Almanacs, pregnancy, and dodging fines are all contained in this one-page testimony to the Court of General Sessions of Massachusetts from 1710.
Unmarried Ruth Copeland became pregnant with a child by a man named Samuel Hayden, who promised to marry her after finding out she was to have his child. Samuel subsequently rescinded his offer after reading an almanac, saying to her, “Ruth, you won’t lye in untill next March, tis a devilish while to it.” As it turns out, Samuel was buying time so he could deny his fatherhood and avoid paying the fine for bastardy that was required in eighteenth-century Massachusetts.
~Ashley Cataldo, Curator of Manuscripts