A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812

The entries in Chapter 3 range from late September-October 1789. Ulrich focuses the chapter primarily on the rape accusation that Mrs. Rebecca Foster—wife of disgraced minister Mr. Isaac Foster—levels against several men in Hallowell and the resulting trial. The town historians of Hallowell did not record Rebecca’s story, though they made many notes about Isaac’s ordination, conflict with Henry Sewall, and dismissal from the town. The only archival evidence of Rebecca’s ordeal and the other details of her life are from a few court records and several entries in Martha’s diary.

On October 1, 1789, Martha wrote, “Mrs Foster has sworn a Rape on a number of men among whom is Judge North” (125). This is a departure from the usual rhythm and content of Martha’s diary. Ulrich writes that the accusation “is an ugly tear in local history, an unexplained rent in the social web” (125). Rebecca’s story is entwined and informed by the controversy her husband faced as minister in the town. The story of the Fosters in Hallowell, glimpsed through entries in both Martha and Henry Sewall’s diaries, provides “insight into the religious complexities of the town, into Martha’s own religious temper, and ultimately into her response to the trial for rape” (125).

Isaac Foster became minister in Hallowell after a selection committee, including church members like Ephraim Ballard and non-members like Colonel Joseph North (Judge North), as the minister in the community had an “ecclesiastical and civil responsibility” (126). Henry Sewall often had private meetings of Christian men who shared his specific theology at home, and they rejected several candidates because of their theological interpretations before the arrival of Isaac Foster. Shortly after, however, Sewall took issue with Foster’s theology, proclaiming it to be “Arminian Doctrine” (a Dutch offshoot of Calvinism). Martha, however, was a more liberal Christian, concerned less with theological specificity about the afterlife and more concerned with the teachings about caring for one’s neighbors. Sewall and his group fought against the ordination of Foster but failed to stop it. For the rest of Foster’s time as minister in Hallowell, Sewall boycotted the public worship services and continued hosting private faith meetings at his home.

The Fosters moved into the Ballards’ neighborhood, and a relationship between the families flourished. Martha held “maternal solicitude” for Rebecca, staying extra days to nurse her after the birth of her second child. Martha was likely upset by the way other townspeople treated the Fosters. Isaac Foster brought Henry Sewall and his cousin Thomas Sewall before Judge North for slander in January 1787, after Ephraim attempted to broker peace between the groups by visiting Thomas to encourage him to stop “spreading ills.” Foster won the trial, and though Henry Sewall sought a second, more formal trial, it never took place. Ulrich notes that, though Sewall had access to more of the world than Martha due to his gender and societal status, his world was small, jumping from “indigo square to indigo square, from courtroom to town meeting to the gatherings of saints, with little awareness of the finespun fibers between” (132). Ulrich illustrates how Sewall, despite his apparent self-importance, lacked a nuanced understanding of the underpinnings of his community and how the society around him truly functioned. 

Sewall and Foster continued their dispute in the courts with various defamation suits, and Foster defended himself from some Boston creditors in a separate case. In the meantime, Martha continued to nurse the ill in the community (such as Rebecca Foster) and deliver laboring women (such as Tabitha Sewall, Henry’s wife), demonstrating the separate spheres of Martha’s and Sewall’s lives. 

By October 1788, Foster was dismissed from his position as Hallowell’s minister. The issue was as much with the system as with Foster himself; religious diversity was increasing in New England, and no one minister could theologically appease an entire town. Religious pluralism was increasing in acceptance as well, as a century earlier, Sewall’s absence from church services would have resulted in a fine. Sewall and his like-minded group founded a new church in Chester, given that several of them technically lived in Chester and were entitled to their own church. 

Foster remained in Hallowell for a year after his dismissal, settling debts that rapidly came due as the fractured social web made neighbors clamor for repayment. During this time is when Rebecca Foster was allegedly raped. In August, Martha visited Rebecca several times, but when the trial loomed, Martha wrote a long entry about what Rebecca told her during those visits, which is the only surviving evidence in the case. Rebecca told Martha that people threw rocks at her house and tried to break in since Isaac temporarily left town, but that was not the worst that had happened; she hoped they would not kill her, since “they Could do nothing wors than they had unless they killed her” (137), clearly alluding to rape. Martha was impressed by Rebecca’s testimony during the trial but was in a difficult position: Judge North was both powerful and Ephraim’s employer. Martha asked Rebecca if it could have been Jack North, Judge North’s son, hoping to shift the guilt to a person less powerful. 

Judge North was charged with “intent to ravish and carnally know” (139), a lesser charge than rape, which was a capital offense. According to the indictment, Elijah Davis assaulted Rebecca on August 3, followed by Joshua Burgess on August 6 and Joseph North on August 9. Ulrich writes, “Her cryptic comments to Martha about people throwing stones at her house and striving to get in and lodge with her are transformed in the formal accusation into a week of terror” (140). Sewall notes the trial as an “affair” in his diary, more concerned with the legal proceedings than the terror a woman in his community faced. Martha attended the trial throughout the summer of 1790. Davis and North attempted to disparage Rebecca’s character, with North’s defense suggesting Rebecca could have mistaken him for someone else. A complication in the case was Rebecca’s pregnancy; eight and a half months after the alleged assaults, she gave birth to a daughter. Depending on when Isaac left town, the pregnancy may have forced her to share what happened to her, as she could not hide the evidence. During the trial, Martha remarked that some evidence against North was “surprising,” indicating how “damning” it must have looked. The indictments were dropped, and the Fosters left town, with Isaac turning to alcohol misuse and Rebecca experiencing a mental health condition, if gossip is to be believed. 

Later entries in Martha’s diary from this time indicate that the Ballard family moved from their rented home to a new house, and Martha began her garden. The men’s milling work was temporarily disrupted by the move, but the women’s textile economy continued relatively unchanged. The presence of Martha’s daughters and nieces allowed her to dedicate more of her time to her midwifery practice, which was growing, and her garden and animals. The new house was easier to reach for messengers, so Martha could hear about and attend more deliveries, eventually attending over 50 deliveries a year.