Sin, fornication and drunkenness

[questionmark]

Intimate details about the private lives of the early American settlers have been uncovered by two historians who unearthed a treasure trove of church documents dating back to the 1700s.

The records were buried away in colonial-era Congregational churches across the state of Massachusetts, and include a number of confessions made by members of the congregation, giving a fascinating glimpse into life at the time.

They include one by a married couple, Joseph and Abigail Cheyney, from the town of Sturbridge, who “with shame, humiliation and sorrow,” admitted they had sex before their wedding day.

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[shrooma]

Sin, fornication and drunkenness

.

story of my life.....

.

[shrooma]

QUOTE-

a number of confessions

made by members of the

congregation, giving a fascinating

glimpse into life at the time.

They include one by a married

couple, Joseph and Abigail Cheyney,

from the town of Sturbridge, who

“with shame, humiliation and

sorrow,” admitted they had sex

before their wedding day.

.

aah, such gentler times....

.

[Ealdwita]

Typical Brits.....As soon as they get abroad somewhere, they go barmy! If it ain't Magaluf then it's Sturbridge!

[DeWitz]

There never were any "Good old Days." Americans at Thanksgiving now may look a little differently on those Pilgrim fathers and mothers.

[questionmark]

There never were any "Good old Days." Americans at Thanksgiving now may look a little differently on those Pilgrim fathers and mothers.

Very doubtful, very doubtful. Legends have their social value.

[Dark_Grey]

Weren't the pilgrims that came over here essentially the "riff-raff" of England? They left for the New World for some religious reasons too, if I remember correctly (I'm probably not remembering correctly.)

[questionmark]

Weren't the pilgrims that came over here essentially the "riff-raff" of England? They left for the New World for some religious reasons too, if I remember correctly (I'm probably not remembering correctly.)

Most of them already had refuge in the traditionally tolerant Netherlands when they left for America. They just wanted to be British Puritans, not Dutch Puritans.

[Lilly]

Some of the pilgrims were 'riff-raff' and some came for religious freedom. It was quite a mixed bunch really. In the beginning they were all just struggling to survive...it was a really hard life in the early days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I know quite a bit about this because I live right where it all took place.

And we still have a good amount of "sin, fornication, drunkeness" here in Plymouth (just go to 'T-Bones Road House' on a Fri/Sat night and you'll see).

Edited July 31, 2014 by Lilly
addition

[Leonardo]

*scribbles another addition to his bucket list*

Cheers, Lilly!

Edited July 31, 2014 by Leonardo

[quiXilver]

humans... engaging in human behavior...

shocking!

[Hanslune]

If you are interested in this subject read

A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812

From her records a 1/3 of the women who got married were already pregnant.

[quiXilver]

If you are interested in this subject read

A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812

From her records a 1/3 of the women who got married were already pregnant.

yup... this just in... human sexual connection is stronger than intellectual rules and ideas

and thankfully so

[toyomotor]

Sin, fornication and drunkenness are what make life worth living.

And if you haven't done at least one of the above, you might just as well be dead.

[Lilly]

Sin, fornication and drunkenness are what make life worth living.

And if you haven't done at least one of the above, you might just as well be dead.

I'm not so sure about that...then again my ideas on 'sinfulness' certainly differ from that of the Pilgrims.

[Bendy Demon]

Sin, fornication and drunkenness are what make life worth living.

And if you haven't done at least one of the above, you might just as well be dead.

I sincerely hope you are not actually serious with that silly comment because there are plenty of us who have NEVER done these things. (P.S: I am no zombie either because of it.)

Typical Brits.....As soon as they get abroad somewhere, they go barmy! If it ain't Magaluf then it's Sturbridge!

......"Barmy". That's cool and funny. I am not from England so those terms are unique to me.

[PersonFromPorlock]

Sin is the raw material of the salvation industry, so the church's report should be taken with the traditional grain of salt. But fornication in 'proper' cultures is hardly unheard of: Nevil Shute wrote about a dirigible-building project (the R-100) he was involved in in the late 1920s which (in rural England) employed young men and women as construction workers equally, with the result that the company then had to hire middle-aged women to act as chaperons in order to hold the dalliances down and get any work done at all.

[Crabby Kitten]

Sin, fornication and drunkenness are what make life worth living.

And if you haven't done at least one of the above, you might just as well be dead.

Using your brain and common sense isn't like being dead.

[Dark_Grey]

Most of them already had refuge in the traditionally tolerant Netherlands when they left for America. They just wanted to be British Puritans, not Dutch Puritans.

Gotcha - thanks for that

[Ealdwita]

......"Barmy". That's cool and funny. I am not from England so those terms are unique to me.

Ealdwita snippet alert.....

The modern word 'barmy'......mad, crazy, goes back to the Anglo Saxon word beorma, the name given to the froth on fermenting malt liquor. By the 15th.Century it was used to described someone who was 'scatterbrained'.

If you venture into the UK 'badlands' ie, north of Watford.... ..........You are likely to be called a "barmpot" if the natives consider you to be witless or a fool.

[toyomotor]

I sincerely hope you are not actually serious with that silly comment because there are plenty of us who have NEVER done these things. (P.S: I am no zombie either because of it.)

Don't be a pansy, of course I'm serious.

Let he who is without sin...etc.

[seaturtlehorsesnake]

If you are interested in this subject read

A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812

From her records a 1/3 of the women who got married were already pregnant.

i double recomend this book. it's really a fascinating story, and well told.

and yeah, people have always been people. i've got a book somewhere around here that collected court depositions involving marriage in... i want to say 1600's london? there's divorce, bigamy, affairs, the whole lot. good material for a soap opera, really.

[toyomotor]

Man (as in the human race) is an imperfect being.

The Seven Deadly Sins have been committed since time immemorial, and will continue to be committed.

[Lilly]

The Seven Deadly Sins have been committed since time immemorial, and will continue to be committed.

Yeah, people as a group will do these things. However, as individuals we have the power to choose/control our own actions. I don't really care all that much what "everybody else is doing". I'm going to do what I consider to be right/just/moral.

[quiXilver]

Yeah, people as a group will do these things. However, as individuals we have the power to choose/control our own actions. I don't really care all that much what "everybody else is doing". I'm going to do what I consider to be right/just/moral.

while I agree with you in principle, intellectually... your comment makes me think you've never personally known anyone who is psychotic. not much choice there.