Mehitab Wing

Originally Aired: January 16, 1940 Cavalcade of America #170, "Mehitab Wing," presents the remarkable story of a courageous Quaker woman fighting for justice in colonial New York. In 1766, Mehitab Wing Prendergast stands beside her husband William in a packed Poughkeepsie courthouse as he faces trial for high treason. William, an Irish-born farmer, stands accused of leading a rebellion against the manor lords, uttering seditious words, and inciting riots. Despite having no official standing in the court, the determined Mehitab insists on speaking the truth, boldly challenging the King's Counsel and winning permission from the sympathetic judge to tell her story in her own way. Mehitab recounts how their troubles began innocently enough, when William courted her on Quaker Hill and sought to lease farmland from Manor Lord Phillips so they could marry. She describes their simple courtship by the hearth and William's determination to secure her father's blessing by obtaining the land lease first. However, as Mehitab begins to explain, they entered into the lease agreement without fully understanding its oppressive terms, setting in motion the events that led to William's desperate rebellion and the dramatic trial that now threatens his life.