Embedded Files
University archivist in the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives at the University of Albany, SUNY
Gregory Wiedeman--Archivist at UA but that was just a happy coincidence for me. Anything this person publishes I try to read. Anyone interested in archival research should most certainly check out his work: gregwiedeman.com/
Gregory Wiedeman--Archivist at UA but that was just a happy coincidence for me. Anything this person publishes I try to read. Anyone interested in archival research should most certainly check out his work: gregwiedeman.com/
WEB continues to be refined and improved upon through continuing of verification and data collection. Thanks to the tireless efforts of staff at the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives and the Espy Project, the digitization of the Espy file is a possibility. The below will link to the Espy Project. Arguably, this document is the most convenient "one-stop" that helps one navigate the papers.
The Espy Project
The Espy Project
useful resources for ongoing data collection and verification
useful resources for ongoing data collection and verification
For ongoing work in documenting each of the executed via extensive cross-referencing see: Documentation of the executed which includes additional resources. Whenever possible, the dataset itself attempts to include as much documentation as possible.
For more recent data, I rely on the DPI that provides additional resources for follow-up.
Notably, for historical documentation, library collections like the Allen County Public Library which contains Virginia colonial decisions, the reports by Sir John Randolph and by Edward Barradall, 1728-1741 as well as census data, are found thanks to The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. I found that the Internet Archive was most helpful in providing full scans from historical documents like John Winthrop's Journal a.nd the writing of Cotton Mather and others (below).
A number of websites were invaluable in identifying new sources and facts including, but not limited to:
https://www.capitalclemency.org/
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library
Hidden Collections, CLIR,The Women's Print History Project;
Library of Congress Welsh settlement of Pennsylvania
National Women's History Alliance;
National Women's History Museum;
Pittsburgh, PA https://state-killings-in-the-steel-city.org
Rhode Island State Archives (Thank you, Mr. Carlson!)
the general court of Virginia, 1728-1741
There are a reputable, well-known sites one can access data on women's executions in the United States that I mention throughout the site but are worth mentioning again: Death Penalty Information Center, Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide, the Equal Justice Initiative, the Innocence Project.
“regardless of the legal issue, the first place to begin death penalty research is with a list of those known to have suffered irrevocable punishment"
Laska, 2008, p. 104 *
From the website, "The colonists who invaded New England in the early 17th century were the first to initiate slaving voyages from the continent and their descendants were the last to pursue this heinous traffic. [...] Through collaborative research, place-based education programs, digital humanities projects, and compelling programming, Atlantic Black Box seeks to engage the public in the collective rewriting of our regional history."
The above is from a New York Times article but, if you click on the screenshot, it will take you to the article if you do not have the subscription. Executions of black women during this time are often verified via compensation claims. While this article is in reference to another practice, it offers a possible avenue for locating family members of the executed.
*Page citations
Espy, M. Watt, and Smykla, John Ortiz. Executions in the United States, 1608-2002: The ESPY File. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2016-07-20. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08451.v5
Laska, L. L. (2008). Fact-based death penalty research. Tenn. JL & Pol'y, 4, 103
M. Watt Espy Papers, 1730-2008 - M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives]
Also, Here is an abbreviated list of scholarship in the field I have used throughout the years. And, for a somewhat less scholarly selection of resources: Visual and audio video covering women and capital punishment
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