Black Sheep Sunday - Grandma the Witch

I was asked to write a brief bio of my 9th great-grandmother who was accused of witchcraft in 17th century Massachusetts.  I realized that, although I briefly referred to her on this blog, I never dedicated a post to her.  Odd, because she is definitely one of my favorites to talk about.

So, here follows the story of my "witch" Mary Bliss Parsons.

      Mary Bliss was born in England about 1626, the daughter of Thomas Bliss and Margaret Hulins. They were a Puritan family and emigrated to New England in 1639. She married Cornet Joseph Parsons on 26 November 1646 in Hartford, CT.  He was a merchant and political figure and they first settled in Springfield, MA. By 1654, they had moved upriver to Northampton. It was there, in September 1656 that Mary and Joseph brought defamation charges against their neighbor Sarah Bridgman. Sarah blamed Mary for the death of her infant son and accused her of witchcraft.

            Mary Bliss Parsons was described as a proud and nervous woman, haughty in demeanor. She belonged to the aristocracy and considered herself a dame of considerable importance. She was a woman of forcible speech and domineering ways and felt that her neighbors should have the benefit of her opinions. She was not well liked in Springfield and this dislike followed her to Northampton.

            The problem started when Goody Branch came from Springfield to visit Goody Hannum and several women gathered to visit. The conversation began with the usual gossip, then turned to a discussion of personalities and then to witchcraft. The insinuation that Mary Parsons was a witch was amplified and enlarged upon until all present believed that it simply must be true. It was then repeated and embellished upon to other neighbors who added their own “evidence”. When Joseph Parsons heard the accusations, he enlisted the aid of the law to clear his wife’s name.

            After hearing all of the testimony, the decision of the court was that “the defendant hath without just ground raised a great scandal and reproach upon the plaintiffs wife” and “the defendant shall make acknowledgment before the inhabitants of the places where the said parties dwell ... Northampton and also Springfield ... at some public meeting.” The Bridgmans were ordered to pay damages of 10 pounds and court costs of 7 pounds, 1 shilling and 8 pence.

            But the story does not end there. Eighteen years later, in September 1674, charges of witchcraft were formally brought against Mary, again by the Bridgmans and their son-in-law Samuel Bartlett. They blamed Mary for the death of their daughter Mary Bartlett.

            Because witchcraft was a capital crime, it could not be tried in the county courts. That lower level court simply determined if enough evidence existed to warrant the attention of a higher court. This was apparently the case because it was forwarded to the Court of Assistants in Boston. Mary’s husband Joseph posted bond of 50 pounds. Mary was indicted by a grand jury in March 1675 based on evidence sent from the County Court. She was tried for “not having the fear of God before her eyes and ... at one or other of times ... entered into familiarity with the devil and committed several acts of witchcraft”. She pled not guilty. They jury found her not guilty of witchcraft and she was discharged in May 1675.

            Mary and Joseph spent their later years in Springfield.  They had a total of 12 children, four of whom reached adulthood.  Joseph died on 9 October 1683 in Springfield at the age of 63.  Mary outlived him, dying on 29 Jan 1712 in Springfield.

This story will appear, along with other biographies of accused witches on the website of the Associated Daughters of Early American Witches at www.adeaw.us 

Military Monday - Remembering my Minutemen

This past weekend marked the 245th anniversary of the Lexington Alarm.  This was the "Shot Heard Round the World" during the battles of Lexington and Concord and the first military engagements of the Revolutionary War.

commons.wikimedia.org

I am proud to claim three ancestors who responded to Paul Revere's call that "The British Are Coming" and marched to fight.

Ithamar Clark served as a Private in Captain Jonathan Allen's Company, General Pomeroy's Regiment during the Lexington alarm and served for about a month.  Two years later he served in Captain Jonathan Stearn's company of Colonel Dickinson's Regiment during the alarm at Ticonderoga.

Ithamar was born in 1716 in Northampton, MA, the son of John and Elizabeth (Cook) Clark.  He was married four times - First to Martha Alexander in 1738.  Second to Elizabeth Alvord in 1744. Third to Sarah Jones (widow of Moses Parsons) in 1753 and finally in 1775 to Mary, widow of John Brown.  Altogether he had 9 children with his first 3 wives, although many did not survive childhood.  He died on 7 Jan 1802 in Easthampton, MA.

One of the children of Ithamar and Sarah was my 5th great-grandfather Oliver Clark who also served in the Revolutionary War during 1777-78.


My second MinuteMan was Noah Parsons.  He served in the same company as Ithamar Clark during both the Lexington alarm and the Ticonderoga alarm. 

