Anne Bradstreet (1612–1672) is acknowledged as the first English poet writing in the North American colonies—the first poet in U.S. history. She was the daughter of a prominent Puritan named Thomas Dudley, and she married another Puritan, her father's assistant, Simon Bradstreet. In 1630 the entire Dudley family, including Anne and her husband, immigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony, similar to many Puritans at the time. Despite her misgivings, Bradstreet dutifully followed her father and husband to Salem, Massachusetts, where they immediately found a life of hardships as opposed to a religious Promised Land. However, over time, the Dudley and Bradstreet clans built successful lives for themselves in Massachusetts Bay.