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34-476: The history of witchcraft in Connecticut is difficult to track, owing primarily to the lack of documentation from the accusations, trials, and executions. Despite this, there is enough existing evidence to gain an insight into the culture of witchcraft trials at the time. In the early days of the trials, Reverends Samuel Stone of Hartford, Joseph Haynes of Wethersfield, and Samuel Hooker of Farmington served on

68-586: A grist mill in the town and was granted a monopoly on the trade for as long as he or his heirs maintained it. This was one of the first monopolies granted in New England. One of Winthrop's Indian servants was Robin Cassacinamon , who became an influential Pequot leader through Winthrop's patronage. Winthrop was also a physician, traveling around the River Colony serving around twelve patients

102-547: A "prosecutorial tribunal" which contradicted the traditional idea that prosecutors should remain skeptical and immune to public pressure to convict. Thomas Welles was the Magistrate during the trials. As was the popular belief of the time, the magistrates of Connecticut relied on evidence of "the devil’s involvement in inflicting harm" to secure a conviction of witchcraft, but such evidence could easily be found through "battering interrogations." -- Key figures -- Alse Young

136-754: A Catholike Visible Church” in London in 1642, in answer to Samuel Hudson's "Visible Catholick Church", and left two works in manuscript: a catechism and a confutation of the Antinomians . Records show that he was an active buyer and seller of land in Hartford. There is a statue of Samuel Stone in the centre of Hertford, Hertfordshire. John Winthrop the Younger John Winthrop the Younger FRS (February 12, 1606 – April 6, 1676)

170-622: A day. His success as a physician prompted the then-separate New Haven Colony to invite him to their settlement with the promise of a free house. Winthrop accepted this offer and moved to New Haven in 1655, not for the house but because he was interested in developing ironworks in the town. Winthrop became one of the magistrates of the Connecticut Colony in 1651, was governor of the colony in 1657–58, and again became governor in 1659, being annually re-elected until his death in 1676. During his tenure as Governor of Connecticut, he oversaw

204-492: A house servant and was accused of theft in 1648. After extensive torture and interrogation, Johnson confessed to "familiarity with the devil". She also confessed to having sexual relations with "men and devils" and to murdering a child. Her execution was delayed as she was pregnant during her imprisonment in Hartford. Johnson was executed June 6, 1650. Katherine Harrison was a former maidservant of Captain John Cullick and

238-518: A mystical form of chemical experimentation." Because of his experience with alchemy , and having seen John Dee and Robert Fludd – two major influences in Winthrop's studies – stand against false accusations of witchcraft, Winthrop often involved himself in witchcraft cases to ensure that the accused were not executed. His return and involvement in the trials ushered in a period of increasing skepticism towards accusations of witchcraft, and in 1669, it

272-455: A new colony at House of Hope (a Dutch fort and trading post), making peace with the local Indians and renaming the town they called Saukiog as Hartford , after Stone's birthplace - they thus became the town's founding fathers. Stone was twice married. By his second wife, Elizabeth Allyn, whom he wed in 1641, he had four surviving children—a son Samuel and four daughters, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Mary and Sarah. He published “A Congregational Church,

306-752: A party to build a fort named Saybrook in their honor, located at the mouth of the Connecticut River . He then lived for a time in Massachusetts, where he devoted himself to the study of science and attempted to interest the settlers in the development of the colony's mineral resources. He was again in England in 1641–43, then returned to establish iron works at Lynn ( Saugus Iron Works ) and Braintree, Massachusetts . In 1645, he obtained title to lands in southeastern Connecticut and founded New London in 1646, where he settled in 1650. He built

340-515: A surge in witch hysteria. A series of accusations were made among the townsfolk. The first accusation was by Anne Cole, who accused Rebecca Greensmith and Elizabeth Seager of tormenting her through magic. The parents of Elizabeth Kelly accused Goody Ayres of using black magic to kill their daughter. Other claims of black magic from Hartford were more peculiar: one person claimed Satan caused her to speak with an accent. Another said her neighbors transformed into animals at night. Katherine Branch, servant to

374-750: The Bury St. Edmunds grammar school, King Edward VI School , and Trinity College, Dublin , and he studied law for a short time after 1624 at the Inner Temple , London. After finishing his legal studies in 1627, Winthrop accompanied the ill-fated expedition of the Duke of Buckingham for the relief of the Protestants of La Rochelle in France, and then traveled to Italy, the Ottoman Empire , and

