Patience Boston’s Murder Trial and Religious Conversion
Old York Gaol holds a dark tale from 1734. Patience Boston, a Nauset woman sold into servitude at age 3, had a troubled past of drinking and false confessions.
At 23, she drowned her master’s grandson by tricking him to reach into a well, then held him under with a pole. During her year in the stone dungeon, she gave birth and met daily with ministers Samuel and Joseph Moody.
Her dramatic conversion to Christianity made her famous even after her 1735 hanging. The stone cell where this controversial story unfolded still stands at Old York Gaol today.
She Lost Her Mother at Age 3
Patience Boston was born December 26, 1711, on Monomoy Island, Cape Cod.
Her Nauset parents, John Samson and Sarah Jethro, lived among a tribe hit hard by European diseases. When Patience turned 3, her mother died, leaving her alone.
Her father quickly sent her to work for the Paul Crow family to pay his debts.
The little girl got baptized as a baby through her mother’s membership in a local Indian church, starting her rocky relationship with Christianity.
Trouble Followed Her From Master to Master
Owners sold Patience many times because she kept causing problems. She drank too much, picked fights, and broke rules.
She married a Black man with the last name Boston, which she took as her own. When her children died from normal causes, Patience lied and said she killed them herself.
This harmful behavior went on for years.
Around 1733, she started working for Joseph Bailey near Portland, Maine, where her life took its darkest turn.
A Child Died at Her Hands in the Well
On July 9, 1734, Bailey left Patience alone with his 8-year-old grandson Benjamin Trot. Though she seemed to like the boy, Patience had earlier made what she called a “wicked oath” to kill him.
She threw a stick into the well and asked Benjamin to reach for it.
When the trusting child leaned over, Patience pushed him with a pole and held him underwater until he drowned. After killing him, she walked back to the house and told everyone what she did.
Her Confession Sent Her to York’s Stone Dungeon
Patience turned herself in right after killing Benjamin. From first to last, she never changed her story.
Officials took her to Old York Gaol, a stone dungeon built in 1653. This jail sat across from York’s First Parish Church, where she later went to services.
Her case became just the third murder trial with a death penalty in Maine’s colonial history. The community watched in shock as the court process began.
Two Ministers Saw a Story Worth Telling
Reverend Samuel Moody from York’s church started visiting Patience in her cell. His son Joseph, known for his tender nature and later mental problems, joined these visits.
Over the next year, the father-son team made dozens of trips to the jail.
They thought Patience made a perfect subject for a criminal conversion story to teach moral lessons. Joseph spent many hours writing down her life story and spiritual journey, creating what became a colonial bestseller.
Her Baby Was Born Behind Bars
While locked in the cramped stone cell, Patience found out she was pregnant. Colonial law banned killing pregnant women until after they gave birth.
During her year in jail, she had her third child in the harsh, cold dungeon. Guards sometimes let her visit the church across the street to hear sermons.
The winter months felt brutal in the stone cell, adding physical pain to her mental suffering.
God Found Her in the Darkness
During jail time, Patience went through a big spiritual change.
With help from the Moody ministers, she turned from her past sins and grabbed onto Christianity with strong feelings. Joseph Moody wrote down her thoughts about finding God and asking for forgiveness.
Word spread through town about her change, and locals grew more interested in her case. The ministers pointed to her as proof that God’s grace could reach even the worst sinners.
Every Detail of Her Life Went into the Book
The Moodys met with Patience more than twenty times to get her full story. Joseph wrote down everything about her hard childhood, failed marriages, and crimes.
They recorded her change from angry rebel to sorry believer in great detail. They prepared all this for a book meant to guide others morally.
Before she died, the ministers read the final account to Patience, who agreed with how they told her story.
The Crowd Gathered for Her Final Day
After exactly one year in prison, July 24, 1735 came – execution day. Patience kept both her faith and her confession to the end.
Officials set up the gallows for a public hanging in York village. A big crowd came to watch only the third colonial execution in Maine’s history.
The Moody ministers planned to use her death as one last sermon chance, hoping to show everyone what happens because of sin.
Her Last Words Pointed to Heaven
Patience stood in the cart at the gallows with a sack over her face. She spoke her final words clearly for all to hear: “Lord Jesus receive my Spirit.”
Everyone noticed how calm she seemed at the end, keeping her religious belief before the crowd. Then the cart got pulled away, and she died.
Her death ended one of colonial America’s most fully recorded criminal cases, leaving behind questions that still bother historians today.
The Book About Her Life Became a Hit
The Moodys first planned to publish her story right away, but public interest cooled off.
Three years later in 1738, they finally released “A Faithful Narrative of the Wicked Life and Remarkable Conversion of Patience Boston. ” The book sold very well among readers looking for moral instruction.
Her story joined other execution sermons that warned about the consequences of sin.
Today, scholars still debate her case, raising questions about her guilt, mental health, and how colonial society treated Native Americans.
Visiting Old York Gaol, Maine
You can learn about Patience Boston’s story at Old York Gaol Museum, a National Historic Landmark at 3 Lindsay Road in York.
The 23-year-old Nauset woman was imprisoned here from 1734-1735 after confessing to drowning her master’s grandson. Her religious conversion became famous when ministers published her story.
General admission costs $10 for adults, kids 18 and under get in free. Visit Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm in summer, Thursday-Saturday in fall.
This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.
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