Diverse Gashes

Diverse Gashes

Governor William Bradford, Alice Bishop, and the Murder of Martha Clarke

Plymouth Colony 1648

Based on an astonishing true story, and backed by years of meticulous research,  Diverse Gashes leads us back in time to July 22, 1648, when the murder of a four-year-old girl took place under suspicious circumstances in Playne Dealing, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Plymouth Colony. William Bradford, the governor at the time, made little mention of this incident and its aftermath in his detailed journal, which has triggered both suspicion among historians and varying theories about the event ever since.    

The brutal murder of Martha Bishop, daughter of Alice Martin Clarke Bishop and her husband Richard, was an act of severe violence. Investigators arrived upon the scene to find Martha and her surroundings covered in blood, with a trail leading up a ladder to Martha's body, hacked with "diverse gashes" across the neck with a large knife. Alice openly confessed to the crime and was tried, sentenced, and executed within three months-the first and only woman in Plymouth Colony to be hanged.        

How could something so dreadful take place in the supposedly idyllic world of the Pilgrims? The possibilities are seemingly endless, but Donna Watkins attempts to narrow them down by delving into the origins and history of the Separatist movement, following the Pilgrims across England to their temporary home in Holland, and finally to their settlement in America. She provides details of daily activity in the colony in order to help us gain an understanding of the residents' lifestyle and beliefs, and the pressures of survival in Pilgrim society that may have played a role in Martha's sad fate.

While not all questions surrounding the incident have been definitely answered, reflecting on what happened that morning in 1648 in Playne Dealing and the reaction of both Governor Bradford and the Pilgrim community provides  a rare opportunity to shed new light on Plymouth and its residents. There are many hypotheses regarding Alice's motives, but it is the author's hope that this reflection on her experience within the Pilgrim colony may lead to a fuller understanding of both our nation's early history and the rigors of life during the time period.

You may be wondering- Why this story? Why now? The year 2020 is the 400th anniversary of the founding of Plymouth Colony, a time for introspection and reflection on our national character. Alice is the author's ninth great-grandmother through her daughter Damaris. That Alice and Martha are family members has given her a sense of compassion for them both. While there can be little doubt that Alice committed the crime and, at least within the Pilgrims' set of values and beliefs, deserved her harsh punishment, the author feels she merits a defense and an attempt at explanation. The result is Diverse Gashes.

Foreword                              
  1 – Execution and Burial                       
  2 – William Bradford and the Separatists              
  3 – Alice Martin                        
  4 – The Pilgrims in Holland                      
  5 – Leaving Leiden on the Mayflower              
  6 – George Clarke                           
  7 – Arriving at New Plymouth                 
  8 – Alice Clarke, Wife and Mother               
  9 – Building the Colony                   
10 – The Clarke Family in Plymouth               
11 – Growth and Change                   
12 – Richard Bishop                       
13 – Dispersion and Disappointment               
14 – The Great Migration Begins               
15 – A Murder in Playne Dealing               
16 – Behind the Court Records                
17 – Investigation of the Crime Scene               
18 – The Trial and the Verdict                   
19 – Moving On                       
20 – William Bradford and the Decline of Plymouth       
21 – Why Did Alice Do It?                   
22 – Plymouth’s Legacy and Its Secret               
Afterword                           
Appendix – Plymouth Colony Court RecordsAcknowledgments
Source Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author                                  

Endorsements

“The 1648 murder of four-year-old Martha Clarke, by her own mother, is perhaps Plymouth Colony’s most notorious but least studied community tragedy. In Diverse Gashes, Donna Watkins has masterfully pieced together the stories of family, witnesses, and magistrates, and placed the horrendous event in its social and historical contexts.” - Caleb Johnson, author, historian, and creator of http://mayflowerhistory.com

"What women suffered in New England, in the so-called name of justice, is a dark stain that should not be hidden under the rug of history. I congratulate Donna Watkins on her fearless handling of this subject." - Sue Allan, author and historian

 “Ms. Watkins provides the reader with an informative backstory into the lives of the Pilgrims before, during and after their arrival in the New World in 1620. In this compelling and fascinating account, Watkins explores in depth the circumstances of Alice’s heinous crime as well as the many unanswered questions brought forth as a result of her actions.” - Christine Cook, genealogist and Mayflower Descendant.

“In Diverse Gashes, Watkins focuses on the details leading up to the event and goes on to explain the social and religious stresses within the colony that were major contributory factors in Alice’s actions. The picture Donna has drawn of life in Plymouth Colony goes well beyond other historic reading I have done in this area. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of the Pilgrims, particularly those with ancestral lines back to Alice Bishop.” - Dennis Sutton, creator of “Home Grown in the Garden State,” http://www.njsuttonfamily.org.

“Watkins’ epic historical story, Diverse Gashes, gives an insightful glimpse into the Plymouth Pilgrims’ lives, their struggles, trials, and achievements against the odds. The murder of Martha Clarke by her mother, Alice Bishop, the investigation, and subsequent trial, leaves the reader with a true appreciation of modern-day justice.” - Michal Marshall, descendant of Alice Bishop.

“The 1648 death of four-year-old Martha Clarke at the hands of her mother, Alice Bishop, has haunted Alice’s descendants for centuries. Using primary documentation and hundreds of sources, Donna Watkins carefully investigates the murder and trial, as well as the key characters involved in this tragic story. As much a history of the Pilgrims as it is of Alice Bishop, Diverse Gashes explores the culture of "control and watchfulness” that pervaded Plymouth Colony, providing the context that family historians have long sought.” - Erin Taylor and Kristin Luce, co-authors of Alice Martin Bishop: Motherhood & Murder in Plymouth Colony, http://www.alicemartinbishop.com

Specifications

Format: 6" x 9" paperback printed on permanent acid-free paper
Pages: 370, including Foreward,Twenty-two chapters, Afterword, Appendix , Acknowledgements, Source Notes, Bibliography, and Index. Includes 25 illustrations of Pilgrim life and documents.
ISBN 10: 1-939995-31-0
ISBN 13: 978-1939995-31-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019003763
Price: $24.95 (Bulk order rates are available upon request)

About the Author

DONNA A. WATKINS has published articles in magazines, journals, and newspapers, including the "Los Angeles Times." She has an undergraduate degree in American Studies (CSULA), and she holds graduate degrees in Library and Information Management (USC) and American Studies (CSUF). Alice Bishop,the subject of this book, is her ninth-great-grandmother. Donna's career included work as a librarian at the Pasadena Public Library. After years of helping patrons find books in public libraries, she has turned to writing her own. She resides in Fullerton, California in a house full of quilts.