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If you already own the book in audible format, here are the footnotes and bibliography for the book.

Footnotes

Anne Bradstreet: Puritan Love

she could spy St. Botolph’s: Gordon, Charlotte, Mistress Bradstreet, The Untold Life of America’s First Poet [Little, Brown and Company, New York, N.Y., [First Kindle Edition, 2005]] loc.296; Every Saturday…John Cotton: Ibid., loc, 289; Large family, Ibid., loc. 500; Young earl’s father: Campbell, Helen Stuart, Anne Bradstreet and her time [D. Lothrop Company, Boston [1891]], p. 6; meets Simon: Gordon, loc. 642-649; Elizabeth hired tutors: Ibid., loc. 535; Simon saw…: Ibid., loc. 609-706; smallpox: Ibid., loc. 796; Tower of London: Ibid., loc. 1037; heavy wool: Ibid., loc. 1166; “Farewell, dear England…: Stuart, p. 41; What met her eyes…: Gordon, loc. 180-201; They had barely enough: Campbell, p. 58; 200 died, 200 returned: Gordon, loc. 267; shellfish: Ibid., loc. 1734; thatched roof house: Campbell, p. 79; cried and prayed: Ibid., p. 352; caught a fever: Gordon, loc. 1967-1989; Woodbridge to England: Ibid., loc 3752-3807; popularity of Tenth Muse: Ibid., loc. 3944-3974.

Samuel Sewall, The Witch Trials Judge Who Couldn’t Get a Date

description of Boston 1717: Forbes, Esther. Paul Revere and the World He Lived in. [United States: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.] p. 3; Marriage to Hannah Hull: Graham, Judith S.. Puritan Family Life: The Diary of Samuel Sewall. [Lebanon: Northeastern University Press, [2000]. p. 24-25; Hannah died: Sewall, Samuel. Samuel Sewall’s Diary. [United States: Macy-Masius, [1927]], p. 234; Mrs. Denison: Ibid., pp. 239-244; Mrs. Tilley: Ibid., pp. 246-251; Mrs. Winthrop: Ibid., pp. 254-262; Mrs. Gibbs: Ibid., p. 264.

When Harry Met Agnes

Though Agnes and Henry’s first meeting is generally given as 1742, we are relying on the research of F. Marshall Bauer for the real date of that encounter; Shirley visit: Bauer, F. Marshall, Marblehead’s Pygmalion, [Charleston, S.C., The History Press, e-book edition [2011]]. p. 54; Fort Sewall: “Fort Sewall” Historical Marker Database https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=36601; Charles Henry Frankland: Bauer, p. 30; Legend of Agnes Surriage: Spofford, Harriet Elizabeth Prescott., Garrett, Edmund Henry. Three Heroines of New England Romance. [United Kingdom: Little, Brown, [1894]] pp. 63-98; Henry Cromwell Agnes’ son: Bauer, p. 83; Peter Pelham: Lovell, Margaretta M.. Art in a Season of Revolution: Painters, Artisans, and Patrons in Early America. [United States: University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated, [2007]] p. 91; Hopkinton estate: Bauer, pp. 96-98; Henry and Mary moved in: Ibid., p. 98; lawsuit over will: Ibid., pp. 100-101; Harry from his coach, Ibid., p. 111 ; Harry and Agnes marriage: Ibid., 104-108; Protestant ceremony: Ibid., p. 121; Harry lost his job: Ibid., p. 140; job as consul-general: Ibid., p. 123; arrested: Ibid., p. 141.

Unfortunate Hannah Robinson

The story of Hannah Robinson has been told many times. We relied on two main sources: Updike, Wilkins., Goodwin, Daniel. A History of the Episcopal Church in Narragansett, Rhode Island: Including a History of Other Episcopal Churches in the State. [United States: D.B. Updike [1907]], pp. 230-234; and Hazard, Thomas Robinson. Recollections of Olden Times: Rowland Robinson of Narragansett and His Unfortunate Daughter : with Genealogies of the Robinson, Hazard, and Sweet Families of Rhode Island. [United States: J.P. Sanborne], [1879]]. Also, Cranston, Tim, The Narragansett Planters: Commercial Agriculture in Colonial South County, Small State, Big History: The Online Review of Rhode Island History, http://tinyurl.com/ytnpswtk

Alexander Scammell, The Lovesick Revolutionary

Scammell visit: Monk, Will, The Love Letters of Alexander Scammell, Journal of the American Revolution, May 22, 2018; Medford (Mistick) in the Revolution: A Quiet Country Town: 18th Century Medford, Medford Historical Society & Museum, http://tinyurl.com/52dxshta; June 1776 letter: The Historical Magazine and Notes and Queries Concerning the Antiquities, History and Biography of America. United States: Henry B. Dawson, 1870, p. 136; press you to my heart: Ibid., p. 137; rode 250 miles: Monk, Love Letters; leave again: Ibid.; left better half: Historical Magazine, p. 137; at a loss: Ibid.; fixed determination: Ibid., p. 139; once fondly hop’d: Ibid., p. 140; money rather than love: Elizabeth Smith Shaw to Abigail Adams Smith, 27 November 1786, Founders Online collection, National Archives.

