Victims of the Connecticut Witch Trials

Alice Young of Windsor was hanged in Hartford on May 26, 1647, becoming the first English colonist executed for witchcraft in North America. We know this from three sources, John Winthrop, Sr’s journal, Matthew Grant’s Diary, and John Winthrop, Jr’s medical papers.

“One _________ of Windsor arraigned and executed at Hartford for a Witch.”

John Winthrop Sr., governor of Massachusetts-Bay¹

“May 26th, 47, Alice Young was Hanged.”

Matthew Grant, Windsor town clerk²

“His wife was hanged for a witch at Connecticut.”

Winthrop Jr., future governor of Connecticut, written on the back of a medical record of John Young³

One theory of why Alice was accused involves an epidemic that went through Windsor in 47. According to records from Windsor, many more people than usual died in the town that year, most from epidemic illness. Children of many prominent citizens were among the victims⁴.

One who died was Priscilla Thornton. She was the daughter of a tanner named Thomas Thornton, who lived next door to John and Alice Young. After this life changing event the community went through, he became a minister. Cotton Mather later published Thomas Thornton’s account of Priscilla’s death. Mather first published the story in his appendix for a reprinting of James Janeway’s, A Token for Children of New England in 1700, and then again in his own book, Magnolia Christi Americana⁵.

Mary Johnson of Wethersfield was hanged in 1648.

Mary Johnson of Wethersfield was a servant who was accused of witchcraft in 1648 and was pressured by Reverend Samuel Stone to confess. When she eventually did, she said that she was discontented and asked a devil to come and do chores for her. This devil cleared her hearth and drove hogs out of her master’s field. Johnson also confessed to murdering a child and to “uncleanness” with men and devils. She was not known to have any heirs when the accusation was lodged and is not known to have been pregnant. She was convicted December 7th, 1648, and hanged in Hartford shortly after⁶.

Cotton Mather gave us some of this information in his account, Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions in 1689⁷. The reality of the situation is we don’t have much to go on other than Cotton Mather. There’s a court record that says, “the jury finds the bill of indictment against Mary Johnson that by her own confession she is guilty of familiarity with the devil. December 7th, 1648⁸,” what Cotton said, and then the record of a prior conviction for thievery in the collections of the Connecticut Historical Society⁹.

Goodwife “Goody” Bassett of Stratford was hanged in Stratford in 1651.

Goodwife Bassett of Stratford was tried and executed in 1651. A little is known about her, but her first name and maiden name remain unknown¹⁰.

We’ve seen that Thomas Thornton was connected to the John Young family in Windsor, where he lived next door to them. There’s also a possible connection between Thornton and the Bassetts. Thomas Bassett arrived in Boston on the ship Christian in 1635. He and his wife settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, while Thomas Thornton lived there. Then the Bassetts lived in Windsor at the same time as the Thorntons. In 1650, Thomas Thornton moved his family to Stratford, and so did the Bassetts. Thornton was elected Stratford’s deputy to the General Court in 1651, the year Bassett was hanged¹¹.

We know about Goody Bassett’s execution largely through a subsequent lawsuit, in which Mary Staples claimed to have been defamed as a witch through a chain of events that began with the execution of Goody Bassett and led to the execution of Goody Knapp and the suspicion of Mary Staples¹². And this is not the last that we’ll hear about Goody Knapp or Mary Staples.

We have some specific statements on trial record.

In the Mary Staples defamation suit, Lucy Pell’s testimony says, “Goodwife Bassett, when she was condemned, said there was another Witch in Fairfield that held her head full high¹⁴.” You can find out more about Goody Bassett and her connection with Thornton in “Between God and Satan” by Dr. Katherine Hermes and Beth Caruso¹⁵.

Nobody has pinpointed Goodwife Bassett’s first name.

Joan Carrington of Wethersfield was hanged in 1651, with her husband, John.

The first married couple to be arrested and hanged together was Joan and John Carrington of Weathersfield. John Carrington came to Boston in 1635 with his wife at the time, Mary. Both were said to be 33 years old. They’re next heard from in Wethersfield in 1643¹⁶. Joan’s identity before her marriage to John is unknown, and it is not known when they married.

