Hannah Ocuish

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Hannah Ocuish
BornMarch 1774
Connecticut, British America[1]
DiedDecember 20, 1786(1786-12-20) (aged 12)
New London, Connecticut, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
Resting placeLedyard Center Cemetery
Ledyard, Connecticut, U.S.[2]
Known forYoungest person executed in United States history
Criminal status
  • Executed
    (December 20, 1786; 234 years ago (1786-12-20))
Conviction(s)Homicide
Criminal penaltyDeath
Date apprehended
July 22, 1786[3]

Hannah Ocuish (sometimes "Occuish";[4] March 1774 – December 20, 1786) was a 12-year old Pequot Native American girl with an intellectual disability who was hanged on December 20, 1786, in New London, Connecticut. She is believed to be the youngest person executed in the United States.[5]

Biography[]

Ocuish was accused of killing six-year-old Eunice Bolles, the daughter of a wealthy farmer, after quarreling with her over strawberries. The murder was reported in the July 27, 1786 issue of the Norwich Packet.[6]

The only evidence against her was her alleged confession to the investigators. Ocuish had reportedly said before her alleged confession that she had seen four boys near the scene. During Ocuish's trial, she seemed unfazed and calm as the rest of those present, including the presiding judge, were brought to tears multiple times.[7] At her execution, she thanked the sheriff for his kindness as she stepped forward to be hanged.[8] Spectators to the execution said that Ocuish "appeared greatly afraid, and seemed to want somebody to help her."[9] Ocuish's guilt has never been comprehensively proven nor disproven.

Henry Channing, a minister, published a sermon entitled God Admonishing His People of their Duty ... a Sermon ... Occasioned by the Execution of Hannah Ocuish, a Mixed Girl, Aged 12 Years and 9 Months, for the Murder of Eunice Bolles, Aged 6 Years and 6 Months.[10]

Karen Halttunen, a history professor at the University of California at Davis, summarized the crime:[11][12]

On the 21st of July, 1786, at about 10 o'clock in the morning, the body of the murdered child was found in the public road leading from New-London to Norwich, lying on its face near to a wall ... The neighborhood turned out to hunt for the murderer; Hannah was questioned and claimed that she had seen four boys near the scene of the crime. When a search failed to turn them up, Hannah was interrogated again, and then taken to the Bolles home to be charged with homicide in the presence of the dead child. She burst into tears and confessed. Only at this late point in the narrative is the reader offered a sequential account of the crime. Five weeks earlier, Eunice had reported Hannah for stealing fruit during the strawberry harvest, and Hannah had plotted revenge. Catching sight of her young enemy headed for school one morning, Hannah had lured Eunice from her path with a gift of calico, then beat and choked her to death.

See also[]

Sources[]

  • Channing, Henry (1786). God admonishing his people of their duty, as parents and masters: a sermon, preached at New-London, December 20th, 1786, occasioned by the execution of Hannah Ocuish, a mulatto girl, aged 12 years and 9 months, for the murder of Eunice Bolles, aged 6 years and 6 months. T. Green. OCLC 18140982.

References[]

  1. ^ "Hannah Ocuish (1774-1786) - Find A Grave Memorial". Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  2. ^ "Hannah Ocuish (1774-1786) - Find A Grave Memorial". Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  3. ^ Channing (1786), p. 28
  4. ^ Caulkins, Frances Manwaring (1895). History of New London, Connecticut: From the First Survey of the Coast in 1612 to 1860. New London: H. D. Utley. pp. 576–577. OCLC 654229578.
  5. ^ "Regional Studies, The Northeast". Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  6. ^ Cameron, Kenneth Walter (1983). Seabury Traditions: The Reconstructed Journal of Connecticut's First Diocesan. 1. Transcendental Books. p. 34. OCLC 731030865.
  7. ^ "Hannah Ocuish and Eunice Bolles".
  8. ^ Channing (1786), p. 29
  9. ^ "1786: A FIGHT OVER STRAWBERRIES; A GIRL IS HANGED".
  10. ^ Channing (1786)
  11. ^ "Divine Providence and Dr. Parkman's Jawbone". Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  12. ^ A Most Unusual Criminal Execution in New London

Further reading[]

  • Streib, Victor L. (1987). Death penalty for juveniles. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-31615-4.

External links[]

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