True Opinion Clear of Polish: Gossip, Reputation, and the Community Jury

Speculation about secrets—romance, marriage, the legal status of children, and other family skeletons—constituted a popular pastime in antebellum New England. Like detectives, subjects would try to solve a mystery based on the observable facts, the known history of the individual, and the degree to which they wanted to give the benefit of the doubt. Eliza Adams attempted to assess the likelihood that a neighbor, Alphens’s wife, had an abortion: Alphens’ wife has been up here with her mother all summer. Poor Alphens he has got so poor that he can’t keep house so he sent his wife out