The Ageless Love Story of John and Abigail Adams

Abigail lost in woods: Abigail Adams to Abigail Adams Smith, Nov. 21, 1800. Adams Papers Digital Edition, Massachusetts Historical Society; John meets Abigail: Ellis, Joseph, First Family: Abigail and John Adams, [United States, Vintage Books, 2011]. pp. 3-8; Miss Adorable: John Adams to Abigail Smith, Oct. 4, 1762. Adams Papers.; tye more binding: Abigail Smith to John Adams, Aug. 11, 1763, Adams Papers; signs of a gathering storm: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, May 23 [?], 1772. Adams Papers; Joseph Warren: Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 18-20 June 1775, Adams Papers; remember the ladies: Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, March 31, 1776. Adams Papers; You are so saucy: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, April 14, 1776, Adams Papers; two friendly souls: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, April 28, 1776. Adams Papers; I am anxious to hear how you do: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, Feb. 10, 1777. Adams papers; How lonely: Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, Dec. 27, 1778. Adams Papers; In 1782, Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, Dec. 23, 1782. Adams Papers.; Yours, yours, yours: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, Feb. 16, 1780. Adams Papers; picture of my heart: Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, Dec. 23, 1782, Adams Papers; tableware and tea sets: Monkman, Betty C., John and Abigail Adams: A Tradition Begins, The White House Historical Association. http://tinyurl.com/25v368r3; as much Jeferson’s: Letter from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, Jan. 22, 1825. Founders Early Access, The American History Collection, The University of Virginia Press.; desire you to come: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, May 24, 1789, Adams Papers; Hot coffee: Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, May 31, 1789. Adams Papers; I must now: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, June 6, 1789. Adams Papers; Glober salts: Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 14 June 1789, Adams Papers; wrote each other weekly: Hogan, Margaret A., and Taylor, C. James, eds.: My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams [Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007] pp. 229-231]; hear from you every day: Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, June 24, 1794. Adams Papers; I love you: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, Dec. 5, 1794. Adams Papers; Ay! I am fairly out: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, March 5, 1797. Adams Papers.; same sentiments: Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, Jan. 29, 1797. Adams Papers; with an affection: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, March 9, 1797. Adams Papers; Drinking and Disorder: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, March 22, 1797. Adams Papers; severest trial: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, Feb. 22, 1799. Adams Papers; calumny: Letter from Abigail Smith Adams to Thomas Jefferson, July 1, 1804. Founders Online, National Archives; delight of my father’s heart: John Quincy Adams diary entry, Nov. 2, 1818. The John Quincy Adams Digital Diary, Massachusetts Historical Society; Not ten minutes pass: Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, May 6, 1777. Adams Papers.

The Footsore Courtship of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Switzerland trip: Basbanes, Nicholas A., Cross of Snow A Life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow [New York, Alfred A. Knopf [2020]] pp. 134-145]; she must be a genius: Ibid., 137; Elizabeth Peabody’s school: Ibid., pp. 90-92); Dark Lady, Ibid., pp. 146; Washington’s headquarters: Ibid., p. 149; bright spirit: Ibid., p. 152; happy new year: Ibid., p. 153; West Boston Bridge: Freeman, Dale H., “A Changing Bridge for Changing Times: The History of the West Boston Bridge, 1793-1907.” ScholarWorks at UMass Boston, Graduate Masters Theses; Hillard brings the letter: Basbanes, 155-156; Appleton temperament: Sheppard, John Hannibal., APPLETON, Nathan. Sketch of Hon. Nathan Appleton, LL. D.. [United States: New England Historic Genealogical Society, [1862]].; cold as the east wind: Basbanes, p. 159 ; eyeing each other like lions: Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Letters of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1814-1843. [United Kingdom: Harvard University Press, [1990]]. p. 160.; Poe review: Basbanes, p. 197; Fanny review: Ibid., p. 199; “passion is dead”: Ibid., p. 203; Aunt Kitty: Ibid., p. 191; perverse bias: Ibid., 208; fine manly figure: Ibid., 209; reborn: Ibid., p. 186; “Oh come to me: Ibid., p. 210; Sat at window: Ibid. p. 226.

Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Peabody Sisters

Wineapple, Brenda. Hawthorne: A Life. [United Kingdom: Random House Publishing Group, 2012.] p. 18; Uncle Robert: Mellow, James R., Nathaniel Hawthorne in His Times [Baltimore and London, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989]; play cards: Ibid., p. 31; Hawthorne’s walks: Ibid., p. 37; Hawthorne’s mother: Ibid., p. 4; Elizabeth Hathorne: Ibid., p. 39; Louisa Hathorne: Ibid.; Elizabeth messy &c:: Marshall, Megan. The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism. [United States: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [2006][, p. 240‘ mercury, opium and arsenic: Hall, Julie E. “’Tracing the Original Design’: The Hawthornes in Rappaccini’s Garden.” Nathaniel Hawthorne Review 21, no. 1 (1995): 26–35. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44695777. p. 30; Sophia’s art career: Marshall, pp. 260-268; vision blurred: Ibid., p. 268; health improved: Ibid., p. 307; Athenaeum painting: Ibid, p. 269; pomologist: Wineapple, p. 88; half savage: Mellow, p. 45; Publishing chronology: Chronological Bibliography: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Isfdb Tales, https://isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ch.cgi?1959; Magazine of Useful..: Wineapple, 87-89; helplessly adrift: Meltzer, Milton, Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Biography [Minneapolis, Twenty-First Century Books [2007]], p. 40; Longfellow calls him a genius: Mellow, p. 80; secluded myself: Meltzer, p, 43; Hawthorne at Peabody door: Mellow, p. 3; sitting in a row: Ibid., p. 101; Lizzie to Wordsworth, Mann: Ibid., p. 116; Mary Silsbee episode: Ibid., pp. 102-119; looked intently: Ibid,, p. 8; paly golden-green: Ibid., p. 142; put Miss Mary: Ibid., p. 118; coal and salt inspector: Ibid., 156-157; duel: Ibid., p. 106; Sister Years: Marshall, p. 374-375; parting glimpse: Hawthorne, Nathaniel, Love Letters of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Vol. 1. Chicago, Priv. print., [The Society of the Dofobs [1907]], p. 3; gift of making rhymes: Ibid., p. 107; Oh my wife: Hawthorne, Nathaniel, Love Letters of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Vol. 2. [Chicago, Priv. print., The Society of the Dofobs [1907], p. 256.

