Mary Magdalene Bailey, “The Scarlet Letter" - Scarlet Sham

Your book looks interesting. Thanks for posting.

The reality is that this story that has been kept alive for 300 + years probably has many falsehoods and embellishment, but the idea of completely debunking the story is just as unlikely. Bottom line, no one in this 21st century really knows what happened.

This next section was written by Ross Staples for the Staples Family Newsletter. I have a copy if you need the date for a reference. Please reference Ross who was a very direct descendant of Mary's daughter, Elizabeth, and Captain Peter Staples I, according to the Family Newsletter.

"The description of Hester Prynne's cottage closely parallels that of Mary on what was to become the Staple property. The evidence is strong that Hester Prynne was a character derived from Hawthorn's extensive knowledge of the history of Kittery in Colonial times. Hester was a victim of Puritan intolerance in Boston, Mary of Cavalier justice at old York. : : "Hester and Mary were both strong, self-reliant, and iron-willed but with different styles. Mary was an outspoken battler, active in community affairs, aggressive in managing her estate and seeking a new husband. Hester was quiet, reserved, accepting her penance of loneliness gracefully apart from the village in an isolated cottage, graciously defiant with her aristocratic bearing, calmness of speech, and pride in self-support by needlework. Both won community respect but by different means. : : "Literary and social critics have assessed Hester's conduct for almost 130 years. The orthodox Puritans among them have said the stain of sin persists, its permanent effect warping. Others, notably Mark Van Doren, have hailed Hawthorne as the Homer of ancient New England, and Hester as its most heroic creature, almost a goddess. In between these extremes some have said Hester expiated her sin, gained wisdom, self-knowledge, spiritual power, and hence greatness. Others have said that society sinned more than Hester by overpunishment of one who responded to a natural urge. Others say that sin is relative, it depends on what the sinner thinks is sinful and what it does to the personality and psychic balance. Virtually all attest to Hester's heroicism in her self-reliance and calm steadfatsness. Mary likewise exhibited self-reliance and steadfastness; she, too, was of heroic proportions."

BTW. I have written a book on this saga which you may find of interest. The settlers of Kittery in the 1630s were VERY different than Puritans, like Sir Christopher Gardiner of "Merry-mount" at Quincy, Mass, circa 1625....they mostly have Royalist and Catholic backgrounds reaching back to the Crusades. In a nutshell, Mary Magdalene Beadle's saga was the result of the British Civil War. #metoo!

My book has a photocopy of the original 1651 trial record, which is a tampered document with two sentences crossed out, no judge of jury listed, and no mention of George Rogers and his fate. Also a copy of the original 1652 Compact of Submission that Mary signed. That document shows signatures under duress to force the annexation of Maine. Mary signed with a ringed cross between her name. Docs are from Maine and Mass State Archives.

Guess who is a major player in the annexation of Maine? Hawthorne's ancestor! He received land in Kittery once the annexation was complete and moved there from Salem. His son was the "hanging Judge" of the Salem witch trials....huge familial conflict of interest by Nathaniel to pen his product as his ancestors persecuted the settlers of Maine for two generations.

https://www.amazon.com/Scarlet-Sham-Marys-Story-Lost/dp/1687808406/...

During my research of the York County Court Records, I discovered there was no other case of corporal punishment for adultery during that period. Two other cases for adultery in York before the 1651 trial only required a white sheet to be worn by the quilty parties for one day. And there is no other case like George Rogers. He is not listed in the trial and he was supposedly "banished" but his three children were given to three families. There is no other case of banishment that split-up a family in Maine or Mass. Not Rev. Wheelwright, Anne Hutchison, etc. Only George Rogers. Considering tolerant Kittery (Shapleigh) received three Quaker women whipped by Col Hawthorne's directive in Dover, 1660, I find the 1651 "trial" record more likely a forged document as it is the only York Court record that does not list the names of Judge and Jury. It lists the recorder's name with an insert above penned "and ye Jury." The original document at Maine Archive shows a tampered document with two sentences lined out and several insertions. The original Submission of Maine document that Mary signed also shows very strange signatures and marks, very likely to signal they were under duress. Mary signed with a Ringed Cross between her name and surname. I'll be happy to email you a copy of these original docs if desired, or you can read the book.

Last, there are unmarked graves at Green Acre in Eliot, per a discussion I had with Baha'i, so a final answer may indeed be possible with DNA.

I too have copies of all of the court documents related to this case. Mary's conviction, and the circumstances surrounding around it, are well supported by the legal records. Nathaniel Hawthorne was likely aware of this story -- he had family connections in the Kittery-Eliot area, and it's highly probable he used elements of what he had been told in writing "The Scarlet Letter". Our family has always been aware of our connection to the two men that Mary was involved with -- George Rogers (1651) and Thomas Hanscom (1654). We descend from both of them.

