Mary Butterworth

Mary (Peck) Butterworth, daughter of one of the most influential first families of Rehoboth, Massachusetts and related, both by blood and through her marriage to nearly every other first family in the American colonies, was one of the first female counterfeiters in America.

Little is known about Mary Peck Butterworth until 1716 when she presumably began counterfeiting the £5 bills of credit issued by Rhode Island the previous year. (There are no existing court records which show that she was ever convicted for this crime. All the records in this case are of unproven charges.)

Why this young, married, Puritan woman began a life of crime in what would be considered a man's field is unknown. But Mary was so successful that she became probably the biggest counterfeiter in New England. Mary ingeniously invented a method of making counterfeit bills of credit without using a copper plate which could've been used as evidence against her. Nicholas Campe, the only accomplice who ever confessed, said that she placed a piece of "fine watter starched musoline" on a genuine bill "& So Pucked out the Letters upon said musoline," which was then pressed on a piece of blank paper. A hot iron was probably used to pick transfer the image from the muslin to clean paper. Using crow quill pens of various widths, Mary was able to further heighten the image of the bill into an almost perfect duplicate of a genuine bill. The only incriminating evidence, a small piece of starched muslin and small piece of paper, could easily be burned in the fireplace.

Sources:

• http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sam/butterworth/mary.html
• http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nwa/notorious.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Butterworth
• http://hylbom.com/family/notable-kin/notable-kin-a-to-ca/butterwort...

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https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcrip...

Butterworth, Mary Peck (1686–1775)

American counterfeiter. Born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, on July 27, 1686; died in Rehoboth on February 7, 1775.

Around 1715, after Rhode Island had issued five-pound notes of credit, Mary Peck Butterworth, together with Hannah Peck , allegedly organized a counterfeiting ring involving a dozen or so citizens of Rehoboth, Massachusetts (then Plymouth Colony). The group was accused of counterfeiting the notes by transferring the image from muslin to clean paper, thus avoiding the use of copper plates and leaving no evidence. Ultimately, the charges against Butterworth were dropped, and she went free.

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LCR1-NHL/mary-peck-1686-1775

Mary Peck
27 July 1686–7 February 1775 (Age 88)
Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America

The Life Summary of Mary

When Mary Peck was born on 27 July 1686, in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, her father, Joseph Cooper Peck, was 28 and her mother, Elizabeth Smith, was 22. She married John Butterworth on 1 March 1710, in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 2 daughters. She died on 7 February 1775, in her hometown, at the age of 88.

Spouse

John Butterworth
Male
1679–1771

• 

Male

Mary Peck
Female
1686–1775

• 

Female
Marriage
1 March 1710
Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America

Children
(7)

John Butterworth
Male
1712–Deceased

• 

Male

Elizabeth Butterworth
Female
1713–1755

• 

Female

Nicholas Butterworth
Male
1716–Deceased

• 

Male

Nathaniel Butterworth
Male
1719–Deceased

• 

Male

Mary Butterworth
Female
1722–Deceased

• 

Female

Oliver Butterworth
Male
1725–Deceased

• 

Male

William Butterworth
Male
1725–Deceased

• 

Male

Parents

Joseph Cooper Peck
Male
1657–1720

• 

Male

Elizabeth Smith
Female
1663–1709

• 

Female

Siblings
(9)

Mary Peck
Female
1686–1775

• 

Female

Joseph Peck
Male
1688–1689

• 

Male

Ensign Joseph Peck
Male
1690–1741

• 

Male

Nicholas Peck
Male
1693–1737

• 

Male

Elizabeth Peck
Female
1695–1707

• 

Female

Israel Peck
Male
1697–1760

• 

Male

Stephen Peck
Male
1702–1781

• 

Male

Lydia Peck
Female
1704–Deceased

• 

Female

Margaret Peck
Female
1706–1767

• 

Female

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Peck-3762

Peck-3762 created 30 Jul 2016 | Last modified 25 Feb 2021

Mary (Peck) Butterworth (1686 - 1775)

Mary Butterworth formerly Peck

Born 27 Jul 1686 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay

Daughter of Joseph Peck and Elizabeth (Smith) Peck

Sister of Joseph Peck, Joseph Peck, Nicholas Peck, Elizabeth Peck, Israel Peck, Stephen Peck, Lydia (Peck) Willmarth and Margaret (Peck) Bucklin

Wife of John Butterworth Jr. — married 1 Mar 1711 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay

Mother of John Butterworth, Elizabeth Butterworth, Nicholas Butterworth, Nathaniel Butterworth, Mary Butterworth, Oliver Butterworth and William Butterworth

Died 7 Feb 1775 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay

Biography

Mary (Peck) Butterworth is Notable. "'Richard LeBaron Bowen, Early Rehoboth'; Higginson Book Co; Salem, Ma; 1999: Mary was an expert counterfeiter and she had a group of family and friends who passed her bills for seven years before she was caught, but she only served 30 days in gaol in 1723 while awaiting trial then was released due to a lack of evidence." [1]

"Ancestry World Connect; Rootsweb: 'Notorious Women: BUTTERWORTH, Mary Peck', by Sam Behling: 'The first paper currency in the New England colonies, known as 'Bills of Credit' were issued by Massachusetts about the time of King William's War. Rhode Island and Connecticut soon followed with issues of their own. These rather crudely engraved bills were easily counterfeited by the use of copper plates. Counterfeiters who were caught were easily indicted when the copper plates were discovered in their possession. The usual punishment for the crime of counterfeiting was either a fine or to have one's ears cropped.

Little is known about Mary Peck Butterworth until 1716 when she presumably began counterfeiting the £5 bills of credit issued by Rhode Island the previous year. (There are no existing court records which show that she was ever convicted for this crime. All the records in this case are of unproven charges.)

Mary was the daughter of one of the most influential first families of Rehoboth, Massachusetts and related, both by blood and through her marriage to nearly every other first family. She was born at Rehoboth on July 27, 1686, the first child among four daughters and five sons of Joseph3 (Nicholas2, Joseph1) Peck, an innkeeper, and Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Ensign Henry and Elizabeth (Cooper) Smith. Mary's early history is unknown, but she appears on the record books when she married John4 (John3, John2, Henry1) Butterworth, Jr. on March 1, 1710/11. John was a skilled housewright who employed at least two carpenters to help him, so the couple was well off financially.

Why this young, married, Puritan woman began a life of crime in what would be considered a man's field is unknown. But Mary was so successful that she became probably the biggest counterfeiter in New England. Mary ingeniously invented a method of making counterfeit bills of credit without using a copper plate which could've been used as evidence against her. Nicholas Campe, the only accomplice who ever confessed, said-'

'Mary Peck Butterworth was the most clever counterfeiter of her time. There is no record of any other man or woman counterfeiter at this period in New England who ever continued operations for seven years without being convicted and sentenced.'" [2]

Sources

↑ Ancestry.com
↑ Ancestry.com
"Wheaton JK.co.uk: 'Descendants of Robert WHEATON.'"
"Ancestry World Connect Rootsweb: 'Rehoboth Roots.'"
Bowen, Richard LeBaron. Early Rehoboth Families and Events, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1943) Vol. 97, Page 114