Henry Tufts
Overview
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Most of what we know about his life and crimes comes from his 1807 autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
A Narrative of the Life, Adventures, Travels and Sufferings of Henry Tufts, Now Residing at Lemington
Limington, Maine
Limington is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,403 at the 2000 census. Limington is a tourist destination with historic architecture. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area.-History:In 1668, Francis Small...
, in the District of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. In Substance as Compiled from his own Mouth.
This autobiography was reprinted in 1930 as Autobiography of a Criminal. Neal Keating’s 1993 reprint of Tufts’ autobiography summarizes Tufts as a “…horse thief
Horse thief
-United States:The term horse thief came into great popularity in the U.S. during the 19th century. During that time the Great Plains states, Texas, and other western states were sparsely populated and negligibly policed. As farmers tilled the land and migrants headed west through the Great...
, bigamist, burglar, adulterer, con man
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
, scoundrel, counterfeiter, (military) deserter and common criminal.”
Tufts was born in Newmarket, New Hampshire
Newmarket, New Hampshire
Newmarket is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 8,936 at the 2010 census. Some residents are students and employees at the nearby University of New Hampshire in Durham....
, in June of 1748 to a tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
and his wife.
