1603-1694) 1634[7] Roxbury, Boston[7] Laborer, clothier[7] Disarmed
Richard Dummer Hampshire 1632 Newbury Miller[8] Disarmed Portsmouth, but returned
William Dyer Lincolnshire, London before 1635 Boston Milliner Disarmed
Disfranchised 		Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact; his wife, Mary Dyer, became a noted Quaker martyr
Nicholas Easton Hampshire 1634 Newbury Tanner Disarmed
Banished 		Portsmouth Became a Quaker
Henry Elkins before 1634 Boston Tailor Disarmed
Dismissed 		Exeter
William Foster 1634 Ipswich Shipmaster Disarmed
Banished 		Newport[9]
William Freeborn Essex 1634 Roxbury, Boston[10] Miller[10] Disarmed
Banished 		Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact
Became a Quaker
Isaac Grosse Norfolk[11] before 1635 Boston Brewer, husbandman[11] Disarmed
Acknowledged error 		Exeter, but returned
Robert Harding 1630 Boston Mercer and merchant[12] Wife admonished by church Portsmouth, but returned
Richard Hawkins Huntingdon before 1636 Boston Wife (Jane) banished Portsmouth Wife was a familist
Edward Hutchinson, Sr. Lincolnshire 1633 Boston Baker[13] Disarmed
Disfranchised
Banished 		Portsmouth Brother of William Hutchinson
Signed Portsmouth Compact
Edward Hutchinson, Jr. Lincolnshire 1633 Boston Mercer Portsmouth Son of William and Anne Hutchinson
Signed Portsmouth Compact
Francis Hutchinson Lincolnshire 1634 Boston Banished in 1641 Portsmouth Son of William and Anne Hutchinson
Richard Hutchinson Lincolnshire 1634 Boston Linen draper Disarmed London, not to return Son of William and Anne Hutchinson
William Hutchinson Lincolnshire 1634 Boston Mercer Wife banished and
excommunicated 		Portsmouth Husband of Anne Hutchinson
Signed Portsmouth Compact
Richard Morris The Hague, Holland[14] 1630 Roxbury Soldier[14] Disarmed Exeter
John Porter 1633[15] Roxbury and Boston[15] Disarmed
Banished 		Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact
Robert Potter 1634[16] Roxbury Banished
Excommunicated 		Portsmouth Follower of Gorton
John Sanford 1631[17] Boston Cannoneer[17] Disarmed Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact
Thomas Savage Somerset? 1635 Boston Tailor Disarmed, but acknowledged error apparently never left Boston[18] Son-in-law of Anne Hutchinson
Signed Portsmouth Compact
Philip Sherman Essex 1633 Roxbury Disarmed
Excommunicated 		Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact
John Spencer Surrey 1634[19] Newbury Magistrate[19] Disarmed
Discharged from position as captain 		returned to England[19]
John Underhill Warwickshire, Holland[20] 1630 Boston Soldier[20] Disarmed
Banished 		Exeter[20]
Henry Vane London 1635 Boston Gentleman England, not to return Governor of colony
John Walker 1633[21] Roxbury Disarmed Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact
Thomas Wardell Lincolnshire 1634[22] Boston Shoemaker Disarmed
Acknowledged error 		Exeter, but returned
William Wardell Lincolnshire 1633[23] Boston Tavern keeper[23] Disarmed
Acknowledged error 		Exeter[23]
John Wheelwright Lincolnshire 1636 Boston
Mount Wollaston 		Clergyman Disfranchised
Banished 		Exeter Banishment revoked in 1644; preached in Salisbury
Samuel Wilbore Essex 1633[24] Boston Merchant Disarmed
Banished
Recanted in 1639 		Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact

Support group[]

This group consists of individuals who signed the petition supporting Wheelwright and were thus disarmed, but who were not willing to leave the Massachusetts Colony. When action was taken against them, they largely recanted or endured the punishment, and only a few of them left Massachusetts.[25]

