I am often asked how I came to know about Alice Bishop and the crime she committed nearly 400 years ago. The incident is not well-known, even among historians. It was through researching my own family history that I first met Alice. A study written by Queen Perry, of Texas, and deposited in the LDS Family History Library was my introduction to my 9th great-grandmother.
The only primary documentation about the murder is the Plymouth court record of August 1, and October 4, 1648. These records describe the crime and the evidence, and give an accounting of her trial, conviction, and sentence. (These records are reproduced in the appendix of Diverse Gashes.) However, the official transcript leaves many questions unanswered, the main one being, why did Alice Bishop murder her four-year-old daughter Martha.
Diverse Gashes is my attempt to place the crime within the context of everyday life in Plymouth Colony, especially the lives of women, and explore that question.
womenofplymouthcolony.com 