Sullivan Ballou Writes a Letter

writes first letter: Young, Robin, For Love and Liberty: The Untold Civil War Story of Major Sullivan Ballou and His Famous Love Letter [United States: Basic Books [2006]] p. 365-369.; Woonsocket Guards: Ibid, 33-34; family history: Ibid, 22-23; grammar school: Ibid, 10-12; Rochester: Ibid, 29-31; Nichols: Ibid., 37; Brown: Ibid., 66-67; moved to Poughkeepsie: Ibid., p. 60; Sarah Shumway: Ibid., 77; Sarah’s background: Ibid., 41-52; “I have so long…”: Ibid., p. 88; clerk of House: Ibid., p. 77; Speaker of the House: Ibid., p. 113; move to Cranston: Ibid., 152-154; campaigned for Lincoln: Ibid., 139; Lincoln in Providence: “Abraham Lincoln and Rhode Island,” Abraham Lincoln’s Classroom, The Lehman Institute, http://tinyurl.com/mff8uj9a; lost attorney general race: Young., p. 200; Sprague: Woodbury, Augustus. The Second Rhode Island Regiment: A Narrative of Military Operations in which the Regiment was Engaged from the Beginning to the End of the War for the Union. [United States: Valpey, Angell, 1875.] p. 13; soldier’s welcome: Ibid,, p. 24; left in June: Ibid,, p. 23; love letters to Sarah: Young, p. 335; march to Manassas: Ibid., p. 379-382; hot exchange: Woodbury, p. 33; Slocum shot: Young, 493; tourniquet: Ibid., 487; Sudley Church scene: Ibid., p. 517; shady tree: Ibid., 517-520; evacuated: Ibid., p. 542; save those: Ibid., p. 556; died: Ibid., p. 631; trunk delivered: Ibid., p. 610; last letter text: “My Very Dear Wife” – The Last Letter of Major Sullivan Ballou.” National Park Service, http://tinyurl.com/yc5wjszv

Lucy Lambert Hale Meets Her Match

retrieval of Booth’s possessions: Testimony Taken Before the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives in the Investigation of the Charges Against Andrew Johnson: Second Session Thirty-ninth Congress, and First Session Fortieth Congress, 1867. [United States: U.S. Government Printing Office [1867]], pp. 323-335; Cabinet official: Ibid., p. 451; love poem: Morcom, Richmond, “They All Loved Lucy,” American Heritage Magazine, Volume 21, Issue 6, October 1970, https://www.americanheritage.com/they-all-loved-lucy; Oliver Wendell Holmes: Ibid.; John Hay letter: Ibid.; None appear: Achorn, Edward, Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln [New York, Atlantic Monthly Press [2020]], p. 285; Booth played Charles de Moor: Loux, Arthur F., John Wilkes Booth, Day By Day. [North Carolina, McFarland & Company [2014]], p. 129; bouquet of flowers: Ibid; debut, admirers: Ibid., p. 128; turned heads: Achorn, p. 114.; wasn’t stagey: Loux, p. 32; Virginia gentleman: Ibid; spad: Achorn, p. 155; waitresses and maids: Loux, p. 138; Sen. Hale reservations: Achorn, p. 124; National Hotel description: The National Hotel (1827-1942), Clio, https://theclio.com/entry/24946; brilliant belles: Achorn, p. 124; Robert Todd Lincoln: Ibid; left the city: Loux, p. 130; Richard III, Loux, p. 136; Booth looks at Lincoln: Playbills: Snyder, Anna, “John Wilkes Booth Performed at Ford’s Before Assassinating Lincoln at Ford’s, Ford’s Theatre Blog, http://tinyurl.com/5n8haksz; Michigan ball: Achorn, 125; 5-month tour: Taylor, Dave, Mapping John Wilkes Booth’s Career. LincolnConspirators.com, http://tinyurl.com/yc737wdv; war damage: 213 Newly Interpreted Markers Installed as of 6/9/11, Tennessee Civil War Trails Program, http://tinyurl.com/33henzuu; New Orleans: Lucas, Alex Christian, “Assassin in the Crescent City: The Untold Story of John Wilkes Booth on his only visit to New Orleans in the Spring of 1864,” Richard Macksey Journal. Vol. 1, Issue 1, 2020 [September 01, 2020]; Isabel: Loux, p. 143, pp. 166-167; Erysipelas: Loux, p. 167; Hale and Lincoln: “Visitors from Congress: John P. Hale (1806-1873),” Mr. Lincoln’s White House, The Lehrman Institute, http://tinyurl.com/5a8z98re.; theatrical wardrobe: Loux, 187; ride with McCullough: pp. Achorn 112-113; My Darling Baby: Loux, p. 202; Junius letter: Clarke, Asia Booth, John Wilkes Booth : a sister’s memoir [Jackson, Miss., University Press of Mississippi, [1996]], p. 86; Booth at National: Loux, p. 203; Booth woke at 8: Loux, 203; scene outside Capitol: Achorn pp. 187-188; inside Senate chamber: Ibid.,, p. 189; butterflies of fashion, Ibid., p. 190; Lincoln entered: Ibid., p. 199; Booth follows Lincoln: Ibid., p. 208; Mathews conversation: Taylor, Dave, “Breakfast with Booth: Lucy Hale,” http://tinyurl.com/4hw5fkpc; inaugural ball: Achorn, 273-275; writing message to Wentworth: Taylor, Dave, “John Wilkes Booth’s Poetic Envelope,” http://tinyurl.com/3n78pysv; Hale nomination: Achorn, p. 275; mother’s letter: “Lucy Lambert Hale, Fiancee of Lincoln Assassin John Wilkes Booth,” History of American Women, http://tinyurl.com/3me7j9s6; Junius conversation: Steers, Edward, Steers, Edwards, Jr., Edwards, William C. (eds.). The Lincoln Assassination: The Evidence. [Ukraine: University of Illinois Press] [2009]]. p. 178; attending a play, Loux, p. 206; Washington celebration: “Victory, Tragedy, and Reconstruction: Union Victory and National Tragedy,” United States Senate, http://tinyurl.com/yc4zf9ux; engagement: Loux, p. 208 and Clarke, p. 128; war emd celebration: Taylor, “Breakfast with Booth: Carrie Bean http://tinyurl.com/3bhk9st3; Lucy ate breakfast Taylor, Breakfast with Booth, Lucy Lambert Hale, http://tinyurl.com/4pxrhmzv; Nymph: Giblin, James, Good brother, bad brother: the story of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth [New York, Clarion Books, [2005]] , p. 117; letter to Edwin: Clarke, p. 92; Tribune item: New York Tribune April 22, 1865, p. 5; heavily veiled: Giblin, p. 155.; Hale met with Johnson: Achorn, p. 282; reporters seeing CDV: Ibid., p. 288; Hale statue ceremony: New Hampshire General Court, Committee on Hale Statue; Chandler, William E.; Tuttle, Hiram Americus, The statue of John P. Hale erected in front of the Capitol and presented to the State of New Hampshire by William E. Chandler of Concord. An account of the unveiling ceremonies on August 3, 1892, with a report of the address delivered by the donor and Governor Hiram A. Tuttle [Concord, N.H., Republican Press Association [1892]], p. 1-13; condemned slavery: Hale, John P. Speech of Hon. John P. Hale, upon the slavery resolution, in the House of representatives, Thursday, June 25th, . Concord, N. H. Concord, 1846. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021768196/; Chandler poem, Morcom.

