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- She had one child. Ruth (Perley) Ames was believed to have been poisoned by her mother-in-law, who was tried for murder, but acquitted. In accordance with a superstition of the times, the dead body was covered with a sheet, and all persons present were asked to touch the corpse, the belief being that when the murderer performed this ceremony, blood would flow and stain the sheet. Mrs. Ames and her son Jonathan refused to do this. So great was the hostility against them, that the Ames estate was sold, and the family moved to parts unknown. A full account of the affair can be found in the Essex Antiquarian, Vol II, page 1.
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