Today In Gay History Dec 5, 1640 – 1642: The Bishop Gets Busted and Lesbians In The New World
by Will Kohler
1640 - Bishop John Atherton Hanged for Buggery: The
good bishop of Waterford and Lismore in the Church of Ireland was one
of the loudest proponents for a new law making homosexuality a capital
crime. He then became the second person to be hanged under that statute.
His his steward, tithe proctor and cohort, John Chidle, was also
condemned to death. – WHOOPSIE!
1642 -
The Essex County Court in Salem, Massachusettes recorded the following:
“Elizabeth Johnson, servant to Mr. Jos. Yonge, to be severely whipped
and find 5 li. (pounds) for unseemly practices betwixt her and another
maid; for stubbornness to her mistress answering rudely and unmannerly,
and also for stopping her ears with her hands when the Word of God was
read…” This brief mention of "unseemly practices" is believed to be the
first recorded legal prosecution of lesbians in America
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