Although they say you can’t go home again, the Rev. Hugh Peters did. As it turned out, he shouldn’t have.

Hugh Peters (surname often rendered "Peter") came to America in 1635 to escape the king’s military forces nipping at his heels. The Massachusetts wilderness seemed safer than England which was on the verge of civil war.

He was connected by marriage to John Winthrop, Jr. Winthrop’s wife, Elizabeth Reade, and Elizabeth’s sister, Margaret Reade Lake, were Hugh’s stepdaughters by his first marriage. (Lakes Pond Road in Waterford was named for Margaret Lake.)

Hugh doesn’t fit my idea of a stereotypical Puritan minister. A preacher and political activist, he was energetic and passionate, and made quite an impact when he arrived in the Bay Colony. In the span of just a few years, he served as minister, helped found Harvard, strengthened the colony’s nascent fishing industry, interrogated Anne Hutchinson about her unorthodox religious views, and was a force in banishing Roger Williams to Rhode Island.

Hugh’s next move was to Saybrook where he, along with men like George Fenwick and Lion Gardiner, became one of that colony’s founders. But his tenure there was brief; in 1641, he and two other men were selected to return to England as agents representing Massachusetts. Their mission was to negotiate an agreement with Parliament to grant the colony exemption from taxation on natural resources like fish, furs, and lumber. They were successful and the resulting agreement was honored for years.

The parishioners at his old church hadn’t wanted Hugh to go. Knowing his fiery disposition and the dangerous political atmosphere back home, they feared for his safety. He went anyway, leaving behind his second wife, Deliverance Sheffield. It must have been a miserable marriage because he wrote from England to an American correspondent, “… never let my wife come away from thence without my leave (if) you love me.”

A few years following Hugh’s departure, his brother Thomas came to Saybrook after being dismissed from his church in England. Thomas served as chaplain at the fort, helped clear land in New London, and, I believe, served as New London’s first clergyman. (The city’s next minister was Richard Blinman, for whom Blinman Street was named.)

Thomas returned to England around 1646, apparently because his former congregation had a change of heart and invited him back. His decision to go may have also been influenced by a desire to reconcile with his wife, who hadn’t joined him in America and who never answered any of his letters. Thomas died in 1654. I couldn’t find anything about his final years; I hope that means they were peaceful.

Brother Hugh’s life ended much more dramatically. He was a leader in the English Civil War that pitted Parliament against those loyal to the monarchy. He was close to Oliver Cromwell and served as chaplain in Cromwell’s army. Hugh advocated for the death of King Charles I and was rumored, perhaps falsely, of being the king’s hooded executioner when Charles was hanged in 1649. If you Google Hugh’s name, you’ll find many sites that identify him as "Hugh Peters, Regicide," a rather chilling way to be remembered down the ages.

A more horrifying blot on his name was his role in the transportation of war orphans, viewed as a burden on the English economy, to New England where the children who survived the voyage were sold as indentured servants.

This story doesn’t fit my preference for upbeat endings. When the monarchy was restored in 1660, Hugh was charged with treason and sentenced to death. The grisly punishment was a spectacle designed to send a message to others. Hugh was hanged until close to death, emasculated and disemboweled while still alive, and then beheaded. Finally, his corpse was cut in quarters and displayed around the city.

Tangling with a king was risky business.