FXBG - Ducking Stool for Scandalous Women

So, Imagine wooden cart wheels. You have a long wooden beam and at the end of the beam is a wooden seat. It’s kind of like a seesaw, except there’s only a seat on one end, and the other end is used to raise the beam up and down. The wheels were used to car it around to and from the body of water that you would be taking said overly opinionated woman to be ducked. Basically, a woman would be strapped into this wooden chair at the end of the seesaw beam and would be carted through the town to a body of water. They would dunk her underneath the water, bring her back up ask her if she has repented of her sin. Generally, it took a few times because the ducking probably made them even more overly critical and outwardly opinionated. So after several dunks of holding this woman underneath water for 30 seconds each time, if she repented of her sin and pledged to sin no more than they would either cart her back through the town in her wet clothes for all to see and drop her off at home or they would have her walk home in her wet clothes. Undoubtedly to have time for deep thinking about what led her to this situation.

The ducking stool also known as “engine of correction” has early origins but was popular in England and America in the 17^th- into the early 19^th centuries. It was designed for women, who were over opinionated, outwardly critical, slanderous, of ill repute, selling spirited liquor without a license, witchcraft, and more. In America, it wasn’t used in New England states often, but the South seemed to embrace it every chance they could. “In the name of hypocrisy gents, let’s throw our Southern manners to the wind and submerge us a over-opinionated woman! Surely, she won’t plot to kill us in our sleep aftwards… she’ll be a timid as a … partly submerged alligator patiently waiting for its prey? Nope, nothing to worry about now.”

 This was not only humiliating to she who was ducked, but also resulted in some deaths. I mean, a test to see if one could hold their breath under water was not considered before doling out this sentence.

The first ducking stool was ordered in Virginia by the 1662 Virginia General Assembly in Act V titled “Women causing scandalous suites to be ducked”. It states: “Whereas oftentimes brabling women often slander and scandalize their neighbors for which their poore husbands are often brought into chargeable and vexatious suites, and cast in great damages; be it there for enacted by the authority aforesaid that in actions of slander occasioned by the wife as aforesaid after judgment passed for the damages the women shall be punished by ducking; and if the slander be so enormous as to be adjudged at a greater damage then five hundred pounds of tobacco, then the woman to suffer a ducking for each five hundred pounds of tobacco adjudged against the husband if he refuse to pay the tobacco.”

Yes, poor husband dears whose mouthy wife brought chargeable and vexatious suites again him. Sorry, but my empathy is low in this regard since he has the option to not pay the tobacco and save his wife from humiliation, hypothermia, and possibly death. The ducking was even more cruel than we imagine today because people did not bathe often in these times out of fear sickness. But, I don’t have to offer a smidge of empathy towards the husbands with unusually busy body wives who did nothing but spread slander. In today’s world, slander and gossip has become a second language and we all know plenty of people who have caused a lot of issues behaving in this way. Perhaps a good ducking… oh never mind. More trouble then its worth. I digress, back to the story!

The colonial Assembly of Maryland in 1663-1664 passed an act requiring a ducking stool in each county of the colony. PA erected one between 1717-1720 for scold and drunken women. In 1769 a woman named Mary Conway was ducked in the Delaware river at the end of the Market St. wharf. About 1779 an Anne Maige was also punished. In 1824, Nancy Jarvis was ducked in Philadelphia. Ducking became law and the official sentence for those brought forth under charges of being a “common scold”.

In 1634, a man from the Hungars Parish in Virginia (Northampton County on the Eastern Shore) wrote to Gov. Endicott of Mass giving a detailed account of a women named Betsey Tucker. Betsey was married to John Tucker and was reported to have used her tongue violently which resulted in her husband’s house and their neighborhood feel uncomfortable (gasp!). She was taken a nearby pond (no doubt carted through the town) to the ducking stool which they had already used three times that past summer. She was fastened by cords in the stool at the end of the lifting arm and her dress was tied around her feet. They pushed the stool to the end of the pond and dunked her under the water and left her there for 30 seconds. She was resilient and refused to give in until she had been dunked five times! At that time she finally relented saying, “Let me go, let me go, by God’s help I’ll sin no more.” They let her go and she had to walk home in her wet clothes.

Approximately, around 1699 a woman in Virginia was charged with witchcraft and sentenced to a ducking in the ducking-stool. The day her sentence was supposed to carried out, the weather was very cold so the magistrate was concerned the woman would get exposure being carted to and from the stool and postponed her sentence. Now, I know what you are thinking, perhaps the action of submerging her in water at freezing temperatures would be injurious to her health. Nope, that was not considered to be a point of concern. How quickly can beliefs change. Joan of Arch was burned at the stake in the 15^th century for claiming to see God, in 1692 the victims of the Salem Witch Trials were killed for erroneous reports of witchcraft and their bodies burned post death to rid the devil. But all this witch needed was a good dunk in the cold water to persuade her to stop her evil ways and hexing her neighbors. Apparently, fire was not needed in the first place… hmmm….

Ducking was highly favored contraption and practice for the American Colonist across all 13 colonies.  The southern colonies were known to have used them more than the northern. We aren’t exactly sure why, but the folks in Virginia (including Fredericksburg) had no qualms about submerging their women in the icy waters of the Rappahannock River. Actually, when the northern states were sparing on their duckings, Virginia embraced it and more than happy to “follow the law”.  

