Ruth Blay (June 10, 1737 – December 30, 1768)[1] was a schoolteacher executed by the Province of New Hampshire. She remains the most recent female executed in New Hampshire.
Ruth Blay | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 10, 1737 |
| Died | December 30, 1768 (aged 31) |
| Cause of death | Hanging |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | Concealment of an illegitimate stillborn child |
| Criminal penalty | Death by hanging |
Biography
editA resident of South Hampton,[2] Blay was a schoolteacher, working in several local towns; her mother was tailor.[3] She was convicted of concealment of a stillborn illegitimate child, which was later found under the floor of the barn next to the house in which she was staying.[3] She was not convicted of killing the baby.
At the time, concealment of an illegitimate child, whether it survived birth or not, was punishable by hanging.[3] Blay was granted three reprieves before her execution. She was executed by Thomas Packer, Portsmouth’s High Sheriff,[2] who had also overseen the execution of Eliphaz Dow in 1755.[4]
Blay's story was covered in an episode of the podcast Lore in October 2015.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Smith & Campbell "Ruth Blay" worldconnect Accessed July 10, 2013
- ^ a b Robinson, J. Dennis (2008). "Ruth Blay Hanged Here in 1768". SeacoastNH.com.
- ^ a b c Reino, Roni (October 30, 2011). "The last woman hanged in NH: Ruth Blay went to the gallows for secretly having a baby". Foster's Daily Democrat. Dover, New Hampshire. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
- ^ Warren Brown (1900). "History of the Town of Hampton Falls, N. H.: From the Time of the first settlement within its borders 1640 until 1900". p. 312.
Further reading
edit- Marvin, Carolyn (2010). Hanging Ruth Blay: An Eighteenth-Century New Hampshire Tragedy. The History Press. ISBN 978-1596298279.
- Gutierrez, Michael Keenan (June 12, 2015). "The Trial and Execution of Ruth Blay". werehistory.org. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
External links
edit| Preceded by Eliphaz Dow |
Executions carried out in New Hampshire | Succeeded by Elisha Thomas |
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