Colonial America: The Age of Sodomitical Sin, 1607-1783, by Jonathan Ned Katz

The years from 1607 to 1783 constitute the founding era of what became the United States. In the early years of this era, in these American colonies, the penalty for sodomy was death, and a number of executions are documented. Sodomy was usually conceived of then as anal intercourse between men. But why was sodomy thought of as treason against the state and punished so harshly? And what do we know of sexual and intimate relationships between women in these years, and the laws and responses to such intimacies? This feature presents or references the original documents that Jonathan Ned Katz collected in his books Gay American History (1976) and Gay/Lesbian Almanac (1983), along with evidence that others subsequently discovered. Published originally on OutHistory in 2012.

Legal Case: Norman and Hammon, Plymouth, March 6, 1649

"Lewd behavior . . . upon a bed"

Plymouth Court records included the accusation against two women, Sara Norman and Mary Hammon (or Hammond):

We present [charge] the wife of Hugh Norman, and Mary Hammon, both of Yarmouth, for lewd behavior each with [the] other upon a bed.... (1)

Background

Research by J. R. Roberts in the Plymouth manuscript records provides background information on Norman and Hammon. At the time of the above charges Mary Hammon was fifteen years old, and recently married. Sara Norman's age is unknown, but she was apparently somewhat older, as she had been married in 1639. About the time of the court's first charge, 1649, Hugh Norman, Sara's husband, deserted his wife and children.

Hammon Verdict

A marginal note in the Plymouth court record of March 6, 1649 reported that Mary Hammon was "cleared with admonition" - perhaps because of her youth. Sara Norman's case was evidently held over for later judgment.

New Charge

A year after the first charge, on March 6, 1650, Sara Norman was cited again in the Plymouth court records, this time accused of "unclean practices" with a male, Teage Joanes. This charge was subsequently dropped, when her accusor pleaded guilty of perjury.

Norman Verdict

On October 2, 1650, the records report the outcome of the original charge against Sara Norman. The court punished her with a warning, and asked her to acknowledge publicly her "unchaste behavior" with Mary Hammon. This punishment, though publicly humiliating, was lenient compared to the death penalty imposed for male-male "sodomy."

Patriarchal custom was evident in the fact that court records in this case referred to the "wife of Hugh Norman"; although Sara Norman was publicly charged with a serious crime, her whole name was used only once in the documents.

The court record of 1650 said:

Whereas the wife of Hugh Norman, of Yarmouth, hath stood presented [in] divers Courts for misdemeanor and lewd behavior with Mary Hammon upon a bed, with divers lascivious speeches by her also spoken, but she could not appear by reason of some hindrances unto this Court, the said Court have therefore sentenced her, the said wife of Hugh Norman, for her wild behavior in the aforesaid particulars, to make a public acknowledgment, so far as conveniently may be, of her unchaste behavior, and have also warned her to take heed of such carriages for the future, lest her former carriage come in remembrance against her to make her punishment the greater.

References

Jonathan Ned Katz, Gay/Lesbian Almanac (NY: Harper & Row, 1983), p. 92-93, citing Shurtleff,Plymouth, vol. 2, pp. 137, 148, 163, and J. R. Roberts, .. 'leude behaviour each with other upon a bed': The Case of Sarah Norman and Mary Hammond," Sinister Wisdom, no. 14 (Summer 1980).