Madison Historical Society to Host Ninth Annual Frederick Lee Lectures

MADISON HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S 2016 FREDERICK LEE LECTURES TO FEATURE TRUE HISTORICAL STORIES OF CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Madison, CT - The Madison Historical Society announces its 2016 Frederick Lee Lectures, featuring true historical tales of crime and punishment in the Nutmeg State from 1639 to the late 1800s. The three-part lecture series, now in its ninth year, explores bizarre events and unusual people from Connecticut and examines the lasting impact they have had. The Lectures will be held at the First Congregational Church’s Hubley Hall on the Madison Green on the second Sunday of the month at 4pm, beginning in January.

The Lectures will open on January 10 with a talk by noted author and Durham native, Diana Ross McCain. Her book, It Happened in Connecticut, offers twenty-five tales of unique people and events that shaped our state’s history. McCain’s compelling stories begin during the early days of women’s suffrage and include the mysterious wanderings of the “Leatherman,” who was well known in Madison.

In the second lecture on February 14, retired probate judge and Guilford town historian Joel Helander will address Victorian times and crime in Madison. His book, Noose and Collar: The Story of the Rockland Murder, tells the tale of the tragic death of Madison native Mary Stannard and the minister who was accused of the crime. The case gained national attention because it was one of the first to use forensic science to aim to prove the guilt of the accused.The Lectures will conclude on March 13 with an exhilarating presentation by New Haven Superior Court judge and author Jon C. Blue. His recent book, The Case of the Piglet’s Paternity: Trials from the New Haven Colony, 1639-1663, has captivated readers with its fascinating stories of local trials ranging from murder and bestiality to drunken sailors, frisky couples, faulty shoes, and shipwrecks. Blue draws parallels to current times in his retellings of seventeenth-century trials and brings to life the exciting legal battles of America’s earliest days.

The Lectures are open to the public. Admission is $5 per person; $4 to Society members and $2 for students ten and older. Call the Madison Historical Society at (203) 245-4567 or visit www.madisoncthistorical.org for more information on these exciting lectures.