A Woman to Know: Lady Deborah Moody
When the deputy governor of Massachusetts got wind of Lady Deborah's desire to return, he wrote to Governor John Withrop and characterized her as a "dangerous woman" who should not be permitted to return. — Dorothy A. Mays
(image via National Society of Colonial Dames)
Lady Deborah Moody had to leave both England and Massachusetts to find a home for her radical independence — and when she couldn't find a place to settle down in the New World, she founded one of her own: the small village of Gravesend (now part of Brooklyn).
When she purchased the land in 1643, she became the first female landowner in the newly-colonized America. There, she fought back attacks from both Native Americans and other settlers, and she set up Gravesend as a sanctuary city for those fleeing religious persecution. Once the deputy governor of Massachusetts banned her from returning, she wore his exile with pride. His warning letter — "she is a dangerous woman" — suited her just fine.
Add to your library list:
A Dangerous Woman: New York's First Lady Liberty (Victor Cooper)
Unearthing Gotham: The Archaeology of New York City (Ann-Marie Cantwell)
Lady Deborah Moody (James Watson Gerard)
Four Women in a Violent Time (Deborah Crawford)
Read more:
Lady Deborah Moody (The National Society of Colonial Dames)
A Dangerous Woman Comes to New England (New England Historical Society)
A Brooklyn neighborhood both insular and diverse (The New York Times)
The History of Lady Moody Triangle (New York Parks)
Saretta G. Hicks Papers on Lady Deborah Moody (Brooklyn Historical Society)
Brooklyn's historic "Lady Moody" house is on the market (Gothamist)
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