158. New England History, Witchcraft, and 2 of my gg grandmothers executed!
I really enjoy history of early New England, and most of Pal's ancestors, and many of Wayne's also lived in New England from the 1630's on. I will be writing about some of those early ancestors in the days to come. The stories of their lives are rather sparse and sketchy, but they helped settle this new land, and had all the problems associated with it. I am so grateful for those ancestors who wanted religious freedom, and gave up what they had in England, and also some from Germany, France, Holland, and other countries, to come and face the unknown.
Many of us have heard about the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria in early New England. On Pal's lines, we had 2 distant great grandmothers who were executed in Connecticut. Mary Barnes, and Lydia Gilbert, both of whom were treated most unfairly it seems. The stories below are as much information as we could find.
MARY BARNES EXECUTED AS A WITCH -- Miles Line
Not every family can claim the dubious honor of having an ancestor executed as a witch but the many descendants of Mary Barnes, first wife of Thomas Barnes, Hartford, Connecticut. can make this claim.
In 1662 a young girl named Ann Cole began naming certain townspeople as witches. Ann, who had suffered from epileptic or similar seizures for years, would cry out during these seizures that witches were tormenting her. She named three people as her primary tormenters: Nathaniel Greensmith, his wife Rebecca, and Mary Barnes. Mary Barnes was Pal's 7th great grandmother.
In early January 1662/3 a trial was held to hear the various testimonies of the plaintiff and the defendants. Rebecca Greenfield quickly confessed to being a witch and, with many ludicrous tales, implicated her husband Nathaniel. Evidently, Mary defended herself and denied being a witch. Some sources speculate Mary really had epilepsy and the episodes were taken as witchcraft. On January 25, 1662/3 both of the Greensmiths and Mary Barnes were found guilty. They were hanged that very day. No chance for an appeal was given. “Justice” was swift in those days. The so-called witches had the distinction of being the last 3 persons executed in Connecticut for this crime.
Thomas and Mary Barnes were the parents of 4 children: Sarah, Benjamin, Joseph and Hannah. Joseph was born in 1651. His mother Mary, who was hanged, would have been in her 30's, and Joseph was 11 years old. What a trial for a child that age! We come through Joseph, and his son Jacob, on the Miles Line. In February 1639 he was allotted 6 acres, and also served in the Pequot War in 1637 – against the Pequot Indians in the area, and granted 50 acres for his services.
LYDIA GILBERT, HANGED FOR WITCHCRAFT , Pal's 9th great grandmother.
In 1603, England passed a law making witchcraft a capital crime. England witnessed more than seventy executions in one county in a single year under this law. The law, not surprisingly, was "exported" to New England, in what is now the United States. To grasp the impact of the witchcraft hysteria, it is interesting to note that according to the 12th century church, it was a mortal sin to believe that witches could fly -- by the 15th century, it was a mortal sin to believe that they could not.
In the mid 1600s, Thomas Gilbert and his wife, Lydia, lived with Henry Stiles, an older man, in Windsor, Connecticut. Lydia Gilbert performed many services for Mr. Stiles, such as mending his clothes, tending him when he was sick, and the like. There is not the slightest trace of any animosity on the part of any of the parties to this arrangement.
On November 3, 1651, Henry Styles was accidently shot by Thomas Allyn (a neighbor), when Thomas' musket discharged. Henry Styles died as a result. Thomas Allyn was indicted for and found guilty of "homicide by misadventure". The court ordered Thomas Allyn to pay a fine of £20 for his "sinful neglect and careless carriages in the premises," and he was sentenced to be "bound to his good behavior for a twelve-month period and that he shall not bear arms for the same term." Thomas Allyn's father paid £10 and Thomas was remanded into his father's custody for the year's probationary period.
