ABSTRACT
Anne Marbury Hutchinson, the second of thirteen children, eldest among daughters, of Reverend Francis Marbury and Bridget Dryden Marbury, was born in Alford, Lincolnshire, England in 1591. As a child, Anne seems to have responded positively to her father’s high ideals, scruples and behaviors. Following her father’s death, Anne at the age of twenty-one became the wife of William Hutchinson. Hutchinson was from a successful merchant family in Alford. William Hutchinson was not another Francis Marbury, however. He is pictured as a compliant, agreeable husband who went to great lengths to please Anne. However, he did not provide access to those qualities of strength, assertiveness and independence that Anne found in her father. Anne Hutchinson’s search for God’s truth and Christian community led her to a new Boston that was embroiled in controversy, jealousies and intolerance and political intrigue in 1634.