Noah was born 6 February 1731 in Northampton, MA and married Phebe Bartlett on 9 Jan 1755 in Northampton.  He died in Northampton on 11 January 1814. Noah and Phebe had twelve children including my 5th great-grandmother Phebe Parsons who married Oliver Clark.


My third MinuteMan was Abraham Day, Jr., another 5th great-grandfather.  He served under Colonel Ruggles in response to the Lexington Alarm, and also joined Col. Dickinson as a Sergeant later in the war.

Abraham was born on 20 September 1747 in Colchester, CT. On 16 October 1769 he married Irene Jackson.  They had 11 children including my ancestor Rachel Day.  He died on 9 Sept. 1797 in Chester, MA.

Thanks to these three men, along with many others for helping to establish our country.

#52 Ancestors - I'd like to meet ....

I have a few ancestors that I would like to meet, each for different reasons.

First, I would like to "meet" my great-grandmother Nancy Jane Wiley Hill Hacker Hill.  Technically I have already met her, but I was an infant when she died so I don't remember.  She had a reputation for being a strong independent woman.

Jane Hill (center) with friends showing her independent spirit

Nancy Jane Wiley was born 5 August1875 to George Wiley and Susan Mumford.  She was born and grew up in Clark County, Illinois.  On 21 July 1895 she married Charles Taylor Hill in Clark Co.  They had 3 children, Jessie (my grandmother), Victor, and William.  Her husband C.T.  had a bit of wanderlust and would leave for months at a time to seek his fortune.  This left Jane to raise 3 children by herself.  By 1913 she had clearly had enough as she divorced him on grounds of desertion.  Jane remarried in 1917 to William "Stanley" Hacker but they were divorced less than 4 years later.

During this time, Jane lost her middle child, Victor, who died in France during WWI.  She never stopped grieving his loss.    In order to make ends meet, she worked as a cook at Jefferson Barracks in Missouri for a while.  A few years later, she moved to Toledo, Ohio to start a new life.  Because she was a middle-aged single woman, there were few opportunities for her so she took in boarders to help pay the rent.  Family lore said she was also known for bathtub gin during Prohibition.

I would like to meet her and thank her for all of her hard work and perseverance.  I like to think that I inherited her strong independent will.

Jessie, William, Victor and Jane Hill

Second, I would like to meet my 9th great-grandmother Mary Bliss Parsons.  Mary was born ca 1626 in England to Thomas Bliss and Margaret Hulins.  She came with them to the colonies when she was only 9 years old.  In 1646 she married Joseph Parsons in Hartford, CT.  He was a prominent man in the community, serving as selectman and surveyor of highways.  He was one of the first settlers in Northampton, MA.  It was there, in 1656 that Mary was accused of witchcraft.  Her husband Joseph proactively sued the accuser Sarah Bridgman for slander and won.  Unfortunately this accusation haunted Mary and in 1674 she was imprisoned in Boston for suspicion that she was a witch.  Thankfully she was acquitted and released.

Through all of this ordeal, Mary and Joseph had 12 children, 8 of whom survived to adulthood producing numerous descendants.  She died in 1712 at the age of 86.

I would like to meet Mary to learn how she felt when the townspeople turned against her, not once but twice.

Mary is my qualifying ancestor for ADEAW

Finally, I would like to meet my third great-grandmother Matilda Grass Shuey.  Matilda is one of my brick walls.  I have been searching for years to find her parents.  I simply want to meet her and ask who they were.

Matilda on the left with her family

Associated Daughters of Early American Witches

One of the most fun lineage groups that I belong to is the Associated Daughters of Early American Witches.  These are ladies who can trace their roots back to someone who was accused, tried, or convicted of witchcraft in the colonies before 1700.  They have a breakfast meeting every year and are planning their 25th Anniversary meeting for 2012.
Everyone knows about the witchcraft hysteria in Salem in 1692 but there were actually accused witches before and after that time.  There are more than 300 ancestors who are acceptable for membership.  Most were in New England (not just Massachusetts, but New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island) but others can be found in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.
My own "witch" was Mary (Bliss) Parsons (ca1620-1711/2).  She was first accused of witchcraft in 1656 in Northampton, MA.  Her husband filed a slander lawsuit against her accuser Sarah Bridgman and the accuser was fined.  She was accused again in 1674 by the same family.  She spent time in the Boston jail and was acquitted at trial in May 1675.  Accounts of the slander trial are in existence and are fascintating to read - giving a glimpse into the superstitious beliefs of the time.

http://www.adeaw.us/