During the 1820’s and 1830’s, New England was undergoing a major transformation. With the Industrial Revolution underway, thousands of individuals packed up their belongings and relocated from the farms into the cities. As the Industrial Revolution emerged, thousands of girls took the opportunity as a means of obtaining freedom and independence to gain knowledge, income, and a sense of belonging. The murder of Sarah Cornell and the trial of Avery resulted in a clash between two emerging institutions in New England modernization during their lifetime, the textile mills and the Methodist Church, both of which believed that the opportunity for future growth relied heavily on a favorable verdict from the jury. This decision would determine both institutions future respectability and progress, as both Sarah and Avery’s reputation would reflect the reputation of the new economic development and methodist denomination. In 1832, Sarah Cornell a young girl working in a local factory, was found dead hanging from a pole at John Drufee’s farm in Tiverton, Rhode Island in which …show more content…
Discovered evidence uncovered a note written by Cornell herself, stating, “If I should be missing, enquire of the Rev. Mr. Avery of Bristol, he will know where I am.”1 Autospy’s further revealed that Cornell was pregnant during the time she was hung. Her death was first thought to be a suicide, but the jury overruled this finding and accused Ephraim K. Avery, a well known Methodist minister of Sarah’s murder. A lengthy trial was underway, which had brought unparalleled attention from the public “as another of its remarkable features, an excitement so great, that had the defendant pushed his right of challenge to its utmost limit, it would have been impossible to have found a jury of the country to try him.”2 The Methodist Church would have to either abandon Avery or