Mural Title: Remembering Ruth Blay, 1737-1768
Teacher; Seamstress; Unwed Mother
History
In 1768, Ruth Blay, a 31-year-old teacher from South Hampton, was tried, convicted, and publicly hanged for concealing the body of her illegitimate baby.
Concealment was punishable by death by hanging, unless the woman could prove the baby was stillborn. In Blay’s final words, written on the eve of her execution, she maintained the child was stillborn, which she could have proven had she been properly advised by her lawyer.
She, and other women before her, were victims of their gender, class, social status, the mores of the time and harsh provincial law.
The last woman executed in New Hampshire, Ruth Blay’s body lies buried in an unmarked grave in what is now South Street Cemetery.
- Carolyn Marvin, Historian
Author of Hanging Ruth Blay, an Eighteenth Century Tragedy, The History Press, 2010
This is the first mural by Friends of Ruth Blay (FORB) in a project called history Through Art which plans on developing murals of the overlooked women in the history of the Seacoast area.
Graphic art work was by Deb McNeilly of DBG Design.
Drawing by Carl Aichele.
Concept and Design by Terrence Parker.
Project funded by Kristen and Todd Adelman.
Deciphering the Art
Click on any thumbnail for a larger view.