Little is actually known about the trial. The indictment only states that the Carringtons had entertained familiarity with Satan, the great enemy of God and mankind, and by his help done works above the course of nature. It’s in March of 1651 that he’s convicted¹⁷.

This indictment is also in the collections of the Connecticut Historical Society.

“A particular court in Hartford upon the trial of John Carrington and his wife 20th February, 1650 [which translates to 1651 in the new style] Magistrates, Edward Hopkins, Esquire, Governor John Haynes, Esquire. Deputy Mr. Wells, Mr. Wolcott, Mr. Webster, Mr. Cullick, Mr. Clarke.

John Carrington thou art indicted by the name of John Carrington of Wethersfield carpenter, that not having the fear of God before thine eyes thou hast entertained familiarity with Satan the great enemy of God and mankind and by his help hast done works above the course of nature for which both according to the law of God and of the established law of this Commonwealth Dow deserves to die.

The jury finds this indictment against John Carrington, March 6th, 1650/51.

Joan Carrington thou art indicted by the name of Joan Carrington the wife of John Carrington that not having the fear of God before thine eyes thou hast entertained familiarity with Satan the great enemy of God and mankind and by his help hast done works above the course of nature for which both according to the laws of God and the established law of this commonwealth thou deservest to die.

The jury finds this indictment against Joan Carrington March 6, 1650/51.”

Coll. CHS, 22 (1928), 92-93¹⁸

We know John Carrington was a carpenter. We learn about that in Entertaining Satan¹⁹.

John Carrington of Wethersfield was hanged with his wife, Joan, in 1651.

See Joan Carrington for more.

Goodwife Knapp of Fairfield was hanged in 1653.

Goodwife Knapp of Fairfield was executed in 1653. The information found is in this Mary Staples defamation suit²⁰.

The reason Mary Staples herself was accused of witchcraft was that following the execution of Goodwife Knapp, Staples disputed the presence of teats on Goodwife Knapp’s body. Roger Ludlow then claimed that Goodwife Knapp had told him that Mary Staples was a witch before she had been killed. The evidence indicates that Knapp actually remained silent throughout the proceedings, despite the pressure to confess and name names²¹.

We know about this due to the New Haven Town Records²².

Lydia Gilbert of Windsor was hanged in 1654.

Lydia Gilbert of Windsor was executed in 1654. She was blamed for the misfiring of a gun during a militia exercise, which killed Henry Stiles. She was indicted three years after the fatal accident. That indictment was November 25th, 1654.

How do we know what we know about Lydia Gilbert? We’ve read of her in several books. And those books trace their information to the Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society and The History of Ancient Windsor by Henry R. Stiles. We’ll have links to those²³.

And she and Alice Young have memorial bricks in Windsor. Simple bricks donated by private citizens in a space where you can purchase memorial bricks. Nothing official, no details available for anyone stepping over her brick. She needs more. They all do.

Elizabeth Godman of New Haven was accused of witchcraft in 1653 but not charged until 1655, when she was acquitted.

Elizabeth Godman of New Haven was brought to court on witchcraft accusations in 1653 and 1655, but was not executed. In 1653, the court told her to behave herself and mind her own business. In 1655, she was examined August 7th, released from jail September 4th, but ordered to return to court in October, which she did on October 17th. Again she was warned to behave, and this time she was ordered to pay a 50 pound bond for her good behavior, which she paid on January 1, 1656²⁴.

John Winthrop, Jr. may have had influence over this case. A man wrote to Winthrop Junior about efforts to identify the disease affecting Mary Bishop, Elizabeth Brewster, and Margaret Lamberton²⁵.

Goodwife Bailey of New Haven was acquitted of witchcraft in 1655 but banished with her husband, Nicholas.

Goodwife Bailey and Nicholas Bailey of New Haven were banished for witchcraft in 1655. They were told to leave on July 3rd, but they dragged their feet and got called to court again August 7th, September 4th and October 2nd. The first two of those dates, August 7th and September 4th, they were in court with Elizabeth Godman. After the last of their courtroom visits, they moved from the New Haven colony to the Connecticut colony²⁶.

Nicholas Bailey of New Haven and his wife, whose name is not known, were acquitted of witchcraft in 1655 but banished.

