The Spirit of Lady Moody

A Documentary Short

Lady Deborah Moody had to leave her homeland of England in 1639 for daring to challenge patriarchal authority and fighting for religious freedom.  In New England, Lady Deborah Moody was thrown out of her English community in Salem, Massachusetts for defying the patriarchal authorities of the Church of Salem.  With her bold courage and unwavering determination, Lady Deborah Moody became the first woman in English and Dutch North America to be granted a town patent in 1645…the town was called Gravesend (Brooklyn, New York).  But Lady Deborah Moody achieved something even greater…

Credits

DirectorPatricia Bury Salier
WriterPatricia Bury Salier
ProducerEdward Salier
InterviewsProfessor Cara Anzilotti
Professor Lisa Cody
Professor Peter Mancall
Runtime13:10

Film Festivals

  • Docs Without Borders Film Festival, Award of Excellence
  • Kansas International Film Festival
  • Ogeechee International History Film Festival
  • Oregon Documentary Film Festival, Most Inspirational Film Award Finalist
  • Nassau Film Festival, Honorable Mention
  • Toronto International Women Film Festival
  • WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, Platinum Remi Award

Gallery

Etching of Lady Moody in court scene
Plaque engraved with text In Memory of Lady Deborah Moody who arrived in the Massachusetts bay colony in 1638 a wealthy widow and landowner. In 1643 Lady Moody and twenty-give neighbors removed to long island where she formed a colony and was granted a patent for land with full power to govern. She called her model community Gravesend. Dedicated October 13, 1995 in celebration of the centennial of the National Society of Colonial Daughters of the Seventeenth Century. Organized in Brooklyn, May 4, 1896.