Although Gov. Richard Bellingham and Ann Hibbins were real historical characters, Nathaniel Hawthorne does not include every detail of their relationship in his novel. Ann Hibbins was the sister of Gov. Bellingham and married to William Hibbins. All of them came to Boston about 1634. Both men became prosperous and well-known from their arrival. However, Ann was a very strong minded individual and became involved in a quarrel with a fellow church member. The quarrel escalated until finally Ann was excommunicated from the Puritan church. However, he husband was still alive so she was protected even though she was known as a difficult woman. Unfortunately, her husband, William suffered a series of financial misfortunes and then died in 1654. This left Ann a poor widow, who did not fit the stereotype of pious widow. Instead, she was argumentative, and troublesome to her neighbors. With her husband's death, she was left no real legal protection. Her prominent brother ,Richard Bellingham, who is curiously left out of the accounts of the time, was either unwilling or unable to help her. Her real crime seemed to be that she was difficult to get along with and therefore, disliked. Thus, she was executed as a witch in 1656. A contemporary minster, John Horton commented "Mistress Hibbins was hanged for a witch only for having more wit than her neighbors."
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