In the seventieth century there was a memorable and courageous woman who died for her beliefs. She was a very well educated woman. She was a Quaker and a very outspoken one may I add. She was also a supporter of Anne Hutchinson, a very prominent woman in America back then. She was hung for defying a Puritan law which banned Quakers from the colonies. This woman’s name was Mary Dyer.
Not much is known of Mary Barrett Dyer’s early life. On October 27th, 1663 the first known history of Mary Dyer was noted. She married William Dyer, a very successful merchant, in London. William and Mary added on to the family by giving birth to six children. In 1635 they all migrated to the Massachusetts Bay colony where they had been accepted as members of the Church of Boston. They both realized they found themselves in a place full of controversy involving antinomianism which is holding under the Gospel that moral law is not useful for salvation because faith alone can only accomplish this. Another Quaker woman in Boston, Anne Hutchinson held regular religious meetings at her house where William and Mary often attended. In 1652 Mary and her husband traveled to England where they remained for five long years. This was when she became a Quaker. She had then returned to Boston to spread the message of the Quakers but was sadly imprisoned. Luckily her husband, since he had not adopted the Quakers customs was able to set her free.
Mary dyer was a woman who fought for what she believed in. She was executed almost multiple times. She had two companions when she returned to Massachusetts after being expelled. They were William Robinson and Marmaduke Stephenson. They were both condemned to death for trying to lend a voice to all the other Quaker‘s out there being condemned to death.. She returned to Rhode Island to plead for Quaker’s lives. Dyer was very close to being executed herself but her son had saved her. They did not feel it was right to execute a woman then. Her ways of sneaking around death finally had come to an end though. On June 1st, 1660 she once again returned to Rhode Island but was finally put to death. She was hung on the giant elm of the Boston Common.
I believe people might admire Mary Dyer because she was a martyr of her faith and a powerful leader. She spoke out for what she believed in and did not give up. She believed that God spoke directly to people and not just through the clergy. She believed in gender equality and an individual conscience. She was a great minister and preacher. She fought against anyone who stood in her way. She is remembered today by a statue in Boston Massachusetts on the statehouse grounds.
I believe Mary Dyer was a good hearted person with good intentions. She fought for what she believed in and never gave up. She made sure everyone had a say and how faith alone can set you free. This is common today. We believe if we have enough faith we can become closer to God. She was the most outspoken woman of the time, not including Anne Hutchinson of course. Her beliefs changed many people’s opinions and a lifestyle back then. She is an honorable Quaker and extraordinary woman.

Hall, Timothy L. "Dyer, Mary." American Religious Leaders, American Biographies. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2002. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE52&iPin=ARL078&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 28, 2011).

Pestana, Carla Gardina. "Dyer, Mary." In Smith, Billy G., and Gary B. Nash, eds. Encyclopedia of American History: Colonization and Settlement, 1608 to 1760, Revised Edition (Volume II). New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE52&iPin=EAHII127&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 28, 2011).
Austin, John Osborn. Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island; Comprising Three Generations of Settlers Who Came Before 1690. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Reprint, 1995.