See Goodwife Bailey for more.

William Meaker of New Haven was slandered in 1657.

William Meaker of New Haven sued Thomas Mulliner for slander in 1657 and won. Meaker was accused of the witching Mulliner’s hogs³⁴.

Elizabeth Garlick of Easthampton was acquitted of witchcraft in 1658.

Elizabeth Garlick accused East Hampton 1658. Winthrop’s first official witch trial role. Garlick was accused of bewitching Betty Howell to death. Betty was daughter of Lion Gardiner, leading citizen of the town. In May 1658, Elizabeth Garlick was the first person acquitted of witchcraft in Connecticut³⁵.

An unknown person was investigated for “witchery” in 1659.

 In 1659, an unknown person of Saybrook was indicted for witchcraft³⁶.

Suspected for decades, Katherine Palmer of Wethersfield was accused of witchcraft multiple times and fled to Rhode Island during the Hartford Witch-Hunt of 1662.

Goodwife Palmer, likely Katherine Palmer, of Wethersfield found herself in court and in accusations on several dates. She was first arrested for witchcraft in 1648, following a complaint by John Robbins³⁷.

In 1648, John Robbins complained about her for some reason, and she went to court. In 1660, the Robbins family got sick, actually late 1659 into early 1660. Mrs. Robbins, their son, and then John Robbins all died in a few months. And John had allegedly, according to their daughter, written out a complaint against Katherine Palmer outlining his suspicions of her before he died. So this is a second time that he’s accusing her of causing their problems. But the daughter admitted that the note that he wrote could not be found³⁸.

It came back up in 1662, because Rebecca Greensmith said, “oh yeah, Goody Palmer is one of these people that attends Christmas parties with us.” So after 1662, she leaves to Newport, Rhode Island with her husband Henry. Most likely they did. In 1667 in Connecticut, there was another complaint against her for witchcraft along with Katherine Harrison, but she was in Rhode Island, so nothing happened to her, Palmer that is. And then in 1672 in Newport, Rhode Island that Henry Palmer, who may be the same Henry Palmer sued someone for defamation against his wife³⁹.

And would Katherine Palmer and Katherine Harrison have known each other?

Yes, they were both seen at the bedside of John Robbins in 1660. So Katherine Harrison, she apparently was also suspected for some years before her husband died and they came after her³⁸.564

Katherine Palmer’s story here is intriguing. Harrison’s is one of the other ones that has lots of animosity in it.

Margaret Jennings of Saybrook and her husband, Nicholas, were acquitted of witchcraft in 1661.

Margaret Jennings and Nicholas Jennings of Saybrook were accused the same year that Winthrop left. They had initially been examined in June 1659 but were not indicted until September 5th, 1661, after Winthrop had left. Fortunately, the jury that delivered a verdict on October 9th was undecided, and the Jennings were freed²⁷.

Nicholas Jennings of Saybrook and his wife, Margaret, were acquitted of witchcraft in 1661.

See Margaret Jennings for more.

Rebecca Greensmith of Hartford and her husband, Nathaniel, were hanged in 1663, during the Hartford Witch-Hunt. Rebecca confessed.

While Winthrop Jr. was in London attempting to acquire a new charter to make the colony of Connecticut official, the Hartford Witch Panic broke out. Captain John Mason stood in as governor while Winthrop was away, and with Mason serving in that role, there were 13 trials, two certain executions, two probable executions, and about half a dozen escapes, in the years 1662 to 1665²⁸.

Elizabeth Kelly, eight years old, accused Goody Ayers. Then William Ayers then accused Rebecca Greensmith²⁹.

Elizabeth Kelly was a young girl who took mysteriously ill and eventually succumbed to her condition. An autopsy was ordered. With the leading medical expert, Winthrop Jr., out of the colony, a physician named Bray Rossiter was called in to perform the autopsy on the body of Elizabeth Kelly. He arrived several days after her death, examined her body at the graveside, and declared that she had been killed using supernatural means. But what he really found and describes in the autopsy were common signs of decomposition³⁰.

Ann Cole, referred to as a young woman and as being diabolically possessed, named Elizabeth Seager and Rebecca Greensmith as her tormentors³¹.

