Lady Deborah

Lore & Background

Deborah Dunch was born in London in 1586, the daughter of Walter Dunch of Avebury Manor in Wiltshire and his wife Deborah, daughter of James Pilkington, bishop of Durham. In 1606 she married Sir Henry Moody, 1st Baronet, and had one son, Sir Henry Moody, 2nd Baronet. After her husband's death in 1629, she emigrated to Massachusetts in 1636. She first settled in Saugus, Massachusetts, before moving to a large farm in Swampscott, just outside of Salem. She corresponded with other religious Nonconformists and espoused the views of Roger Williams on the invalidity of infant baptism. This attracted adverse attention from her neighbor, Reverend Hugh Peter, who believed in religious unity in the Massachusetts Puritan colony. In 1643, Moody was put on trial for allegedly spreading religious dissent. Puritan leader John Winthrop described her as a "dangerous woman" during her trial. The Church told her to change her beliefs or be excommunicated. Moody chose excommunication.

In Their Own Story

After her excommunication, Moody gathered her fellow Anabaptists and set out to find a place where they could peacefully practice their religion. In 1643, Director Willem Kieft of the Dutch West India Company was looking for new settlers to add to the population in New Netherland. He had recently started a war with the local Lenape and wanted more settlers to defend the newly seized land. Lady Moody had money and followers, and accepted the opportunity to create a new community. The Dutch West India Company entrusted Moody with the southwestern tip of Long Island, including areas now known as parts of Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, and Sheepshead Bay. Moody named her new community Gravesend. Gravesend was the first New World settlement founded by a woman. Moody allowed total religious freedom in Gravesend, as long as it fell within the laws of the colony. As Gravesend prospered, Moody gained influence in the government of New Netherland. She was among the few prominent settlers invited to greet the new Director-General, Peter Stuyvesant, when he arrived in 1647. Stuyvesant called on her to mediate a tax dispute in 1654. In 1655, she was called upon to nominate magistrates for Gravesend. Moody lived in Gravesend until her death in 1659.

Reader's Guide

Lady Deborah Moody is a historical figure from the early colonial period, not a character in Aeternum. Her story is one of religious persecution and the founding of a settlement based on religious tolerance. Players interested in her legacy can visit Lady Moody Square in Gravesend, Brooklyn, where a memorial was erected in her honor in the fall of 2014 as part of the "Built by Women New York City" competition. Her life demonstrates the challenges faced by Nonconformists and Anabaptists in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the opportunities offered by the Dutch colony of New Netherland.

Did You Know?

• Deborah, Lady Moody is one of the few European women known to have founded a settlement in North America.
• She was described as 'a dangerous woman' by Puritan leader John Winthrop during her 1643 trial for spreading religious dissent.
• Gravesend was one of the earliest New World settlements founded by a woman, but not the first.
• A memorial was erected to her at Lady Moody Square in Gravesend, Brooklyn, in the fall of 2014.