Rachel Wall

Rachel Wall (c. 1760 – October 8, 1789) was an American female pirate, and the last woman to be hanged in Massachusetts. She has been described as one of the first notable American-born woman to become a pirate.

Early life Wall was born Rachel Schmidt in Carlisle, in the Province of Pennsylvania, to a family of devout Presbyterians.

Career as a pirate Wall and her husband moved to Boston, where he took a job on a fishing schooner. When George came back, he brought with him five sailors and their lovers, She is said to have stated "...into the hands of the Almighty God I commit my soul, relying on his mercy...and die an unworthy member of the Presbyterian Church, in the 29th year of my age" as her final words. Her death marked the last occasion a woman was hanged in Massachusetts.

Accounts of women who committed crimes often contrasted with those of men, since their actions were viewed as violations of expected gender roles. Because of this, stories about female offenders frequently broke away from the usual biographical conventions. Inexpensive popular literature, such as ballads, broadsides, and pamphlets, helped spread these tales to the public. These publications included “gallows literature” reporting criminals’ final speeches or confessions, as well as trial reports and short biographies of well-known female offenders such in the case of Rachel Wall.