Soldiers in King Philip's war. Containing lists of the soldiers of ...

186
ther pursuit of their practices, before any one magistrate, were to be
commited to prison till further order from the General Court. April
17, 1666, Gould, Osborne and George were presented and fined,
and refusing to pay, or enter their bond to desist from holding their
meetings, and absenting themselves from the regular service, were
cast into prison. At the next session of Assistants, September 11th,
they were allowed to pay their fines and charges of the Court, and be
set at liberty, but with the old sentence still hanging over them.
And the persecution went on with much the same method, until the
Court of Assistants met, March 3d, 1668, and summoned the
"Anabaptists" to a public "hearing" or disputation, upon April
14th, to answer for their " presumptuous and turbulent " conduct.
This notable meeting was held in Boston on the 14th and 15th of
April, before a "mighty concourse" of people. The leading men
in Mr. Clarke's church at Newport, were sent to help their brethren,
and arrived in Boston three days before the dispute. The Baptists
seem to have had the best of the argument, in the main, and the
favor of popular sympathy ; but the magistrates overbore all considerations,
and, supported by the more bigoted of the clergy, demanded
absolute obedience to their authority ; and at the next meeting of
the " Assembly " action was taken to expel from the colony, "Thomas
Gould, William Turner and John Farnum, Senior, obstinate
and turbulent Anabaptists," who " have combined themselves with
others in a pretended church estate, without the knowledge or the
approbation of the authority here established, to the great grief and
offence of the godly orthodox," &c. The above-named men were
o-iven until July 20th to get out of the colony, and if found within
its limits after that date were to be imprisoned. It is evident that
they did not leave the colony, and were imprisoned soon after the
expiration of their probation.
In the Massachusetts Archives many valuable papers are preserved
relating to this Anabaptist controversy. And in Volume X. p.
220 is a letter from Gould, Farnham and Turner, dated in prison,
October 14, 1668, stating that it is the "twelfth week of their imprisonment."
There was a wide-spread popular feeling against the
action of the magistrates who carried this persecution with such a
high hand ; and a petition was presented to the Court in behalf of
the prisoners, signed by many prominent names of the colony, sev-
enty or more being signed. The house of deputies, it seems, favored
the granting of the petition, but the magistrates overruled and
refused, and summoned many of the prominent signers to appear
and answer for their contempt of the Court in signing the petition.
I think the prisoners were liberated during the winter, probably on
condition of
< ;
good behavior." Capt. Turner was imprisoned again,
evidently under the old sentence, and it is likely for breaking the
conditions of his release. Several complaints were brought up against
him, the chief of which seems to have been, in this last case, that