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408-571: The Massachusetts Historical Society 's Proceedings. On the return voyage, Winthrop brought the first telescope to America, likely a gift from Benjamin Worsley . With the telescope Winthrop claimed to have sighted a fifth moon of Jupiter , the existence of which would be confirmed by Edward Emerson Barnard in 1892. He would later donate the three and a half foot long telescope to Harvard College in 1671, making it

442-542: The Netherlands , returning to England in 1629. In 1631, he followed his father to Massachusetts Bay Colony and was one of the assistants of the Colony in 1635, 1640, and 1641 and from 1644 to 1649. He was the chief founder of Agawam (now Ipswich, Massachusetts ) in 1633, then went to England in 1634. He returned in 1635 as governor of lands that had been granted to Lord Saye and Sele and Lord Brooke , and he sent out

476-473: The Connecticut area. In Wethersfield, Joan and John Carrington were executed in 1651. They were prominent members of the Wethersfield community before being accused of witchcraft. Wethersfield was also the home of Mary Johnson, the first open confessor of witchcraft; and Katherine Harrison. This resulted in the coining of the term "Wethersfield Witches" by historians. In the 1640s, the town of Hartford saw

510-597: The King after returning to Connecticut. His scientific contribution led him to being elected an original fellow of the Royal Society while on this trip in 1663. Winthrop would contribute two papers to the society's Philosophical Transactions : "Some Natural Curiosities from New England" and "Description, Culture and Use of Maize". His correspondence with the Royal Society was published in series I, vol. xvi of

544-581: The Stuart Monarchy , many in the colony feared that the colony's lack of legal basis would lead to the new government establishing absolute rule in Connecticut. Accordingly in July 1661, Winthrop sailed for England to obtain a charter from Charles II . With the assistance of William Fiennes , Robert Greville , and Edward Montagu , Winthrop obtained a charter for the colony in May of 1662. The charter granted

578-504: The Wescot family, suffered from a series of fits and other instances that Daniel Wescot described as being "beyond nature", like elevating above her bed. A minister from a neighboring village claimed Branch's afflictions were the result of her declining to join a witch coven. From Hartford, four people were executed for the crime of witchcraft. Nathaniel and Rebecca Greensmith, Mary Sanford, and Mary Barnes were hanged in 1662. Elizabeth Seager

612-558: The acceptance of Quakers who were banned from Massachusetts. He was also one of the commissioners of the United Colonies of New England in 1675. As governor, Winthrop used his reputation as a learned man to turn the colony from the colony mostly likely to execute people for witchcraft to completely eliminating the practice years before the trials at Salem. With the fall of the Commonwealth of England and restoration of

646-624: The college's first scientific instrument. Winthrop married his cousin Mary Fones, the daughter of Thomas Fones II and Anne ( née Winthrop) on February 8, 1630/1. She and their infant daughter died in Agawam (Ipswich) in 1634. Winthrop's second wife was Elizabeth Reade (1615–1672), the daughter of Col. Edmund Reade and Elizabeth (née Cooke). They had nine children, including: Winthrop died in Boston on April 6, 1676, where he had gone to attend

680-710: The colony generous rights and officially combined it with the New Haven Colony. The Conquest of New Netherland and subsequent Second Anglo-Dutch War caused financial difficulty for both Winthrop and Connecticut. The Dutch harassed colonial shipping, with Winthrop losing at least one cargo of ships. With these difficulties, Winthrop attempted to resign the governorship of the colony in 1667. The colony refused his request to reign and lowered his tax burden in an attempt to convince him to stay. Winthrop again attempted to resign his office in October 1670, but this request

714-417: The first jury never reached a decision, and the second found her guilty, but the magistrates disagreed as most of the evidence was spectral, which relied solely on the accuser. In May of 1670, Harrison was released from prison, and banished from the Connecticut colony; she and her family relocated to New York, as they had already planned to do. During the 1650s, several people were tried for witchcraft through

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748-552: The same group on the 376th anniversary of the first witch-hanging in New England, that of Alse Young. Samuel Stone Samuel Stone (July 18, 1602 – 20 July 1663) was an English Puritan minister and co-founder of Hartford , Connecticut . Stone was born in Hertford , the county town of Hertfordshire , England . The name of the town is pronounced "Hartford". In 1620, he left Hertford to study at Emmanuel College, Cambridge , from where he graduated in 1624. He