Now we’re to the second couple that was indicted and executed, Rebecca Greensmith and Nathaniel Greensmith. Rebecca accused her husband Nathaniel in her confession³².

One of the things that she confessed to was having an illegitimate Christmas party³³. Christmas was outlawed by the Puritans, who did not fancy any holidays except for what was directly ordered by the Bible. And Christmas was seen as just an excuse for frivolity that had nothing to do with serving and worshiping God³⁴.

Now, Rebecca, when she confessed, did give a guest list of attendees at this Christmas party, which we’ll have more about in an upcoming episode focused on the Hartford Witch Panic. The guest list included Elizabeth Seager, Mary Sanford, Judith Ayers, James Wakeley, Goodwife Grant, Goodwife Palmer, and Judith Varlet³⁵.

Nathaniel Greensmith of Hartford and his wife, Rebecca, were hanged in 1663, during the Hartford Witch-Hunt.

See Rebecca Greensmith for more.

Mary Sanford of Hartford was convicted during the Hartford Witch-Hunt and hanged. Her husband, Andrew, was acquitted.

During the Hartford Witch Panic, Mary and Andrew Sanford were also accused of witchcraft. Mary was tried with her husband on June 6th, 1662. The jury was undecided about both cases. On June 13th, Mary was indicted individually and was convicted and executed³⁶.

Andrew is acquitted and freed.

While Mary stands trial again and is hanged.

Where’s the justice in that one?

She would’ve tempted him into witchcraft somehow using her diabolical powers, because of course she’s the woman, the woman’s the weaker vessel.

Andrew Sanford of Hartford was acquitted of witchcraft in 1662, during the Hartford Witch-Hunt. His wife, Mary, was convicted and hanged.

See Mary Sanford for more.

Mary Barnes of Farmington was convicted of witchcraft during the Hartford Witch-Hunt and was hanged on January 25, 1663, becoming the last person executed for witchcraft in Connecticut.

Accused during the Hartford Witch-Hunt. Released following a letter to magistrates from Gov. Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherland, her brother-in-law.

Judith Varlet was the daughter of a Captain Casper Varlet, who, before the English took Connecticut, had like a trading post outside of where, what became Hartford. And so he was pretty high ranking guy and stayed there after the English came, but the English were so scared of the Dutch, that may have influenced what happens to his daughter Judith after he died. They accused her, but she was the sister-in-law of that Governor Peter Stuyvesant, and she married his nephew³⁷.

James Wakeley of Hartford fled Connecticut during the Hartford Witch-Hunt, leaving behind his wife, children, and debts.

William Ayers of Hartford and his wife, Judith, were arrested during the Hartford Witch-Hunt. They escaped and fled the colony.

Goodwife/Judith Ayers of Hartford and her husband, William, were arrested during the Hartford Witch-Hunt and escaped. They fled Connecticut.

Henry Grant’s wife was accused during the Hartford Witch-Hunt.

Elizabeth Blackleach of Wethersfield and her husband, John, were accused during the Hartford Witch-Hunt. They sued their accusers, thus freeing themselves from suspicion.

Elizabeth and John Blackleach were an accused couple. John was once brought to court for his contemptuous expressions against several persons in authority. John was a well-to-do merchant. He was the constable for Hartford’s North Side. They had 11 children. John sued his accusers for slander. The couple were both accused of bewitching a sow, but they fought back against their accusers by suing them for slander, and so their case was basically neutralized. He was a very wealthy man and powerful, and not somebody to trifle with³⁸.

 Is he the same John Blackleach, accuser of Katherine Harrison? He went to Hadley or wrote to someone in Hadley and got them to testify against Katherine Harrison, because they had formerly lived in Wethersfield. These people that he contacts in Hadley had moved. So he’s getting them to testify³⁹.

John Blackleach of Wethersfield and his wife, Elizabeth, were accused during the Hartford Witch-Hunt. They sued their accusers, thus freeing themselves from suspicion.

See Elizabeth Blackleach for more.

Elizabeth Seager of Hartford was accused of witchcraft during the Hartford Witch-Hunt. She was acquitted twice in 1663 but convicted in 1665 and then reprieved.