Support group
Name Place of origin Year of arrival Residence Vocation Disposition Went to Comments
William Baker before 1633 Charlestown Husbandry Acknowledged error
Edward Bates before 1633 Boston Servant Disarmed
Edward Bendall Surrey 1630 Boston Dockman Disarmed
John Biggs Suffolk 1630 Boston Acknowledged error
Zaccheus Bosworth Northamptonshire 1630 Boston Disarmed
Acknowledged error
George Bunker Bedfordshire before 1634 Charlestown Husbandry Disarmed
George Burden Gloucestershire 1635 Boston Shoemaker Disarmed
Acknowledged error
John Button before 1633 Boston Miller Disarmed
Acknowledged error
Edward Carrington 1632 Charlestown Turner Acknowledged error
John Clarke Suffolk 1637 Boston Physician Disarmed[26] Portsmouth Signed Portsmouth Compact
Became a Baptist minister
Samuel Cole 1630 Boston Innkeeper
Confectioner 		Disarmed
Acknowledged error 		Father-in-law of Susanna Cole
William Commins before 1636 Salem Disarmed
Richard Cooke before 1634 Boston Tailor Disarmed
Acknowledged error
John Davy 1635 Boston Joiner Disarmed
Acknowledged error
Edward Denison Hertfordshire 1630 Roxbury Disarmed
William Denison Hertfordshire 1630 Roxbury Merchant Disarmed
William Dinely Lincolnshire before 1635 Boston Barber-surgeon Disarmed
Disfranchised
Acknowledged error
Jacob Eliot Essex 1630 Boston Disarmed
Acknowledged error
Thomas Ewar Kent 1635 Charlestown Tailor Acknowledged error
Richard Fairbank before 1633 Boston Shopkeeper Disarmed
Acknowledged error
Mathias Faunce Essex? 1623? Plymouth? Acknowledged error
Henry Flint Derbyshire before 1636 Boston
Mount Wollaston 		Clergyman Acknowledged error
William Frothingham Yorkshire 1630 Charlestown Husbandry Acknowledged error
Stephen Greensmith before 1636 Boston Merchant Fined
Committed 		New Hampshire
Richard Gridley Suffolk 1631 Boston Brickmaker Disarmed
Disfranchised
Acknowledged error
Hugh Gunnison before 1635 Boston Disarmed
Acknowledged error
Atherton Hough Lincolnshire 1633 Boston Gentleman Rejected as Deputy
Benjamin Hubbard before 1634 Charlestown Surveyor Acknowledged error
Ralph Hudson Yorkshire 1635 Boston Draper Acknowledged error
Robert Hull Leicestershire 1635 Boston Blacksmith Disarmed
Acknowledged error
Samuel Hutchinson Lincolnshire 1637 Boston Denied residence Portsmouth
Exeter 		Brother of William Hutchinson
James Johnson Northamptonshire before 1636 Boston Leather dresser
Glover 		Disarmed
Acknowledged error
Matthew Jyans Essex 1630 Boston Servant Disarmed
William King Dorset 1634 Salem Disarmed
William Larnet Surrey 1634 Charlestown Committeeman Acknowledged error
Thomas Leverett Lincolnshire 1633 Boston
William Litherland London 1633 Boston Carpenter Disarmed
Thomas Marshall Lincolnshire before 1634 Boston Ferryman Disarmed
Disfranchised
Thomas Matson London 1630 Boston Gunsmith Disarmed
Acknowledged error
Edward Mellows Bedford 1630 Charlestown Farmer Acknowledged error
Oliver Mellows Lincolnshire before 1633 Boston Disarmed
Robert Moulton Surrey 1628 Salem Shipwright Disarmed
Ralph Mousall London 1630 Charlestown Carpenter Dismissed from court
Acknowledged error
John Odlin London 1630 Boston Cutler Dismissed
Disarmed
Acknowledged error
John Oliver Gloucestershire 1630 Boston Surveyor Disarmed
Dismissed
Acknowledged error
Thomas Oliver Gloucestershire 1630 Boston Surgeon Disarmed
William Pell before 1634 Boston Tallow chandler Disarmed
Acknowledged error
Edward Rainsford 1630 Boston Cooper Disarmed
Acknowledged error
Robert Rice Suffolk 1630 Boston Disarmed
Acknowledged error
Ezekiel Richardson Hertfordshire 1630 Charlestown Farmer? Acknowledged error
William Salter Suffolk before 1635 Boston Fisherman Disarmed
Thomas Scruggs Norfolk 1628 Salem Disarmed
Samuel Sherman Essex before 1636 Boston Farmer? Disarmed
Richard Sprague Dorset 1628 Charlestown Acknowledged error
William Townsend Suffolk before 1634 Boston Servant
Baker 		Disarmed
Acknowledged error
Gamaliel Wayte Berkshire 1630 Boston Servant Disarmed
Thomas Wheeler Berkshire 1635 Boston Tailor Disarmed
Thomas Wilson Lincolnshire 1633 Roxbury Miller Excommunicated Exeter
William Wilson Lincolnshire 1635 Boston Joiner Disarmed


Peripheral group[]

This group consists of people who were not directly involved in the Antinomian controversy but who left the Massachusetts Colony because of family, social, or economic ties with others who left, or because of their religious affiliations. Some were servants of members of the core group, some were siblings, and some had other connections. Several of these men returned to Massachusetts.[27]

