Emeline Gurney lived in Fayette, Maine. As a child, allegedly, Gurney was sent to work in the cotton mills in Lowell, Mass. While working at the mills, she was said to have birthed an illegitimate child, which was put up for adoption. When her secret was exposed years later, she was ostracized by the community. It was not until a century later that Emeline's story was spoken of in public. Emeline was born to impoverished parents in 1816. To survive in Fayette, people relied on the community and members of the church congregation. To be ostracized meant isolation and possible death. In Fayette, as in many New England towns, paupers were auctioned off to townspeople for labor. Compared to the pauper auction, being sent to work at the mills was preferable. The all-female cotton mills were part of a social experiment. In their spare time, the women were educated. While inside the dorms, they were required to abide by the strict curfews and rules imposed by the mill owners. However, it was still possible for a woman to have contact with males. Emeline became pregnant and put the baby up for adoption. She returned to Fayette and did not share her secret. Emeline married and had a son. Then, abandoned by her husband and son, she lived in poverty for years. At 68, she married a much younger man from out of town. When his family came to visit, they recognized Emeline as his birth mother. Gurney, her son and husband left town, and the truth of Emeline's past returned to haunt her; she was ostracized. Emeline's scandalous secret rocked the tiny community. She spent the last years of her life ostracized by the community and the church. She lived in dire poverty, relying on the secret charity of a few citizens. She died of Dysentery at 81, and was buried in an unmarked grave. Her story was the subject of an episode of the PBS series The American Experience entitled Sins of our Mothers.