Catherine Slade

"Catherine's story is one of the fate of women who fall victim to the 'ideas' of the time about the necessity for a new 'bride' to be pure. One who was known to have 'been spoiled,' circumstances notwithstanding, was not expected to find a proper husband. Judgment was more lenient for those who were innocent of wrongdoing. In 1789 Catherine Slade 'indicted' a neighbor for 'Trespass,' (read:rape). The case was never settled. There would be no shotgun wedding in this instance. The other family moved. Next Catherine shows up living with her sister in Major Lea's household. There she cares for her sister, who will die in about two years, and a small child, 'Nicey,' who Major Lea claims as his own."