Peripheral group
Name Place of origin Year of arrival Residence Vocation Disposition Went to Comments
Nathaniel Adams before 1638 Weymouth Dish turner Newport, but returned
John Albro Suffolk 1634 Boston Servant Portsmouth Servant of William Freeborn
George Allen, Jr. Somerset 1635 Weymouth Boatman Newport, but returned
Ralph Allen Somerset 1635 Weymouth Newport, but returned
Samuel Allen Essex before 1635 Mount Wollaston Sawyer Newport, but returned
Richard Awarde Bedford 1629 Boston Portsmouth
William Baker before 1636 Watertown Portsmouth
George Barlow before 1637 Sandwich? Exeter
George Bates 1635 Boston Thatcher Dismissed Exeter, but returned
Robert Bennett before 1638 Servant Newport
Townsend Bishop before 1635 Salem Examined by clergy
Jeremiah Blackwell Lincolnshire 1635 Exeter (temp) Anderson shows no record for this individual in New England[28]
John Briggs 1635 Watertown Servant Portsmouth
James Brown 1630 Charlestown Denied signing
Nicholas Brown before 1638 Portsmouth
Erasmus Bullock 1632 Boston Servant Portsmouth, but returned
Richard Burden before 1638 Newbury Portsmouth Became a Quaker
John Burrows Norfolk 1637 Salem Cooper Charged by court to keep silence Had heretical tendencies
Robert Carr 1635 Tailor Portsmouth
Jeremy Clarke Kent before 1638 Watertown? Portsmouth Became a Quaker
John Clarke Suffolk 1630 Ipswich Portsmouth
Joseph Clarke Suffolk 1637 Boston Portsmouth Brother of John Clarke
Thomas Clarke Suffolk 1637 Boston Portsmouth Brother of John Clarke
Became a Baptist
William Colburn Essex 1630 Boston
Edward Colcord before 1637 Salem Dover
William Cole Somerset before 1636 Boston Carpenter Exeter
Thomas Cornell Hertfordshire before 1638 Boston Innkeeper Portsmouth Became a Quaker
John Cramme Lincolnshire before 1635 Boston Farmer? Exeter
James Davis before 1638 Servant Portsmouth
Nicholas Davis Middlesex 1635 Charlestown Tailor Newport, but returned
Stephen Dummer Hampshire 1638 (Transient) Farmer? Portsmouth, but returned
Thomas Dummer Hampshire 1638 (Transient) Portsmouth, but returned
Hugh Durdall Hampshire 1638 (Transient) Servant Portsmouth
Robert Field Hampshire 1635 Boston Portsmouth
Gabriel Fish Lincolnshire before 1638 Fisherman Exeter (temp)
Robert Gilham before 1637 Boston Mariner Portsmouth
Samuel Gorton London 1636 Plymouth Clothier Portsmouth Leader of Gortonist sect
Jeremy Gould Hertfordshire before 1637 Weymouth Portsmouth, but returned
Job Hawkins Huntington 1635 Ipswich Servant Portsmouth
Thomas Hazard 1635 Boston Ship Carpenter Portsmouth
Christopher Helme Surrey 1637 Follower of Gorton
Enoch Hunt Buckinghamshire before 1638 Weymouth Blacksmith Newport, but returned
Robert Jeffrey 1635 Charlestown Portsmouth
John Johnson before 1638 Mount Wollaston Servant Banished Newport Servant of William Coddington
Christopher Lawson Lincolnshire 1637 Boston Cooper Exeter, but returned
George Lawton Bedfordshire before 1638 Boston Portsmouth
John Layton before 1638 Ipswich Newport, but returned
Thomas Leavitt Lincolnshire 1637 (Transient) Exeter
Robert Lenthall Surrey before 1638 Weymouth Clergyman Portsmouth
John Leverett Lincolnshire 1633 Boston
Edmund Littlefield Hampshire 1638 (Transient) Exeter
Francis Littlefield Hampshire 1638 (Transient) Exeter, but returned
John Maccumore before 1638 Plymouth Carpenter Newport, but returned
Thomas Makepeace Northamptonshire before 1635 Dorchester Gentleman; farmer
Christopher Marshall before 1634 Boston Dismissed Exeter
John Marshall before 1638 Boston Servant Portsmouth, but returned
Richard Maxson before 1634 Boston Blacksmith Portsmouth
Griffin Montague before 1635 Boston Carpenter Exeter
Adam Mott Cambridge 1635 Hingham
Roxbury 		Tailor Portsmouth
Adam Mott, Jr. Hampshire 1638 Newbury Tailor Portsmouth
John Mott Cambridge 1635 Portsmouth
Nicholas Needham 1636 Boston Exeter
William Needham before 1638 Boston Newport, but returned
George Parker 1635 Carpenter Portsmouth
Nicholas Parker 1633 Roxbury Farmer? Disarmed
Denied signing
John Peckham Kent before 1638 Newport Became a Baptist
James Penniman Essex 1630 Boston Disarmed
Denied signing
Thomas Pettit 1633 Boston Servant Exeter
Edward Poole Somerset 1634 Weymouth Sawyer Newport, but returned
Philemon Pormont Lincolnshire before 1634 Boston School master Dismissed Exeter, but returned
William Quick before 1636 Charlestown Ship master Newport
Robert Randoll before 1638 Mount Wollaston Servant Cited to appear before court Servant of William Coddington
Robert Reade before 1634 Boston Leather sealer Exeter
Edward Rishworth Lincolnshire 1637 (Transient) Exeter
James Rogers London 1623 Plymouth Miller Portsmouth
Sampson Salter Oxford 1635 Fisherman Newport
Thomas Savorie Wiltshire 1633 Ipswich Newport
Richard Searle before 1637 Dorchester Servant Newport, but returned
Sampson Shotten Leicestershire before 1636 Mount Wollaston Portsmouth Follower of Gorton
Thomas Stafford Warwickshire 1626 Plymouth Newport
Anthony Stanyon 1635 Boston Glover Exeter, but returned
Augustine Storre Lincolnshire 1637 (Transient) Exeter
John Thornton before 1638 Boston Portsmouth Became a Baptist
John Vaughan before 1633 Watertown Newport
Thomas Waite Essex before 1635 Ipswich Portsmouth
Richard Wayte before 1634 Boston Tailor Disarmed
Denied signing
William Wenbourne before 1635 Boston Farmer? Exeter, but returned
William Wentworth Lincolnshire 1637 (Transient) Sawmill proprietor Exeter
Francis Weston 1637 Salem Banished Providence Baptist, then follower of Gorton
Michael Williamson Bedford 1635 Ipswich Locksmith Portsmouth