I connect at Susanna Hill - Lydston (the Hill family). My family had no idea.

The original documents (Mary's trial, her signature on the Compact of Submission, and her letter to the Boston Court) can be seen in the "look inside" preview of my book on Amazon. Take a peek if you have not seen the Archive originals of these documents. Only the original trial record shows the two sentences crossed out and the insertion "and ye jury" above the recorder's name. No other name for Judge or Jury listed, making it unique for York Court records. The original Compact shows signatures under duress, with initials or strange marks/punched holes between name and surname. Mary signed with a ringed cross between her name and surname. Did she send a religious signal? And take a look at her penmanship in the letter to the Boston Court.

Why is Mary the first woman to sign a governing document in America? In this case, it is the beginning of the end for the entity of Maine. Other Compacts that begin political entities, such as Plymouth, New Haven, etc. all have signatures by men. Even Anne Hutchison did not sign the Portsmouth Compact--her husband did.

What do Anne Hutchison, Mary Dryer, and Mary have in common? Their descendants moved to Cape Elizabeth and were next-door neighbors, and I mean next-door. They are the first Cape Elizabeth Twin Lights "Keepers" along with neighbor Jordan, who was arrested and taken to Boston jail twice in the 1650s/60s. All persecuted by Mass Bay Colony over religion. Coincidence?

I am revising the book with new information related to the Staples-De La Warde-FitzWalter-Longespee connection, so the preview that is available now on Amazon may change in the coming days.

Last, please read "The May-Pole of Merry Mount" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Notice his satanic description of "papists" dancing around the May-Pole. The fact is, Sir Christopher Gardiner, Knight of The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, was a Catholic. Gardiner went to Jerusalem to be Knighted before he arrived at Merry Mount. He was run-off Merry Mount as was Tom Morton, who fled to Wells, Maine. Check out "New English Canaan." No wonder Hawthrone attempted to recall his previous works. Longfellow's poem on Gardiner is also rich in Catholic bashing.

Last comment. If one reads the "Annals of Salem" you will find the history of William Hawthrone and how he was awarded land in Kittery after the usurpation of Maine. Of course, Nathaniel knew all about his ancestors, such as the history of Captain Hawthorne's son, the "hanging judge" of Salem's witch trials. Anyway, one must have a motive to concoct a sham.

Burke's authoritative Peerage shows perhaps a partial motive. The Staples family of England was related to King Henry II via Ida Longespee's marriage to FitzWalter (father was Baron FitWalter of the Magna Carta), and their daughter married Lord Robert De La Warde, whose daughter married Thomas Staples, Sergeant at Arms to King Edward III. You will also find in Burke the name "Dimsdale and Staples Bank" which is suspiciously similar to the protagonist Dimmesdale in the Scarlet Letter. And Chillingworth? William Chillingworth was a controversial religious figure in the British Civil War who died on the Royalist side. Dimmesdale and Chillingworth just happen to be in the Scarlet Letter? Here is Burke's writings on Staples, De La Warde, FitzWalter--but omits the Longespee marriage which you can confirm with multiple sources.

https://books.google.com/books?id=S2hHAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA297&lpg...

This discovery was made after I wrote the book and it certainly supports my hypothesis on who was the "Lost Lady."

As Ponsonby said, "When war is declared, truth is the first casualty." In my view, Mary was a casualty of the British Civil War and Perfidious Albion in full form. The Court changed hands in Kittery from Maine to Mass Bay oversight after the 1652 Compact of Submission, and Captian William Hawthorne had a role in that endevour.

I just discovered the source for the name of Hester "Prynne." Like Dimmesdale of "Staples and Dimsdale Bank" mentioned in the Burke link above and the religious figure William "Chillingworth" in the British Civil War, we find William "Prynne" an extremely controversial religious and political figure in the Brit Civil War...his ears were cut off and he was branded on the face. Just Wiki William Chillingworth and William Prynne. Talk about smoking guns for Nathaniel Hawthorne. Geneology, like history, can be written from a winner's point of view.

Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Prynne in the "Scarlet Letter" are a play on historical names with a real connection to the circumstances surrounding Mary Magdalene and her descendants, i.e. the British Civil War. As Ian Fleming said, "Once is happenstance, twice is a coincidence, but the third time is a mark of the enemy."

Last, I should have written in the above comments that there is no mention of the fate of George Rogers, meaning his banishment and children removed. The trial records his name and he was whipped, but where is the Court record for his bannishment?

You have me re reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthorne biography ....

The "Annals of Salem" describe Captain William Hawthorne in great detail, including his role in the annexation of Maine and land granted to him in Kittery after the 1652 Compact of Submission.