Mary Dyer
Mary Dyer was a Quaker who was executed in colonial-era Massachusetts for practicing her religion.
Synopsis
Mary Dyer was born in England in 1611. She and her husband emigrated to Massachusetts in 1635, then moved to Rhode Island. After becoming a Quaker, Dyer was persecuted for her faith and warned to keep out of the Massachusetts colonies. She ignored these warnings–returning in 1660–and was hanged on June 1 of that year. Her death led to the easing of anti-Quaker laws in Massachusetts.
Profile
Quaker martyr. Born in England. Mary Dyer challenged the religious persecution of Quakers in the American colonies in the 1600s??a challenge she paid for with her life. She and her husband, William Dyer, emigrated to Massachusetts in 1635. She sympathized with Anne Hutchinson's religious views and moved to Rhode Island in 1638.
Returning in England, where she remained from 1650 to 1657, Mary Dyer became a Quaker, and on her return to the colonies she was arrested several times by Massachusetts colonists and warned to keep out of that colony because of her faith.
Mary Dyer ignored these warnings and returned to Massachusetts in 1660. She was hanged on June 1 of that year. Her death led to the easing of anti-Quaker laws in Massachusetts.
