Downing, Lucy Winthrop (c. 1600–1679)

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Downing, Lucy Winthrop (c. 1600–1679)

American letter writer. Name variations: Lucy Winthrop. Born Lucy Winthrop, Jan 9, 1600 or 1601, in England; died 1679 in England; sister of John Winthrop (Puritan leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony); m. Emanuel Downing, 1622.

Moved with family from England to Boston (1638) and then Salem; letters, well written and forthright, give insight into struggles of colonial life; moved with family to Scotland after 1654 and then back to England after husband's death; wrote Letters of Mrs. Lucy Downing (1871), detailing conditions for Puritans in England, brother's decision to lead Puritan settlement to Massachusetts Bay Colony, and life in New England colonial community.