This week in 1661

“For bearing my testimony for the Lord against deceivers and the deceived, I am brought here to suffer. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

— William Leddra, convicted of disobeying banishment, hanging, Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Executed March 14 (sometimes recorded as March 24), 1661

Despite the executions of three fellow Quakers in the colony, Leddra had refused to stop preaching. He was the last Quaker to hang in Boston and is sometimes recognized as a fourth “Boston martyr.”