263 



The speaker then went ou to describe the interesting locali- 

 ties pointed out by their intelligent guide, such as the site 

 of the first meeting house in Salisbuiy, the site of the old 

 Court House, and of the dwelling-house of the Clerk of the 

 old Norfolk County Courts, and other places. 



In the old grave yard, said the speaker, we were shown the 

 grave of Rev. William Worcester, the first minister of Sal- 

 isbury, and the ancestor of Noah Worcester, the distinguish- 

 ed philanthropist, of Joseph E . Worcester, the eminent lexi- 

 cographer, and of the late Rev. Dr. Samuel Worcester, of 

 Salem ; also the grave of his successor, the Rev. Jokn 

 Wheel^^tiight, who is distinguished for his persistent advo- 

 cacy of the cause of Anne Hutchinson, and for the persecu- 

 tions he endured therefor. Anne Hutchinson, the speaker 

 thought, had not been fairly dealt with by historians, who 

 have not sufficiently brought to light her exalted character, 

 and have not done her the justice to place her at the head 

 of the most spiritual school of New England's religious teach- 

 ers. She was the precursor of the Friends ; and was the 

 first to announce the necessity of certain inward experien- 

 ces which are now generally considered the essential marks 

 of "conversion" by evangelical sects. Two Boston clergy- 

 men were her especial defenders — John Cotton and John 

 Wheelwright. The former wavered in his adherance to 

 the cause of Mrs. Hutchinson, who was afterwards banished 

 from the Colony, and fled to the Dutch settlements west of 

 New Haven, where she was murdered by the Indians. 

 Wheelwright, however,^ whose wife was a sister-in-law to 

 Mrs. Hutchinson, always defended her, was banished there- 

 for, and founded Exeter in New Hampshire. He removed 

 afterwards to Wells, and having been re-admitted into the 

 Colony, was still later settled in Salisbury, and died here 

 Nov. 15, 1679. He was the college classmate and friend of 



