JOHN ACIE: LOVE HIM OR HATE HIM, PT3

Wrapping up the case for defamation brought against John Pickerd by my
ancestor John Acie in the Essex County Quarterly Court:

The first thing I thought about while I reading this case was it seemed more like
John Acie was on trial instead of Pickerd. Half of the witnesses paint a picture of
a conniving bully, the other half one of a loyal friend and family member.

The case revolved around Pickerd's statement that Acie had " ruined  Josuah Bradley,
Doctor Crosbie, Hannah Palmer and Thomas Remington". And yet,

-Thomas Remington and Mehittabell, his wife, deposed that he, being named as one
whom Acie had ruined, denied the charge.
-Dr. Crosbie trusted Acie enough to have him look after the affairs of his wife and
children which Crosbie's former wife said Acie did as a faithful friend.

On the other hand, Joshua Bradley and his wife left town out of fear of John Acie's
anger.

Then we come to the story of John Acie's niece Hannah Palmer and her beau, John
Hopkinson. True, Acie wanted Hannah to break off the relationship and returned
Hopkinson's "love tokens" to him. But that is hardly ruining his niece's life. In fact,
given his mother's opposition to any marriage to a relative of Acies, the marriage was
probably never going to happen.

True, there was Acie's aggressive behavior towards Thomas Wood about the hay from
the Crosbie pasture but it could be he was acting to protect the widow's interests.

As always with these court files, many of the participants are related to me: Richard
Swan, James Bayley, and Joseph Trumble are all my relatives.

And as for my 8x great grandfather, he didn't always do as well in court cases, and in
September 1664 was fined and sentenced to a week in jail for his  "great misdemeanors"