When most people think of witches in the United States, their thoughts turn quickly to the Salem Witch Trials which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts in the years 1692 & 1693. A deeply religious Puritan community, the town would accuse around 200 people of witchcraft and execute 19 citizens. While these events have been well studied and documented, another series of witch trials would occur nearby. This one, not as well known, and this, is perhaps due to Connecticut officials attempting to sweep these events under the rug. However, these events resulted in 37 people accused of witchcraft and 11 of them being executed. One other thing to point out is that due to lack of documentation surrounding the witchcraft in the area during the time, many feel the number accused and executed could be much, much higher.
These events have become to be known as the Connecticut Witch Hunts and culminated with the Hartford trials around 1662 and 1663.
Still, it’s important to start from the beginning.
In the year 1647, the first person in Colonial American history was hanged for witchcraft. Alice “Alse” Young who resided in Windsor Connecticut was executed on May 26 of that year and 45 years before the Salem Witch Trials.
There’s not much known about Alse and her hanging but we do know some things. First, we know she was married to a man named John Young and that she also was executed by some of the most powerful people in the town. We know also that a large number of people died in the community that year and many resided nearby Young. It is theorized that Alse was used as a scapegoat with influenza sweeping through the community and killing many.
Still, the hanging of Alse Young was just the beginning.
Mary Johnson was executed just three years later as the house servant gave the first documented confession of witchcraft in history.
From there, periodically citizens would be accused, convicted and executed up until the spring of 1662 when the Hartford Witch Panic began.
Then the hysteria would really intensify.
Elizabeth Kelly was a young eight-year-old girl who died on March 23rd, 1662. Just days before, Goodwife Ayres, a neighbor had visited the home and brought soup for Elizabeth. Later that night, Elizabeth fell horribly ill with stomach pains and claimed that Ayres had put a spell on her. She was adamant that Goodwife Ayres was hurting her and pleaded to her parents to make it stop. After Elizabeth’s passing, her parents became convinced that Goodwife Ayres possessed her, and their daughter couldn’t overcome the evil. The parents believed Ayres had used black magic and testified at the trial that Elizabeth said:
“Father! Father! Help me, help me! Goodwife Ayres is upon me. She chokes me. She kneels on my belly. She will break my bowels. She pinches me. She will make me black and blue. Goodwife Ayres torments me, she pricks me with pins, she will kill me! Oh Father, set on the great furnace and scald her, get the broad ax and cut off her head.”
It’s said that when the corpse of Elizabeth was examined, she had bruises all over her body, abnormal amounts of blood in her throat and a strange brown mark on her cheek, which was also the same side Ayres stood next to. The autopsy concluded she did not die of natural causes. Still, today researchers have largely debunked this report.
In the aftermath though, Goodwife Ayres and her husband, left town abandoning their eight-year-old son. While Ayres would have been surely executed, perhaps more devastating was that she set off a panic of witch hysteria for the next year in Hartford.
Soon another young woman named Ann Cole would believe to be afflicted. Ann would have bizarre fits that led many to believe she was possessed. These outbursts would include her speaking and seemingly changing her voice and accent in ways that were impossible. For example, she was able to speak with a precise Dutch accent. Allegedly, she was also said to have knowledge of things she couldn’t have.
It is said Anne pointed out multiple alleged witnesses in the community.
From 1662-1663, 12 people were accused with 4 being executed in the town. In 1663, Nathaniel and Rebecca Greensmith, Mary Barnes, and Mary Sanford were hanged.
It should be noted Anne pointed out her neighbor, Rebecca Greensmith as a witch. Rebecca would be jailed and eventually confessed. She would also claim her husband was possessed as well. Rebecca stated her husband was able to lift incredible amounts of weight and was followed around by wild animals. Her husband would deny the claims in court.
One other individual Anne said practiced witchcraft was Elizabeth Seager. As Rebecca was being jailed, she accused Elizabeth of being a witch. Rebecca claimed that she, along with Elizabeth Seager, Mary Barnes, Andrew, and Mary Sanford, and William and Goody Ayres had danced with the devil in the woods. Another man named Robert Sterne accused Elizabeth, and alleged he saw her and two other witches dancing in the woods with two black creatures and cooking mysterious concoctions in black kettles. Elizabeth was indicted and acquitted although the reasons why are not well understood.
She would still be viewed as a witch in the community and would later be accused of adultery, which she would be acquitted.
After the four deaths in 1663, Colonial Governor, John Winthrop, Jr. began to question the “evidence” in the witch trials.
Winthrop was considered an expert in Black Magic and often involved himself in witchcraft cases to ensure that the accused were not executed. He would go onto to require at least two witnesses. As a result, executions would stop although witch hunts would not stop.
As witch hysteria, would die down over the decades, there’s much to unpack from these events.
First, these events were somewhat similar to the Salem Trials in that most of the hysteria occurred in 1662-1663. Despite this, these events are much less popular than the Salem Witch Trials. Many believe this is due to the State of Connecticut burying much of the evidence surrounding this over the years. It should be noted that for years, descendants of the witches convicted and executed have tried to clear their ancestors’ names. After several unsuccessful attempts, finally in May 2023 the Connecticut state senate voted to exonerate the 12 people indicted from 1662-1663.
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Today, the generally accepted theory regarding witchcraft executions in the US is that the puritans, who demanded religious conformity, viewed any deviation from their culture as very threatening. When hard times hit, they often looked for someone or something to blame such as witchcraft.
History teaches us that the women and men executed for being witches were wrongful execution victims, and this is assessment is hard to argue against. Many of the confessions were probably coerced or persuaded. It is thought many victims were promised leniency or mercy if they confessed. It should also be noted much of the documentation was probably biased as well, with things like diaries, recording what was heard around the town.
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Despite this, we should still briefly explore the possibility that some women were not so completely innocent. Witches are generally defined as individuals who use black magic or supernatural powers to inflict harm on others. It should be noted there should be a distinction made between those who intend to harm others and those that are genuinely possessed by an evil entity. Often, those possessed do not intend to become overtaken by the evil entity. It raises the question, could some of the victims been possessed and were actually controlled by something? There’s not enough evidence to really look at the question and know, but it is an interesting one.
In addition, there’s numerous legitimate exorcism cases and the rite is acknowledged by the Church. Priests are continuously being trained to become full time exorcists even today. We should expect then, hundreds of years ago, exorcisms were being performed with some being undocumented.
With much evidence for dark supernatural powers existing, perhaps these communities weren’t so crazy after all. Still, almost certainly the people executed for witchcraft were innocent victims. They tended to be poor individuals, often widows and unpopular. If not all were innocent, then we can probably conclude the overwhelming majority were.
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