Puritans behaving badly : gender punishment and religion in early America The gossip surrounding Content Mason and Peter Wood had circulated for years. Many thought the young widow Mason would quickly remarry. Instead she found company with the already married Mr. Wood. Juicy gossip surrounding their relationship turned into serious accusations once Peters wife conspicuously left town after the birth of Contents second illegitimate child. Content realized that they had to get away. So she packed what she could from her fathers house pocketed some money and fled with Peter. Along with all of her hurried thoughts on abandoning her home she must have conceded that life could take unexpected turns. Thirteen years prior in 1679 the twenty year old Content was just beginning her married life and settling in as a goodwife in the Massachusetts Bay town of Dorchester. Unfortunately her husband died after only three years of marriage leaving Content a young widow with two little children. She must have had suitors over the years but no single man could win her hand in marriage. Rumors started to spread about exactly where her heart wandered. Things got worse when Content and Peters wife Abigail both delivered sons only ten days apart in the spring of 1688. Not until a few years later though with the birth of Contents second illegitimate baby did things come to a head