TITLE: Letter from Joan Brocksopp to “ye Rulers of Boston,” c/o John & Hannah Bowne
DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.03-08A
DATE: 23 August 1677 (Old Style) / 2 September (New Style)
DESCRIPTION & NOTES
This address to “ye Rulers of Boston” was accompanied by greetings to John and Hannah Bowne, whom Brocksopp was entrusting with the task of delivering it upon their return to the Colonies. Brocksopp and her “yoke-mate,” or fellow missionary, Elizabeth Hooten had been jailed in Boston and driven into the New England wilderness as punishment for their unorthodox preaching during their 1661 visit there; hence her exhortations to the authorities to repent and be saved. As this letter is still in the Bowne Family Papers, it seems that it was never delivered. However, Brocksopp’s fearless audacity indicates the type of role model she set for Hannah.