Emily and Susan and Austin and Mabel

death scene: “Emily Dickinson and Death,” The Emily Dickinson Museum, http://tinyurl.com/58zk24jx; Sue put heliotropes: Gordon, Lyndall. Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family’s Feuds. [United States: Penguin Publishing Group [2010]]. p. 228; Mabel haggard: Longsworth, Polly, Austin and Mabel: The Amherst Affair & Love Letters of Austin Dickinson and Mabel Loomis Todd. [United States, University of Massachusetts Press, [1984]]. p. 121; Mabel bio: Longsworth, pp. 9-56; “What have I done?: Gordon, P. 9; Sue and Austin visit: Longsworth, p. 11; Homestead and Evergreens: “The Landscape,” Emily Dickinson Museum, http://tinyurl.com/3sp2vfdh; Emily Dickinson appearance: Gordon, p. 22; Sue background: Ibid.,, p. 62-63; letters of longing: Dickinson, Emily, Smith, Martha Nell (ed.), Hart, Ellen Louise (ed.),  Open Me Carefully: Emily Dickinson’s Intimate Letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson. [United States: Wesleyan University Press [1998]], p. 552; heart beats: Ibid., 906; Don’t you go: Ibid., p. 15; deal with father: Gordon, p. 121; Jackson publish: Ibid., p. 207; freedom, Mattie: Emily Dickinson Museum http://tinyurl.com/4skcze4p; guests at Evergreens: Smith (OMC) p. 86; Mabel at Evergreens: Gordon, pp. 10-12; genius: Ibid, p. 11; snare: Ibid., p. 202; Sue’s tavern: Phillips, Elizabeth. Emily Dickinson: Personae and Performance. [N.p.: Pennsylvania State University Press [2010]], p. 29; Squire: Gordon, p. 3; Austin took an interest: Longsworth, p. 62; Mabel visit to Homestead: Ibid., p. 63; Rubicon: Ibid.; Mrs. Dickinson funeral: Gordon, p. 181; Austin wouldn’t step out: Ibid., p. 184; “I want you: Ibid.; cruel and pitiless, Ibid.; frank talk: Ibid.; Ned told: Ibid., p. 185; Ned seizures: Ibid., pp. 134-135; Ned responded to Mabel: Longsworth, p. 61; Austin chases Mabel: Gordon, p. 181; two children didn’t love him: Ibid., p. 185; Lavinia: “Lavinia Norcross Dickinson (1833-1899), sister,” Emily Dickinson Museum, http://tinyurl.com/58p2hthk; Lavinia letters: Gordon, p. 186; blazing row: Ibid., p. 187; ceasing of all civility: Ibid., p. 188; Boston Common, Ibid.; Emily note: Ibid., p. 225; Lavinia called Mabel: Ibid, p. 189; trust you as God: Longsworth, p. 171; veil of closest intimacy: Gordon, p. 190; go for it: Ibid., p. 190; AMUASBTEILN: Longsworth, p. 12; Austin got David: Gordon, p. 190; Maggie describes trysts: Ibid., pp. 295-297; writing desk: Ibid, p. 201; laced with sarcasm: Ibid., 203-204; bliss unutterable: Friedrich, Otto: “Books: We Are All Hypocrites,” Time, Jan. 23, 1984 http://tinyurl.com/cxw9zdw5; ostracized: Gordon, p. 187; headaches and convulsions: Ibid., p. 215; Emily bedridden: Ibid., p. 216; Austin’s money: Ibid., p. 215; Mabel’s parents disapprove: Ibid., p. 223; friendly notes: Ibid., 219; arranged for me: Ibid., 224; Emily refused: Ibid., 224-225; Othello: Ibid.; cookies: Ibid., p. 230; Hamlet: Smith (OMC) p. 263; thirteen rooms: Gordon., p. 228; Austin’s ring: Ibid., p. 189; Sue’s invisible hand: Ibid., p. 325; Vinnie gave poems to Sue: Ibid., p. 250; typewriter: Ibid., p. 252; no one would know: Ibid., p. 254; name on the cover: Ibid., p. 257; eleven times: Ibid., p. 260; Mabel on Emily as recluse: Ibid., p. 261; Sue stopped talking: Ibid., p. 263; closeness to Emily: Ibid., p. 266; erasures: Smith (OMC), pp. 5, 10, 47, 72, 77; 85, 112; half the copyright: Gordon, p. 279; Mabel in mourning, Ibid., p. 281; verbally asked: Longsworth, p. 298; blue China: Gordon, p. 286; countersued: Ibid., p. 292; camphorwood, Ibid., 313; all went to Sue: Ibid., 320; Emily appearance: Ibid., 331; Sue drove Emily, Ibid, p. 482; social climber: Ibid., 325; text of wild nights: Poetry Foundation http://tinyurl.com/6s35upp5.