Elizabeth Seager was acquitted of witchcraft twice in 1663, in January and in June. She was convicted at the third trial on June 26th, 1665. Governor Winthrop Jr. asked the court to delay the sentencing. In 1666, the verdict was overturned.

Hannah Griswold of Saybrook was slandered as a witch in 1667.

One of the ways that accused witches sought justice for themselves was by filing slander and defamation suits. Hannah Griswold of Saybrook did so in 1667⁴⁰.

William Graves of Stamford was indicted in 1667 but not tried.

In 1667, William Graves of Stanford was indicted, but not convicted⁴¹. 

Katherine Harrison of Wethersfield was named as a witch during the Hartford Witch-Hunt. She was later prosecuted in 1668 and convicted. Her conviction was overturned, and she was forced to flee to New York.

Katherine Harrison of Wethersfield was accused of witchcraft in 1668. She was possibly the daughter or niece of the executed Windsor resident Lydia Gilbert. On record in her own words, she referred to cousins John, Jonathan, and Josiah Gilbert. Her case is often cited as a landmark moment in New England legal history⁴².

In future episodes will discuss her legal ramifications. She was convicted in 1668, but released in 1669 after a committee of ministers was requested to review the case.  They decided that there was not sufficient evidence against her because testimony was allowed to come in from single witnesses, not the two witnesses required by biblical law⁴³.

Sarah Dibble of Stamford was accused of witchcraft in 1669 by her husband, whom she had accused of domestic violence.

In Stanford, in 1669, a spousal quarrel led to Sarah Dibble accusing her husband Zachary of abuse. He in turn accused her of witchcraft. The court rejected his claim.⁵⁸.

Goodwife Messenger of Windsor was slandered in 1673.

In 1673, Edward Messenger sued Edward Bartlett for defaming his wife, who was possibly named Katherine. Mr. Bartlett had said Messenger’s wife was an old witch or whore, or words to the same purpose. This story comes straight from Connecticut Colonial Private Records, County Court Records⁴⁴.

Goodwife Burr of Wethersfield was slandered as a witch in 1678.

An unknown person of Hartford was accused of witchcraft in 1682.

Goodwife Bowden of New Haven was slandered as a witch in 1689.

Mercy (Holbridge) Disborough of Compo, was convicted of witchcraft in 1692, during the Stamford-Fairfield Witch-Hunt. She was reprieved.

In 1673, Edward Messenger sued Edward Bartlett for defaming his wife, who was possibly named Katherine. Mr. Bartlett had said Messenger’s wife was an old witch or whore, or words to the same purpose. This story comes straight from Connecticut Colonial Private Records, County Court Records⁴⁵.

Mercy Disborough and her husband lived in Compo, within the boundaries of Fairfield⁴⁶.

Both Elizabeth Clawson and Mercy Disborough were subjected to the water test, also known as the swimming test. If they sank it would prove their innocence, if they floated, their guilt. Both evidently floated. Clawson was described as floating like a cork in the water, being buoyant. After a bystander pushed her underwater, she bobbed back up to the surface⁴⁷.

What a humiliating and frightening experience. Clawson and Disborough were tried together on September 14th, 1692. This date indicates that their ordeal was occurring over in Connecticut Colony during The Salem Witchcraft Trials⁴⁸.

Their jury was undecided, so the magistrates decided to consult ministers and then reconvene court in October⁴⁹.

The consulting ministers found cause to believe in the women’s innocence. They determined the swimming test was unlawful and sinful. In The Grounds of Examining a Witch, the commentary following the stated grounds does refer to water testing as a bad practice. Additionally, the ministers said that supposed witch marks must be examined by able physicians. In other cases juries of  women examined women for the witch’s marks. That was the state of affairs over in Salem with the inspection of accused witch Rebecca Nurse. Women searched her body for any witch teats. The ministers determined that Kate Branch could possibly have been counterfeiting her fits and stated that it was hard to attribute the strange incidents to these two accused women⁵⁰.

The court acquitted Clawson, but even so, Disborough was convicted and sentenced to hang⁵¹.

In 1693, Mercy Disborough was reprieved by the magistrates, because the jury had been altered between the September and October court sessions, with a new man taking the place of one who was away in New York. “One man altered the jury is altered⁵².”

