In 1656, she lost a child and almost lost her life. She and her husband took a neighbor, William Browne, to court claiming his threats had harmed her. He was finally sentenced to lie in prison one wekk, to pay a fine of twenty marks and to pay the Prince’s court costs. But neighbors also said that she hadn’t taken care of herself sutably. They testified to seeing Margaret coming from the harbor with a pailful of clay on her head and of remonstarting with her for doing such work in her condition. Margaret had relied that she “had to, her husband would not and her [log] house lay open [without chinking]. She had carried three pails and had three more to carry.” Another neighbor testified that “he saw Thomas Prince’s wife daubing her husband’s house two or three weeks before she was in travail with her last child.”1840

Any peaceful time she would have had after her husband’s death ended in Sept 1692. Poor Margaret was accused of witchcraft. The result of the trial was not stated but presumably she was cleared.1841

He arrived in New England befoe 1644 when he is said to have been a temprary resident of Wenham, MA. He moved to Gloucester by 1649.1837

In 1671, Thomas Prince was fined an unspecified amount in Essex County, MA, “for being disguided with drink, it being the second or third conviction,” and “was bound to appear at the next Ipswich court for abusing his wife.” Prince appeared again for abusting Margaret in 1675. Mary Hadley and Wiliam Vincen testified to Prince’s behavior. Mary “saw Thomas Prince so drunk at his house that he could not stand upon his legs, but abused his wife.” Vincen added that “Thomas Prince had drunk too much these many years,” and noted that on one recent occasion Thomas “came home drunk at midnight and used words not fit to be spoken.” 1838 Goodwife Prince complained, weeping … concerning her husband’s abuse of her and she was afraid of her life” that she “wept very sore so the tears run downe her cheeks.”1839