The history books tell of the Puritans coming to America for freedom of religion. This is true, tho, it seems ironic that they did not extend this same rights to the Quakers. According to the Puritan’s leaders in Colonial New England, you could only worship as they would, or face the wrath by them. If you didn’t, you would be severely punished, exiled from New England, or even put to death for practicing your own faith. In the late 1650s my 9th Gr-Grandfather, a Quaker named Nicholas Phelps (1625-1663), was beaten and imprisoned for practicing the Quaker faith. In Boston, 27 October 1659 three Quakers were hung, William Robinson, Marmaduke Stephenson and Mary Dyer. About 1661, Nicholas Phelps, and Samuel Shattuck, another Quaker, sailed to England to petition Parliament to help the Quakers. When King Charles II heard of the treatment of them, he was aghast. They returned to Salem, and got the hangings to stop, but not until a total of four had been hung. Nicholas, and his family were banished from New England, so they to migrated to Virginia. Nicholas was still very weak from the sea voyage, and he died soon after.
Read more about the persecution of the Quakers in Colonial New England here: Mary Dyer, born Marie Barrett (c. 1611 – 1 June 1660), become the third of four Quaker martyrs.