On November 28, 1654 (three years later), a special session of The Court began, in which Lydia, the wife of Thomas Gilbert, stood accused of witchcraft. As was the procedure of the time, the Jury first heard the evidence to see if it was sufficient for an indictment. After doing so, the Jury brought back:
But indictments are quite different from convictions, so of course, the indictment lead to a further examination of the evidence. Curiously, six of the jurors in Lydia's trial were residents of Windsor, and were aware that Thomas Allyn had been convicted of killing Henry Stiles three years before. Yet, in spite of this information, Lydia was indicted by the jury for the death of Henry Styles. Deviating from the customs of our times, these same jurors then considered the "evidence" once again to determine if Lydia was guilty as charged. After reviewing the evidence against her, the Jury brought in their verdict:
Lydia was the fifth convicted of witchcraft in Connecticut, some time before the Salem Witch Trials began in 1692. According to family stories, handed down through the generations, Lydia was not executed, but rather escaped and walked away. Yet no one really knows. Most witchcraft experts agree that she must have suffered her fate and been hanged in Hartford, following the verdict. However, there is no documented evidence of her death. Shortly after the trial, her husband, Thomas Gilbert, left the Windsor area for good, settling in Nayaug. Some years later, Thomas Gilbert died at the age of 77. His estate administrators noted "charges of funeralls for him and wife." It is possible that Lydia was not executed after all, but rather escaped with Thomas to Nayaug and possibly died about the same time as her husband.
Information on the trial of Lydia and the events leading up to it was based on the information provided in:
"The Gilbert Family: Descendants of Thomas Gilbert, 1582(2) - 1659
of Mt. Wollaston (Braintree), Windsor, and Wethersfield",
by Brainard, Gilbert and Torrey, New Haven, CT: 1953, pp 14 -
Although Connecticut may not have experienced the same level of hysteria as Salem, Massachusetts, they had several hanged for witchcraft. Alse Young of Windsor, Connecticut was the first person executed for witchcraft in America. She was hanged on May 26, 1647, at Meeting House Square in Hartford on what is now the site of the Old State House. Mary Johnson of Wethersfield was executed in 1648, after having confessed to entering into a compact with the devil. Joan and John Carrington also of Wethersfield were executed in 1651. Rebecca and Nathaniel Greensmith and Mary Barnes were hanged in Hartford on January 25, 1663. They were the last in Connecticut who were executed for witchcraft.
Witchcraft was last listed as a capital crime in 1715. The crime of witchcraft disappeared from the list of capital crimes when the laws were next printed in 1750.
Many of us have heard about the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria in early New England. On Pal's lines, we had 2 distant great grandmothers who were executed in Connecticut. Mary Barnes, and Lydia Gilbert, both of whom were treated most unfairly it seems. The stories below are as much information as we could find.
MARY BARNES EXECUTED AS A WITCH -- Miles Line
Not every family can claim the dubious honor of having an ancestor executed as a witch but the many descendants of Mary Barnes, first wife of Thomas Barnes, Hartford, Connecticut. can make this claim.
In 1662 a young girl named Ann Cole began naming certain townspeople as witches. Ann, who had suffered from epileptic or similar seizures for years, would cry out during these seizures that witches were tormenting her. She named three people as her primary tormenters: Nathaniel Greensmith, his wife Rebecca, and Mary Barnes. Mary Barnes was Pal's 7th great grandmother.
In early January 1662/3 a trial was held to hear the various testimonies of the plaintiff and the defendants. Rebecca Greenfield quickly confessed to being a witch and, with many ludicrous tales, implicated her husband Nathaniel. Evidently, Mary defended herself and denied being a witch. Some sources speculate Mary really had epilepsy and the episodes were taken as witchcraft. On January 25, 1662/3 both of the Greensmiths and Mary Barnes were found guilty. They were hanged that very day. No chance for an appeal was given. “Justice” was swift in those days. The so-called witches had the distinction of being the last 3 persons executed in Connecticut for this crime.
Thomas and Mary Barnes were the parents of 4 children: Sarah, Benjamin, Joseph and Hannah. Joseph was born in 1651. His mother Mary, who was hanged, would have been in her 30's, and Joseph was 11 years old. What a trial for a child that age! We come through Joseph, and his son Jacob, on the Miles Line. In February 1639 he was allotted 6 acres, and also served in the Pequot War in 1637 – against the Pequot Indians in the area, and granted 50 acres for his services.