Mark Twain Puts on a Tin Halo

Clemens on Quaker City: Trombley, Laura E. Skandera. Mark Twain in the Company of Women. [United States: University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated [1997]]. xix-xxii; liked lecturing: Robinson, Marie J. “Mark Twain: Lecturer.” Mark Twain Quarterly 7, no. 3/4 (1947): 1–12. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41640717, p. 3; Trains connected Elmira: Harris, Susan K.. The Courtship of Olivia Langdon and Mark Twain. [United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press] [1996]], p. 40; visit to Elmira: Jerome, Robert D., and Wisbey, Jr., Herbert A., Mark Twain in Elmira SECOND EDITION by Robert D. Jerome and Herbert A. Wisbey, Jr. WITH REVISIONS AND ADDITIONS BY BARBARA E. SNEDECOR [Elmira, N.Y., Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies Elmira College [2013]] p. 4; matrimonial pit: Kaplan, Justin. Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain: A Biography. [United Kingdom: Simon & Schuster, [2008]] p. 81; Beecher sermons: Ibid., p. 80; poor reviews: Powers, Ron. Mark Twain. [United Kingdom: Simon & Schuster UK, [2008]], p. 267; I know you better: Paine, Albert Bigelow, Mark Twain A Biography The Personal and Literary Life of Samuel Langhorne Clemens[ New York and London, Harper Brothers Publishers [1912]] p. 267; letter to Olivia: Twain, Mark. Mark Twain’s Letters. [United Kingdom: Harper & Brothers Publishers [1917]], p. 268.

Lady Blanche Forsakes Her English Manor for Love in the White Mountains

foreign couple moved: “Lady Blanche Murphy,” Bartlett NH History, http://tinyurl.com/2tuauyde; Tom Murphy description: Bigelow, Ellen Louise Slade, ed., The Daughter of an Earl: Intimate Sketches of the Life and Accomplishment of Lady Blanche Murphy. [United States: Marshall Jones [1928]] p. 7; Lady Blanche description: Smith, A.A., “A ride along the Alps of New England,” The Kennebec Reporter, Dec. 8, 1883, p. 1 http://tinyurl.com/v8kxb3ap; mail, Ibid.; William the Conqueror, Ibid.; Blanche bio: The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, Volume XI [New York, James T. White & Company [1901]], p. 204; hunting breakfasts: Murphy, Blanche, “Counrty Life in England,” Daughter of an Earl, pp. 62-66; nutting expeditions, Ibid; trip to New York: Murphy, Blanche, “A Chapter From Real Life,” Daughter of an Earl, pp. 37-50; Manning and Newman: Bigelow, np; Christmas: Bigelow, p. 72; grandfather died: Handedonblog, Exton Park, Rutland, Handedon, http://tinyurl.com/yum5pc8s; “Rights of Roman Catholic Women: Evenson, Ardy. “BLANCHE E. MURPHY AND THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN.” Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia 103, no. 1 (1992): 17–26. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44211151; read books about America: Murphy, Blanche, “An Englishwoman in the New England Hill Country,” The Atlantic Monthly, August 1880, pp. 238-248; voyage on Plymouth Rock: Murphy, Chapter From Real Life,“ Bigelow; Life in New York, Ibid.; “Hark to the Sleigh Bells” The Graphic: An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper (London, Greater London, England, Sat., July 10, 1880, p. 21]; Blanche’s writing assignments: Bigelow, p. 138; New Rochelle, Smith, p. 3; Kearsarge School: Bigelow, 16-20; happiest of her life: Murphy, Blanche, “An Englishwoman in the New England Hill Country”; too little amusement: Ibid.; Christmas: Griswold, Gabrielle, “White Mountain Chronicles: A long ago Christmas,” The Conway Daily Sun, Dec. 10, 2023 and Bigelow, n.p.; death of Lady Blanche: Bigelow, p. 121-129; Literary World: The Literary World: A Monthly Review of Current Literature. United States: S. R. Crocker, 1881, p. 137; postscript: Bigelow, np.

