Table of Contents
Henry Bedlow – An Illuminating Account by Historian John Sweet
Historian John Sweet specializes in the social and cultural history of early America. This fascinating book showcases his careful research, using primary sources extensively.
Lanah Sawyer testified against Bedlow, saying he ripped her shift dress and petticoats, leaving signs of violence on their surfaces, but the jury ultimately acquitted him.
Early Life and Education
Henry Bedlow was a successful merchant and furniture maker from New York City. A popular member of multiple social clubs like Players’ and Union League Clubs, Henry was best friends with Fitz Henry Homer as well as other notable figures of his day.
The author of this book asserts that he is the first historian to comprehensively study Boyd’s life from original historical sources, offering extensive documentation in terms of an appendix and footnotes.
Bedlow was noted for his religious convictions and generosity with both money and property donations to various churches he donated, often including clauses that the land would revert back to him if construction took longer than anticipated. This aspect of his life stands out among all others as one of its main hallmarks. According to various anecdotes about Bedlow, many describe him as religiously devout as well as generous with both. For example, several anecdotes depict him as extremely generous in giving away land that would reverts back to him if construction delays prevented construction from beginning within certain time frames he specified by himself or someone else.
Professional Career
Henry Bedlow served as attache at the American Legation in Naples, using his knowledge of European languages and court etiquette to aid American missions abroad. Additionally, Bedlow wrote several poems and was well known in social circles of New York.
Wood effectively addresses the cultural, social and historical context of Lanah Sawyer’s report to police regarding Bedlow for rape. She provides insight into this case while detailing misogyny that lay at its core.
Lottie Bedlow competed on the British version of baking competition GBBO. Her Louis Theroux cake won over judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith during round 1, however she left after failing to do so again during bread roll week.
Achievement and Honors
In 1793, seventeen-year-old Lanah Sawyer accused twenty-six-year-old Henry Bedlow of rape. This case caused rioting and newspaper debates revealing a double standard within upper class society as well as underscoring how difficult it can be for working women to attain justice in an all-male legal system. As Sweet demonstrates, working women were left frustrated in seeking their justice from an all-male legal system.
Sawyer was a seamstress with modest means, yet was an accomplished writer with ambitions well beyond her station. She felt that her right to pursue revolutionary ideals of human equality were being denied her by an exclusive system.
Sweet’s engaging, well-documented history deftly reconstructs the 1793 rape trial and its aftermath, offering a searing portrayal of sexual politics as well as limits of justice for women of lower economic classes. A must read for anyone interested in American crime history!
Personal Life
John Sweet’s book on sexuality in early America provides a rich narrative supported by an extensive appendix and footnotes.
Henrietta Bedlow’s struggle to convict her rapist illuminates how early American law often favored established men despite their reputations of libertarianism, while also showing how resistance from victims may impact a jury’s verdict.
The trial also perpetuates longstanding myths surrounding rape, including that women must always consent to seduction and that resistance is central to an abuser’s accountability. Discover if Henry Bedlow is related to you through MyHeritage’s free family tree website by providing your name and email address and creating your free family tree site today – it is the world’s largest online family tree service!
Net worth
Lottie Bedlow has quickly established herself as an accomplished pastry specialist since her humble beginnings, winning many viewers’ hearts with her baking on Channel 4’s Cranford House and also working for Anton Benson Productions as a pantomime producer.
Henry Bedlow’s trial served as a stark reminder that social status can shield rapists from facing accountability. Bedlow was an aristocrat with substantial assets who inherited their house as well as being connected to various philanthropic societies.
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