Elizabeth Clawson of Stamford was acquitted of witchcraft in 1692, during the Stamford-Fairfield Witch-Hunt.

Elizabeth Clawson and her husband Stephen, lived in Stamford near the Wescots who had previously suspected her of bewitching their daughter Joanna after an argument over the weight of some flax⁵³.

Goodwife Miller of Fairfield was accused of witchcraft during the Stamford-Fairfield Witch-Hunt of 1692. She fled to Bedford, NY, where she had brothers.

During this spread of years, Goodwife Miller had brothers on the other side of the border in New York so when she was accused, she fled to them⁵⁴.

Mary Staples of Fairfield was accused of witchcraft by Roger Ludlow in 1654. She successfully sued him for slander. In 1692, Staples was indicted for witchcraft during the Stamford-Fairfield Witch-Hunt, along with her daughter, Mary Harvey, and granddaughter, Hannah Harvey. All three were cleared by proclamation when no witnesses with testimony of any great weight appeared against them.

Subsequently, Mary Staples, her daughter, Mary Harvey, and granddaughter, Hannah Harvey, had their charges dropped⁵⁵

The daughter of Mary Staples and mother of Hannah Harvey, Mary Harvey of Fairfield was indicted for witchcraft in 1692 during the Stamford-Fairfield Witch-Hunt. She was cleared by proclamation, along with her mother and her daughter.

Hannah Harvey of Fairfield was daughter of Mary Harvey and granddaughter of Mary Staples. These three women were indicted for witchcraft in 1692, during the Stamford-Fairfield Witch-Hunt. They were cleared by proclamation when no meaningful testimony was produced against them.

Hugh Crosia of Stratford was accused of witchcraft in 1693. He was convicted of lying about familiarity with the devil.

Hugh Crosia of Stratford was accused in 1693, but the grand jury refused to indict him for witchcraft⁵⁶.

Winifred Benham, Sr., of Wallingford was daughter of Mary Hale of Boston, who was acquitted of witchcraft in 1682. Winifred was accused of witchcraft in 1692 and 1693 and tried in 1697 with her daughter, Winifred Benham, Jr. Both were acquitted. Theirs were the last trials for witchcraft in New England.

These final two victims are podcast cohost Sarah Jack’s family connection. Winifred Benham, Sr. was first accused in 1692, brought back a second time in 1693, and then brought back a final time with her teenage daughter Winifred Benham Jr., in 1697. Winifred Sr.’s mother was Mary King Hale, an accused witch of Boston⁵⁷. This makes three generations of women in a single family accused witches. This sounds familiar, because they are not the first multigenerational accused witches in one family. The other related women this happened to during this timeframe were Mary Staples and her daughter and granddaughter, Mary and Hannah Harvey. 

The Benham women survived. They uprooted from the town they helped found, Wallingford, Connecticut, and fled to Staten Island⁵⁸.

Right now, in the town of Wallingford, there is no plaque or recognition of them, except that you can find them on a local craft beer label. Folks can go to town and get a beer called The Witch of Wallingford Ale, but the true witch trial story of that accused witch cannot be found displayed⁵⁹

Winifred Benham, Jr. was tried for witchcraft in 1697 with her mother, Winifred Benham, Sr. Both were acquitted. Theirs were the last trials for witchcraft in New England.

See Winifred Benham, Sr. for more.

Sarah Clother of Colchester was slandered as a witch in 1713.

Sarah Clother and Goodwife Brown were accused by Bethia Taylor of Colchester in 1713⁶⁰.

Goodwife Brown of Colchester was slandered as a witch in 1713.

Sarah Clother and Goodwife Brown were accused by Bethia Taylor of Colchester in 1713⁶¹.

Dr. Alexander Williamson of Wethersfield was slandered as a witch in 1716.

Sarah Spencer of Colchester was slandered as a witch in 1724.

Sarah Spencer was accused by Elizabeth Ackley in 1724. In that case, the court considered subjecting Ackley to a sanity test⁶².

Elizabeth Gould of Guilford was slandered as a witch in 1742.

As late as 1742, there is a record showing that an Elizabeth Gould of Guilford sued Benjamin Chittenden for defamation, for accusing her as a witch⁶³.