The Great Houdinis

The easiest way: Mullin, Rita T.. Harry Houdini: Death-defying Showman. [United States: Sterling, [2007]], p. 53; bridge jump: Bilis, Madeline, “Throwback Thursday: When Houdini Jumped Off the Harvard Bridge,” Boston Magazine, April 30, 2015, http://tinyurl.com/48bjhv3u and Cox, John, “Houdini’s Harvard Bridge Jump,” Wild About Harry, April 30, 2023, http://tinyurl.com/5ckj88zj; Bess description: Fleischman, Sid. Escape!. The story of the great Houdini [United States: HarperCollins [2006]] p. 40; Coney Island: Cox, John, “Coney Island: Where Harry met Bessie,” http://tinyurl.com/42fvz2cn; how they married: Cox, John, “When Harry Met Bessie,” http://tinyurl.com/3ku7y2nr; Metamorphosis: Begley, Adam. Houdini: The Elusive American. [United States: Yale University Press, [2020]] p. 13; looked alike: Brandon, Ruth, The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini [Canada: Random House of Canada [1994]], p. 15; Bess vows: Kalush, William., Sloman, Larry. The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero [United Kingdom: Simon & Schuster UK, [2008]] pp. 31-32; thousands of books: Brandon, p. 11; acrobat, armless man: Begley, p. 22; never smoked or drank: Brandon, p. 12; Houdini father: Begley, p. 5-12; nothing else mattered: Posnanski, Joe. The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini. [N.p.: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster, [2020]], p. 75; brought him luck: Fleischman, p. 44; chicken pie: Lalicki, Tom. Houdini: The Ultimate Spellbinder. [United States: Open Road Media, [2014]]; signed Houdini: Fleischman; Adorable Sun Shine: Begley, p. 19; only Mrs. Houdini: Cox, http://tinyurl.com/3pyyuzbh; kindergarten: Brandon, p. 50; Projea: Begley, p. 22; potatoes: Fleischman, p. 51; I’m famous!: Fleischman, pp. 58-59; Alhambra: Cox, http://tinyurl.com/ye2aybuc; two weeks: Gresham, pp. 82-83; Cologne: Cox, http://tinyurl.com/mrawdkjj; Moscow: Cox, http://tinyurl.com/mr7prxcv; Siberian van, Cox, http://tinyurl.com/mr7prxcv; Connecticut farm: Ofgang, Erik, “Exploring Harry Houdini’s Connecticut connections,” CT Insider, Oct. 12, 2022, http://tinyurl.com/829v24h4; Guiteau: Higbee, Joan F. “Houdini: A Biographical Chronology,” Library of Congress, October, 1996 http://tinyurl.com/bdh9e6eu; Belle Isle: Fleischman, pp. 108-109; Shelton Hotel, Cox, http://tinyurl.com/yy8mdrs8; sent Bess to Bridgeport: Brandon, pp. 48-51; Bess drank: Ibid., p. 51; threw hat: Ibid,, p. 48; I,I,I: Ibid,, p. 51; congressional subcommittee: Begley, p. 20-21; Houdini death: Fleischman, p. 190; last seance: Cox: http://tinyurl.com/7522w8bk; invoked: Chicago Daily Tribune (Chicago, IL), November 2, 1936, p. 16; loses faith: AP, “Mrs Houdini Loses Faith in a Hereafter,” New York Times, Feb. 5, 1947, p. 22.

A Love Story On and Off the Diamond

McAlpin hotel room: Eig, Jonathan. Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season. [United States: Simon & Schuster, [2008]], p. 48; stayed behind: Peary, Danny. Jackie Robinson in Quotes: The Remarkable Life of Baseball’s Most Significant Player. [United States: Page Street Publishing, [2016]], p. 134; joke: Eig, p. 48; wanted to protect: Rampersad, Arnold. Jackie Robinson: A Biography. [United States: Random House Publishing Group, [2011]], p. 187; relatively comfortable: Peary, p. 42; meets Rachel: Rampersad, p. 75; Bartlett introduces: Ibid., p. 76; stuck on himself: Ibid., p. 78; white shirt: Ibid.; Homecoming: Falkner, David. Great Time Coming: The Life Of Jackie Robinson From Baseball to Birmingham. [United Kingdom: Touchstone, [1996]], p. 63; well understood: Ibid., P. 63.; Rachel’s mother: Rampersad, p. 79; less sophisticated: Peary, p. 53; perfect manners: Rampersad, p. 77; chickens and rabbits: Peary, p. 13; seemed slow: Rampersad, p. 79; boundaries and goals: Ibid., p. 87; taxi drivers and bellhops: Peary, p. 28; reluctantly agreed: Ibid., p. 56; didn’t think it proper: Rampersad, p. 88; most important: Ibid.; bracelet: Ibid.; Joe Louis: Ibid., p. 92; Fort Hood: Ibid., p. 99; court martial: Ibid, pp.104-109; two wars: Peary, p. 68; Rachel didn’t want: Robinson, Jackie., Smith, Wendell. Jackie Robinson: My Own Story. [United States: Golden Springs Publishing, [2016]], p. 10-11; Monarchs characterization: Rampersad, pp. 115-116; slept in the aisles: Peary, p. 80; Bergdorf Goodman: Rampersad, p. 196; meeting Sukeforth: Robinson, pp. 14-18; Rickey meeting, Ibid., pp. 22-24; Rickey tells Jack to marry: Rampersad, p. 126; press conference: Robinson, pp. 30-31; trip to Daytona: Rampersad, pp. 135-139; squalid hotel: Kennedy, Kostya. True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson. [United Kingdom: St. Martin’s Publishing Group [2022]], p. 21; rage like Jack’s: Peary, p. 130; wanted to protect: Robinson, Rachel., Daniels, Lee. Jackie Robinson: An Intimate Portrait. [United Kingdom: Abrams, [1998]], Arrived Daytona, Rampersad, p. 139; p. 20; talked out of quitting: Lamb, Chris. Blackout: The Untold Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Spring Training. [Ukraine: University of Nebraska Press [2004]], p. 19; stepped onto the grass: Rampersad, p. 142; human being: Ibid.; before midnight: Peary, p. 103; didn’t do well: Rampersad, p. 143; wouldn’t touch: Peary, p. 330; “we”: Rampersad, p. 44; moved as one: Kennedy, Kostya, “Rachel Robinson reflects on her life with Jackie and the movie 42,” Sports Illustrated, April 11, 2013, http://tinyurl.com/yd5b67ww; ballpark locked: Robinson, p. 101; threatened arrest: Ibid., 102, 134; victory dinner, Rampersad, p. 146; invited to tea: Ibid., p. 151; couldn’t eat: Peary, p. 117; rest restored: Ibid.; letter to Rachel about her pregnancy: Rampersad, p. 144; instead of lynching: Peary, p. 120; wonderful having you: Rampersad, p. 157; Durocher threatened: Ibid., p. 164; Opening Day: Eig, pp. 53-54; applause: Ibid., p. 57; Bedford-Stuyvesant: Ibid., p. 70; Phillies’ abuse: Rampersad, p. 172; walk away from it: Peary, p. 139; snipers: Ibid., p. 149; closer together: Kennedy, SI; locker apart: Peary, p. 148; shower, Ibid.; quiet and withdrawn: Ibid., p. 149; ate in his room: Rampersad, pp. 178-179; long-distance phone: Peary, p. 173; hit by pitch: Rampersad, p. 179; felt he belonged: Peary, p. 177; Reese hand: Rampersad, p. 182; wanted the Dodgers: Peary, p. 188; Rachel house hunt: Rampersad, pp. 272-275; hurt to play: Peary, p. 284; diabetes: Rampersad: p. 320; Jack’s objections: Peary, p. 368-369; drug addict: Rampersad, p. 422; David identified: Ibid., p. 448; ambulance called: Peary, p. 383; I love you: Ibid., p. 384.

