This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/5EE.2ACIB/299 Message Board Post: I have never been able to find any documentation about the trial, if there was one, in which John Billington was convicted of the murder of John Newcomen for which he was hanged in September, 1630. When one reads the records of Plimouth Plantation, written by William Bradford and others of his faction, for such it was, the strong impression is made that there was a small minority, led by John Billington, of about four or five families who were considered trouble makers and were persecuted at every opportunity for not cooperating with the "powers that be"--namely Bradford and Standish. This persecution was meted out not only to John but to Elinor his wife, the two sons, John, Jr, and Frances, and on into Frances' adult life with his wife Christian(a) and their children. This got so bad that the family found it necessary to move away from Plimouth to gain some peace. Because of the foregoing, I view the entire episode as one of a politcal nature which is entirely in line with ! the nature of the Puritan movement from the beginning in wanting to control the Church of England to remake it into their concept of worship and dictate how life should be lived. All anyone needs to do is review the history of the Puritans and New England from about 1600 to the present time with an open and inquiring mind. Anyone with any information of a documentary nature concerning the crime or trial from an objective source please communicate with me by email at kyeglei@aol.com.