In Fredericksburg, 1785 it was ordered that whipping posts, stocks, and ducking stool were erected. The ducking stool in Fredericksburg was located on the banks of the Rappahannock River at the end of Wolf Street. This was known as the baptizing place (how ironic) and also the public wharf. Today it is approximately between the Riverside Park and Brocks.  These events were well attended by the town who were there to jeer and add to the humiliation. Who could pass up a good time? What other sources of entertainment were available for a small port town?

In 1921 a recalled a story from her grandmother that witnessed the ducking of a woman named Peggy in Fredericksburg. Apparently, Peggy was a known termagant and one day she was seen tied to a ducking stool contraption and as she was carted through the streets she was “polluting the air with her foul oaths”. They pushed her to Rappahannock and submerged her over her head. When she was pulled out, she even more irate so they submerged her again. The third time did not “quench the fire of a feminine temper” but a third time seemed to get the point. After a third ducking they carted her back through the streets, but she was silent. She was probably more in hypothermic shock vs. repented

1921, the 250^th parade held many floats depicting a time in the city. A ducking stool representing 1791 depicting a time where this contraption was used on scandalous women. It was painted green to represent the moss on the Rappahannock River.  a Mary Jones and Eliabeth Jarvis were identified as “ill repute” and were in court often. Mary was arrested for selling “spiritous liquors” and not having a license. Jarvis was once threatened by ducking if she didn’t post bond.

In 1930, a paper in Berryville reported to The Washington Star that some records were located that a ducking stool had been constructed using the same model as Fredericksburg. Who knew we were trend setters?!

1824- The first woman political interviewer also faced the ducking sentence for becoming a   common scold. Her story is interesting and we’ll cover more on her in a later episode, but for now we’ll focus on ducking sentence. Mrs. Anne Royall’s husband was a revolutionary war officer and when he died, she traveled to Washington D.C. in 1824 to demand a pension. Unfortunately, her demand was denied. Women without husbands had very little options for income so you can imagine her denial generated feelings of anger and bitterness. Let’s be honest, you’d be too! Instead of going home (wherever that was) and just sulking about it she decided to begin reporting on Washington’s politicians. She was able to buy an old hand press and battered type font and created a publication she initially called The Washington Paul Pry. A woman editor at this time was rare let alone a woman who dared to dabble in the political arena. What?!  A female with enough intellectual wit to be able to converse and write about politics?! So, she began interviewing every politician that came to Washington. It’s not clear if the interview was voluntary or if she hunted them down but it was reported that if they subscribed to her paper then she guaranteed the interview would be full of flattery and “puff”.  However, if they did not, that individual would soon see a column filled with anything but flattery. The politicians considered this to be “abuse in sheet” referencing to the abusive language describing them in the sheets of the newspaper. She was soon perceived as a terror to these politicians and eventually they could take no more. She was indicted under the law as a “common scold” and sentenced to a ducking in the nearby public pond. However, for some reason she was not ducked but otherwise fined and imprisoned.

In 1884, Ohio a woman named Sallie Stratton lived near Addison County was charged with being guilty of extreme cruelty to her aging mother and having been instructed to change her behavior, she did not and continued to be unkind to her mother. The town had enough and took her to a pond nearby and ducked her several times. She was then released and instructed to fix her behavior, or she would get the punishment repeated. I’m happy to report that she had behaved herself from that time forward.

In 1935, in Philadelphia, a couple named Mr. and Mrs. William Miller were arrested as the result of 40 neighbors complaining they were “profeund nusiances and common scolds”. They were arrested under the statute 150 years old and the law called for the ducking stool as punishment. Luckily for the Millers, they were born they were born in the 20^th century and that punishment had been out of practice for 100 years, but was still the law. The Judge Howard A. Davis ruled that the punishment was no longer in practice but ordered Mrs. Miller to keep the peace and ordered the couple to move five miles from their current residence.

In 1961, Harrisburg, PA, the first PA woman attorney general, Anne Alpern found herself in an interesting position that could have resulted in a sentence of ducking. A woman Miss Mabel McCombs of Lancaster was arrest on charges of being a common scold brought on by her neighbors. If convicted, the law still listed ducking as a punishment and “common scolds” was an outdated charge rarely seen at this point. Ms. Alpern said she would not prosecute this woman because, “a lady who goes around loudly telling other people what she thinks of them is not worse than a man who boasts about himself.” She further went on that when a man is a braggart he is subject to fines and jail. She was not about to sentence a woman to a more severe punishment then a man behaving the same way. Plus, the PA State Supreme Court outlawed ducking in 1825. This set a precedent and helped the jail Warden since he would have had to carry out the ducking and there weren’t any ducking stools in existence in 1961!

It seems absurd today that women were subjected to this form of public humiliation for verbally offending their neighbors, but it should put into perspective a time when slander, opinions, and being critical was taken very seriously. In a time of social media and nothing but opinions, attention seeking posts, and intentionally stating information as fact with no evidence of fact, perhaps we can take a step back and behave better than our 19^th century sisters. Words matter so let’s look past our own desire to share our unsolicited opinions of complaining and cutting down others. Let’s use our platforms to encourage and build self confidence and if sharing information as fact, ensure we can back it up.

Sources:

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‌The statutes at large; : being a collection of all the laws of Virginia, from the first session of the legislature, in the year 1619. : Published pursuant to ... v.2. (2025). HathiTrust. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hxh5u4&seq=1&q1=brabling&start=1 The Daily Star. (1918, September 17). Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/paper/the-daily-star/29175/