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In the spring of 1878, Daniel Spofford of Newburyport, Mass., was astonished to find himself facing charges of mesmerism and witchcraft.  He was accused of using evil thoughts to control the mind of Lucretia Brown of Ipswich, causing her great mental and physical harm.

Daniel Spofford

The case was scheduled to be heard in Salem, the Essex County seat.

Predictably, the press dubbed this case the last witchcraft trial in Salem.

Both Spofford and Brown were followers of Christian Science, a Christian belief system led by Mary Baker Eddy.

Christian Science

Eddy founded the Church of Christ, Scientist officially in 1879, but had practiced and promoted it for years before, building a devoted circle of followers.  The basic tenets of the belief are found in Eddy’s 1875 book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Eddy considered herself a healer and taught others her healings arts.

Mary Baker Eddy in the 1880s

Christian Scientists believe that the material world is an illusion, and that reality is in the spiritual world. Because illness of the mind or body is part of the material world, they don’t really exist, and the assistance of a trained practitioner through silent prayer can lead the ill person to see that the ailment is just an illusion, thus precluding the need for medicine.

In Christian Science, evil doesn’t exist, but evil thought does.  Practitioners of mesmerism, or something Eddy called malicious animal magnetism, can project evil thoughts that can cause mental or physical harm to an unsuspecting person.

Eddy maintained a tight grip on her followers, demanding total obedience and loyalty.  She was litigious and not afraid to sue a follower with whom she had disagreements, often accusing them of practicing mesmerism.  This was the case with Spofford.

The Defendant in the Last Witchcraft Trial

Spofford was born in New Hampshire in 1842, and later moved to Massachusetts as a young boy, where he became a watchmaker’s apprentice.  Eddy’s biographer describes him as an idealist and somewhat melancholy, with intense blue eyes and a gentle manner.   He enlisted in the United States Army during the Civil War.

While in the army, Spofford frequently wrote letters to his mother describing the details of daily life: the weather, endless marching, the mud and poor morale.  In one he mentions that a fellow soldier was a medium who made predictions about the future.  Was this Spofford’s introduction into the spiritual world?

After the war, Spofford met Eddy, becoming a devoted student, agreeing to pay Eddy $100 to learn the healing arts and to provide the Association 10 percent of his earnings from his practice. He opened his private practice in Lynn in 1875.

He became Eddy’s chief adviser and treasurer of the Christian Science Association and worked diligently on the publication of her book Science and Health.

A dispute over royalties from that book’s first edition led to their eventual parting in 1877.  Spofford insisted that any royalties be given to the book’s main supporters, two students who contributed $1500 towards the publishing costs, whereas Mrs. Eddy felt the royalties should go either to her or toward a second edition of the book.

Spofford was officially expelled from the Christian Science Association in January 1878. In April, Eddy sued Spofford for failure to provide the contracted 10 percent.

The Accuser

Lucretia Brown was a semi-invalid who lived with her mother and sister in Ipswich. The Brown household was known for its cleanliness and its inhabitants for their abstemious diet.   Long plagued by spinal issues, Brown was often bed-ridden and able to walk only short distances. She supported herself by contracting crocheting jobs.

Lucretia Brown

Brown was a Congregationalist but in 1876 sought out Christian Science to treat her ailment. Through the ministrations of Miss Dorcas Rawson, one of Eddy’s earliest students, she was relieved of her suffering to the extent that she could walk two to three miles at a time without any ill effect.

Brown converted to Christian Science, and during her training took a course from Spofford.

Brown lived in the house to the left on Ipswich Green

At some point, Spofford paid a visit to Brown, who soon after suffered a relapse, apparently unraveling all the good works of  Miss Rawson.   Eddy believed that Spofford was using mesmerism to afflict Brown.

Brown and Eddy sued Spofford, demanding he desist from his malignant mesmerism.

Salem’s Last Witch Trial

The initial hearing of the mesmerism trial was held on Tuesday, May 14, 1878, presided over by Horace Gray, chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and later a U.S. Supreme Court justice.  On that morning, Mrs. Eddy and 21 followers arrived at the Salem train depot from Lynn, making their way to the brick courthouse on Federal Street.   The structure still stands, although greatly altered from its appearance in 1878.