782-428: The time of the trial, an influenza epidemic occurred throughout the New England area, including her hometown of Windsor , which may have influenced the accusations against her. Young was likely married or related to John Young of Windsor, and may have been eligible to inherit his property, which may have made her an even more attractive target. Mary Johnson's was the first recorded confession of witchcraft. She worked as

816-402: The town of Windsor unanimously passed a resolution to symbolically clear the names of the town's two victims, Alice Young and Lydia Gilbert. A documentary about the passage of this resolution entitled Delayed Justice: Windsor Atones For Its Witch Trial History produced through Windsor Community Television can be accessed through Internet Archive. Several individuals arranged memorial services for

850-660: The victims of the witch trials in Windsor in June 2017. The "Memorial For Connecticut's Witch Trial Victims" marked the 370th anniversary of Alse Young's execution. On May 10, 2023, the Connecticut House of Representatives voted 121 in favor and 30 against, in order to exonerate 12 people who were convicted of witchcraft in the colonial era. On May 26, the Connecticut State Senate voted 33–1 to pardon

884-469: The victims, but the motion was not passed. In 2007, Addie Avery communicated with the British government in an attempt to acquit the convicted witches. Addie Avery was the descendant of Mary Sanford, who was executed for "dancing around a tree while drinking liquor". Avery has also been involved in many theatrical performances about the Connecticut witch trials, like The Witching Hour . On February 6, 2017,

918-436: The widow of Wethersfield's town crier. Harrison was born in England and came to America around 1651. She became a wealthy citizen of Wethersfield, Connecticut , after she inherited her husband's estate, worth one thousand pounds. Harrison experienced several legal problems, including the death of her livestock and the destruction of crops. Though her losses were supported by eyewitnesses, she received no compensation. In 1668, she

952-486: Was Winthrop's court that established that multiple witnesses needed to bear witness to the same act of witchcraft simultaneously. This significantly stemmed the flow of accusations, and despite a minor panic during the Salem crisis later, no witches were executed in Connecticut after Katherine Harrison's release in 1670. On October 6, 2012, descendants of the executed petitioned the Connecticut government to posthumously pardon

986-517: Was accused of witchcraft, but the charges were dropped due to weak evidence. By 1663, the witchcraft trials in Hartford were beginning to wind down, due in no small part to the return of the governor of the Connecticut colony, John Winthrop Jr. Winthrop was generally regarded as "New England’s quintessential adjudicator of witchcraft cases", due not only to his status as the son of the governor of Massachusetts , but also to his "first-hand knowledge of natural magical practices... associated with alchemy,

1020-434: Was again refused. Winthrop was an avid scientist, who ran experiments on obtaining salt from sea water. He took a trip to England from 1661 to 1663, wherein he showcased New World plants and animals to Charles II and read papers for the Royal Society . Of particular interest to the King was milkweed who wanted a pillow made from it before being convinced it was impractical. Winthrop would send more shipments of milkweed for

1054-528: Was an English politician and scientist. An early governor of the Connecticut Colony , he played a large role in the unification of the colony's settlements into a singular colony and obtaining a royal charter for the colony. Winthrop was born in Groton, Suffolk , England on February 12, 1606, the son of John Winthrop , founding governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony . He was educated at

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1088-750: Was ordained on July 8, 1626, at Peterborough and a year later became curate at Stisted , Essex . In 1633, Samuel Stone and Thomas Hooker sailed across the Atlantic on a ship named the Griffin . They arrived in Boston on 4 September of the same year, and a few weeks later, Samuel Stone became a Teacher of the Cambridge Church under Hooker, who was the preacher. In 1644, he became a Freeman . In 1636, Stone and Hooker led their congregation from New Towne (now Cambridge, Massachusetts ) and established

1122-484: Was sued for slandering Goody Griswold. Between 1668 and 1669, Harrison was also accused of witchcraft. The accusations against her included breaking the Sabbath , fortune-telling and using black magic , as well as appearing in spectral form to people. She was also accused of calling to the devil by the swamp. On May 11, 1669 she was moved to the local jail to await her trial. Harrison's trial faced many complications:

1156-537: Was the first person executed for witchcraft not only in Connecticut, but likely in the whole of the American colonies. On May 26, 1647, she was executed in Hartford . Her execution was recorded in the journals of John Winthrop the governor of Massachusetts Bay; and Matthew Grant, the second town clerk of Windsor. There are no further surviving records on Young's trial or specification of the charges against her. Around

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