Trial Proceedings, Societal Attitudes, and the Hawthorne Connection
In 1821, the case of State of Connecticut v. Ammi Rogers led to the enactment of the first state statute criminalizing post-quickening abortions. This case, cited in the legal pre-history of Roe v. Wade, set a critical legal precedent for abortion laws in the United States. Had it not been for the legal significance of the Rogers case, this trial might have been lost to history.

The 1820 public trial of Reverend Ammi Rogers captivated audiences across New England and beyond, sparking an unprecedented amount of attention.

The first to profit from the Rogers trial was Dr. Ira Daniels, editor of the Hampden Patriot. His published account of the trial, in which he also served as a sworn witness for the state, circulated widely throughout New England. This prompted trial judge Asa Chapman to publish his own pamphlet recounting the trial proceedings, including the sworn testimony of the witnesses.

Rogers himself attempted to clear his name by publishing a somewhat incoherent and rambling memoir, Memoirs of the Rev. Ammi Rogers, A.M., through private subscriptions. In it, he vehemently declared his innocence of all charges.

The media frenzy surrounding Rogers trial can be likened to the modern-day spectacle of The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson—the infamous 1995 O.J. Simpson trial. The public’s fascination with Rogers case was similar, drawing widespread attention and debate.

Among those likely following the trial was a young Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864), who would have been just 17 years old at the time. Given the widespread newspaper coverage, Hawthorne would almost certainly have read about Rogers trial in his local paper. Although Hawthorne later traveled to Connecticut in 1829 with his uncle, there is no evidence to suggest that he ever met the real-life Asenath Caroline Smith—the seamstress who likely inspired the character Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter.

Intriguing evidence from the Massachusetts Historical Society shows a possible connection between Ammi Rogers, the Reverend Thomas Gay, and George Stillman Hillard—a Gray family relative through Stillman, who provided financial assistance to Hawthorne at one point in his life.

It’s also worth noting that Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a historical novel set in Puritan New England between 1642 and 1649, published two years before Rogers death. Given Rogers litigious nature during his lifetime, it’s plausible that Hawthorne chose to distance his story from Rogers era by setting it in a different period and place. More than likely readers at the time would have known that The Scarlet Letter was the Ammi Rogers case.