Skimmington Ride

The Palatines relationship with the Mohawks was considered a threat by Governor Hunter because they were acting outside the control of the British government.  In an effort to regain control, Hunter singled out Johann Weiser as a miscreant, and in July 1715 issued a warrant for Johann’s arrest.

A sheriff named Adams was sent from Albany to arrest Johann, but when he arrived in Schoharie things went terribly wrong.  Nothing could have prepared the poor sheriff for the gang of Palatine women who decided to take justice into their own hands.  Led by Magdalene Zee they attacked the sheriff, horribly beating him, and dragged him through the mud until they had dumped his battered body outside the boundary of the Schoharie settlement.  That taken care of, the women went back to their farms and continued with their chores.  Amazingly, Sheriff Adams survived the attack and somehow made his way back to Albany.

In eighteenth-century Europe the term “skimmington” was used to describe a man who allowed his wife to dominate him.  As a form of peasant justice, the man would be shamed by being forced to ride through the community facing backward on a donkey.   In Schoharie County folklore, what happened to Sheriff Adams was described as a “skimmington ride.”

What happened to the women involved in this violent act?  Nothing.  It was believed that women fell prey to their emotions and couldn’t be held accountable for their actions.  The Palatine men, however, steered clear of Albany for a while.

 

Reference:  

“Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness