From the very beginning of the Puritan colony of Massachusetts, Quakers were beaten or branded with an H for being a heretic. When those efforts didn’t stop them from preaching that Jesus could be known intimately without church rituals, some like William Leddra were hanged. On March 14, 1661 Leddra (pictured here) was the last to hang for the crime of returning from banishment. His last words were “For bearing my testimony for the Lord against deceivers and the deceived, I am brought here to suffer. Lord Jesus receive my spirit.”
