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Women Scorned: Petit Treason and Punishment in 18th Century Delaware
When Delaware declared its independence in 1776 it prompted a plethora of changes pertaining to its government and legal system. As the state grew and evolved it reflected on crime and punishment in this new era. One crime that was reviewed by the new government was petit treason, which was treasonous acts committed against a person of authority other than the government. Throughout its history, two Delaware women were tried for petit treason, Catherine Bevan in 1731 and Sarah Kirk in 1787. While their charges were the same, their punishments were not. Join us as we examine documents from the Delaware Public Archives’ collections to discuss these women and the changing legal system of a new Delaware.
About the Speaker: Dana Niemeyer, CA, has worked at the Delaware Public Archives since 2021 and is the Mable Lloyd Ridgley Research Room Supervisor. Ms. Niemeyer graduated from Drexel University with a master’s degree in library and information science. She is currently working on a master’s in history from Indiana University.
Admission is Pay as You Wish! Your donation is greatly appreciated. All proceeds benefit the development of future programming and the preservation of the History Center and its collections. The History Center is home to over 750,000 manuscripts, 100,000 photographs, and 70,000 artifacts. Your donation helps us to preserve and share those resources.
Presentation is via Zoom, and will be recorded and available for 7 days for all registered participants. We will email out a Zoom link the day of the presentation, and email a link to the recording within 24 hours. Note: the Zoom link emailed out the day of the presentation only takes you to the live presentation; the link emailed out the day after will contain the recorded version.
The History Matters Speaker Series is made possible through the generous support of The Haverford Trust Company.
Presented by Delaware Public Archives.
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