LYDIA GILBERT, HANGED FOR WITCHCRAFT , Pal's 9th great grandmother.
In 1603, England passed a law making witchcraft a capital crime. England witnessed more than seventy executions in one county in a single year under this law. The law, not surprisingly, was "exported" to New England, in what is now the United States. To grasp the impact of the witchcraft hysteria, it is interesting to note that according to the 12th century church, it was a mortal sin to believe that witches could fly -- by the 15th century, it was a mortal sin to believe that they could not.
In the mid 1600s, Thomas Gilbert and his wife, Lydia, lived with Henry Stiles, an older man, in Windsor, Connecticut. Lydia Gilbert performed many services for Mr. Stiles, such as mending his clothes, tending him when he was sick, and the like. There is not the slightest trace of any animosity on the part of any of the parties to this arrangement.
On November 3, 1651, Henry Styles was accidently shot by Thomas Allyn (a neighbor), when Thomas' musket discharged. Henry Styles died as a result. Thomas Allyn was indicted for and found guilty of "homicide by misadventure". The court ordered Thomas Allyn to pay a fine of £20 for his "sinful neglect and careless carriages in the premises," and he was sentenced to be "bound to his good behavior for a twelve-month period and that he shall not bear arms for the same term." Thomas Allyn's father paid £10 and Thomas was remanded into his father's custody for the year's probationary period.
On November 28, 1654 (three years later), a special session of The Court began, in which Lydia, the wife of Thomas Gilbert, stood accused of witchcraft. As was the procedure of the time, the Jury first heard the evidence to see if it was sufficient for an indictment. After doing so, the Jury brought back:
But indictments are quite different from convictions, so of course, the indictment lead to a further examination of the evidence. Curiously, six of the jurors in Lydia's trial were residents of Windsor, and were aware that Thomas Allyn had been convicted of killing Henry Stiles three years before. Yet, in spite of this information, Lydia was indicted by the jury for the death of Henry Styles. Deviating from the customs of our times, these same jurors then considered the "evidence" once again to determine if Lydia was guilty as charged. After reviewing the evidence against her, the Jury brought in their verdict:
Lydia was the fifth convicted of witchcraft in Connecticut, some time before the Salem Witch Trials began in 1692. According to family stories, handed down through the generations, Lydia was not executed, but rather escaped and walked away. Yet no one really knows. Most witchcraft experts agree that she must have suffered her fate and been hanged in Hartford, following the verdict. However, there is no documented evidence of her death. Shortly after the trial, her husband, Thomas Gilbert, left the Windsor area for good, settling in Nayaug. Some years later, Thomas Gilbert died at the age of 77. His estate administrators noted "charges of funeralls for him and wife." It is possible that Lydia was not executed after all, but rather escaped with Thomas to Nayaug and possibly died about the same time as her husband.
Information on the trial of Lydia and the events leading up to it was based on the information provided in:
"The Gilbert Family: Descendants of Thomas Gilbert, 1582(2) - 1659
of Mt. Wollaston (Braintree), Windsor, and Wethersfield",
by Brainard, Gilbert and Torrey, New Haven, CT: 1953, pp 14 -
Although Connecticut may not have experienced the same level of hysteria as Salem, Massachusetts, they had several hanged for witchcraft. Alse Young of Windsor, Connecticut was the first person executed for witchcraft in America. She was hanged on May 26, 1647, at Meeting House Square in Hartford on what is now the site of the Old State House. Mary Johnson of Wethersfield was executed in 1648, after having confessed to entering into a compact with the devil. Joan and John Carrington also of Wethersfield were executed in 1651. Rebecca and Nathaniel Greensmith and Mary Barnes were hanged in Hartford on January 25, 1663. They were the last in Connecticut who were executed for witchcraft.
Witchcraft was last listed as a capital crime in 1715. The crime of witchcraft disappeared from the list of capital crimes when the laws were next printed in 1750.
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