See Also[]

1636: Antinomian Controversy[]

Anneontrial

In 1636-1638, Massachusetts Bay Colony, this family were of the Free Grace theology of Puritan minister John Cotton. The most notable Free Grace advocates, often called "Antinomians", were charismatic Anne Hutchinson, her brother-in-law Reverend John Wheelwright, and Massachusetts Bay Governor Henry Vane. In the summer of 1637 their opponents led by Gov John Winthrop won back political control of the colony. The following trial led to the banishment many of the leaders of this movement.

1630: Winthrop Fleet Migration[]

Winthrop2017a

This family were some of the 700+ Passengers of the Winthrop Fleet which sailed from England to settle the Massachusetts Bay Colony at Salem in 1630 under the guidance of Gov. John Winthrop. It is reported that during the first year nearly 200 of these colonists died and another 100 returned to England. The remaining settlers either stayed in Salem or moved on to Boston or Watertown.

References[]

  1. ^ Battis 1962, pp. 300–307.
  2. ^ Anderson, Sanborn & Sanborn 1999, p. 23.
  3. ^ Anderson 1995, p. 55.
  4. ^ Anderson 1995, p. 218.
  5. ^ Anderson, Sanborn & Sanborn 1999, p. 465.
  6. ^ a b Anderson 1995, p. 395.
  7. ^ a b c Anderson, Sanborn & Sanborn 2001, p. 170.
  8. ^ Anderson 1995, p. 588.
  9. ^ Anderson, Sanborn & Sanborn 2001, p. 557.
  10. ^ a b Anderson, Sanborn & Sanborn 2001, p. 573.
  11. ^ a b Anderson 2003, p. 159.
  12. ^ Anderson 1995, p. 855.
  13. ^ Anderson 1995, p. 1052.
  14. ^ a b Anderson 1995, p. 1293.
  15. ^ a b Anderson 1995, p. 1501.
  16. ^ Anderson 2007, p. 500.
  17. ^ a b Anderson 1995, p. 1626.
  18. ^ Anderson 2009, p. 187.
  19. ^ a b c Anderson 2009, p. 428.
  20. ^ a b c Anderson 1995, p. 1859.
  21. ^ Anderson 1995, p. 1906.
  22. ^ Anderson 2011, p. 236.
  23. ^ a b c Anderson 1995, p. 1922.
  24. ^ Anderson 1995, p. 1986.
  25. ^ Battis 1962, pp. 308–316.
  26. ^ Austin 1887, p. 45.
  27. ^ Battis 1962, pp. 317–328.
  28. ^ Anderson, Sanborn & Sanborn 1999, p. 319.


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