ABSTRACT
The account of the murder of Agnes Teaurs by her daughter in Sussex County, New York, was printed in a chapbook, a small pamphlet sold cheaply for a wide audience. It provided a history of the murder within a Dutch migrant family to the United States, where tensions within a multi-generational household led to a violent crime. This pamphlet provides a conservative vision of moral order, affirming the horror of this crime and that execution was a suitable punishment. As a source for historians of emotions, such pamphlets provide evidence of family dynamics and how they sometimes collapsed under stress. They also offer insight into community relationships, including the Christian support offered to those under sentence of death, as the sinner was encouraged to recognise their wrong-doing. As befits the morality of this tale, Mary Cole performed her expected role, with her repentance displayed upon her body and described to readers as evidence that justice was served.
