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"Mehetebell Goodwin, single woman, daughter of Adam Goodwin of Berwick <ind.>, being in the Gallery in<ind.>meeting house did when the Sacrament was administer'd behave very indecently by laughing several times & rising up in a disorderly manner: Contrary to the peace of our sovereign Lord the King..." (Pictured)
Original manuscript legal document, Berwick, York County, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay (present-day Maine), 1761, the first year of George III's reign. A complete case file on a single folded sheet.
On the Lord's Day, during administration of the Lord's Supper in the Berwick meeting house, Mehetabel Goodwin, single woman, daughter of Adam Goodwin and a minor under eighteen, sitting in the gallery, "behaved very indecently by laughing several times & rising up in a disorderly manner." The warrant of August 24, 1761, signed by Justice of the Peace John Hill, orders her arrest. The verso carries Constable Joseph Harding's return of September 10 ("I have taken the body of the within named Mehetabel Goodwin"), the Justice's Court judgment the same day, her guilty plea, a fine of ten shillings for the use of the poor of Berwick plus eight shillings costs, and the itemized fee tally.
Condition: Heavy toning with foxing and staining, prominent fold lines with partial separations, chipped edges with small marginal and corner losses, ink faded in places but the text substantially legible throughout.
Dimensions: TBD
