May 7, 1668. Thomas Goold and two others were banished from Massachusetts because of their Baptist beliefs. This followed a trial for his being absent from church. Even though the jury acquitted Goold, the judge fined him. He refused to pay, so was imprisoned. The Governor called for a debate about baptism on April 14 and 15, which Goold was judged to have lost, and so was banished with William Turner, and John Farnum. They did not leave, however so were thrown in prison again. After a year in prison Goold escaped with his family to semi-banishment on Noddle’s Island, located in the middle of Boston Harbor outside the court’s jurisdiction.
