Born in England, William and Mary Dyer (c.1611 - 1660), emigrated to Boston in 1635. They became followers of Anne Hutchinson and were drawn into the "antinomian" heresy. Expelled from the Massachuestts Bay Colony by the Puritan elders, the Hutchinson group became the 'first planters' in Rhode Island.

When visiting London to secure their land grant charter with Parliament in 1650, Mary became a Quaker. Upon her return to Massachusetts, she was twice expelled; on the third time, she was hanged on Boston Common for being a Quaker. Historians credit her death with establishing the basis for religious freedom subsequently granted in our Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. A statue of her stands in front of the State House in Boston.