Horace Gray

This was an equity case, in which the plaintiff sought an injunction against Spofford, in effect a cease-and-desist order to keep him from mesmerizing Lucretia Brown.   The complaint accused Spofford of using mesmerism to cause Brown great suffering, including severe spinal pain and neuralgia, and that she was wholly unable to escape from his control.

Neither the plaintiff nor defendant were in court that day.  Arguing the case for Miss Brown was Edwards J. Arens, a Christian Scientist, who was not a lawyer.

Gray seemed skeptical. One of Eddy’s followers attending court that day said that at one point the judge laughed.  Yet, Gray agreed to hear the case further and ordered Spofford to appear in court. He set the date for later that week, Friday, May 17.

Excitement spread throughout Essex County and the commonwealth: a 19^th-century witchcraft trial in Salem!

Essex County Courthouse, circa 1910

On Friday, a large crowd appeared at the courthouse, but the hoped-for fireworks never materialized.  Spofford didn’t show up.  Instead, his lawyer filed a demurrer, a pleading that challenges a lawsuit, in this case arguing that the court is unable to give relief. In effect, no court could control Spofford’s mind.

Gray agreed.

An appeal date was set for November, but the case was never heard. The last Salem witchcraft trial was a bust.

A Murder Conspiracy

But Spofford’s tribulations were not over.

Just six months later, Spofford was hiding in fear of his life.  According to The Boston Globe,  Eddy’s husband, Asa, and Edward J. Arens, the man who represented Lucretia Brown in the witchcraft case, allegedly hired a local thug to kidnap and kill Spofford for $500.  They felt that Spofford was interfering with the mind of Mary Baker Eddy, causing her great mental and physical distress. If the courts couldn’t stop Spofford, the malignant mesmerist, murder would.

Asa Eddy

The story reads like a crime novel with clandestine meetings on Boston Common, in dark alleys and at a “house of ill repute.” Eddy and Ames even used aliases in carrying out the plot.

The plan was to take Spofford into the country, ostensibly to treat a sick child, and kill Spofford while in a secluded spot, making it look like an accident.

Thankfully for Spofford, the hitman, James Sargent, got cold feet and alerted both the police and Spofford what was going on.  Working together with the police and Sargent, a frightened Spofford left town secretly, holing up at Sargent’s brother’s house in Cambridge. The police then planted stories in the newspapers saying that Spofford was missing.

This ploy was so effective that Spofford’s brother, with the aid of Newburyport police and a locksmith, broke into Spofford’s office there a week after his disappearance looking for any signs of him.

Sargent used Spofford’s absence as evidence that he completed his task and demanded final payment from the conspirators, which they willingly gave.

Asa Eddy and Edward Arens were arrested on October 29 and held on $3,000 bail.

The Arraignment

At their arraignment hearing at Municipal Court in Boston on November 7, The Boston Globe reported that Sargent claimed Arens approached him and said, “I want to get a man licked.  I want him licked so bad that he won’t come to again.” Sargent said he was the man to do it.

A bartender at Sargent’s saloon testified that Sargent had asked him to hide in a freight car at a railroad bridge in East Cambridge, so that he could hear the conspirators plotting.  He confirmed Sargent’s testimony.

Sargent’s sister, Laura Sargent, who ran a brothel on Bowker Street, said that she had seen Arens there four times and that he had exchanged money with her brother.

And finally, the state police detective, Hollis C. Pinkham, testified to seeing the three conspirators together on several occasions.

The judge ruled there was enough evidence to send the case to Superior Court on the December docket. A grand jury indicted the two defendants on two counts: conspiracy to commit murder, and specifically hiring Sargent to commit bodily harm against Spofford.

But the case was never to be.

The district attorney, Oliver Stevens, for reasons unknown, chose not to prosecute.  Perhaps the witnesses were too unsavory to get a conviction,  The defendants were released.

For the second time that year, a case involving Daniel Spofford came to naught.

Eddy fought back after the witchcraft trial, publishing the confession of a witness recanting his testimony, and providing alibis for her husband’s whereabouts at key moments.  But by then, it was beside the point.

Spofford left Lynn but continued with his healing profession in Boston and Newburyport.  He died in 1924, and is buried in Newburyport, Mass. , in a grave marked Pvt. Daniel Spofford.

End Notes

Image of witchcraft trial characters

Spofford photo. Unknown photographer. From Milmine, pp. 252-253. {{PD-US}}; Brown photo. Historic Ipswich (Mass.). https://historicipswich.net; Brown house painting. Historic Ipswich (Mass.). https://historicipswich.net; Mary Baker Eddy photo. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Reproduction No. LC-USZ61-215; Courthouses. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection, Reproduction No. LC-DIG-det-4a19770; Gray engraving. House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/5772; Asa Eddy photo. Unknown photographer. From Milmine, pp. 168-169. {{PD-US}}; Arens photo. Author Kendall. From Milmine, pp. 252-253. {{PD-US}}; Newspaper report. The Daily Item (Lynn, Mass.), Oct. 23, 1878, p.4. Accessed from Newspapers.com, June 2, 2024.

Witchcraft trial sources

The Life of Mary Baker Eddy, 1909. Georgine Milmine. Exported from Wikisource on May 27, 2024.

The Boston Globe, May 11,12,15, November 8, 9, 1878. Accessed from Newspapers.com, May 23, and June 1, 2024.

Boston Post, October 24, 1878, p.2. Accessed from Newspapers.com, June 2, 2024.

Historic Ipswich (Mass.). https://historicipswich.net.

Massachusetts Historical Society. Collections online. Daniel Spofford Letters. Daniel Spofford to Rachel Spofford, 25 January 1863.