In 1648, Margaret Jones, a midwife, became the first person in Massachusetts—and the second in New England—to be executed for witchcraft, decades before the infamous Salem witch trials. Nearly four centuries later, the AP reports that the state and region are still working to come to grips with its witch trial legacy. The latest effort comes from a group dedicated to clearing the names of all those accused, arrested, or indicted for witchcraft in Massachusetts, whether or not the accusations ended in hanging. The Massachusetts Witch-Hunt Justice Project, made up of history buffs and descendants, is hoping to persuade the state to take a fuller reckoning of its early history, according to Josh Hutchinson, the group's leader.
Hundreds of individuals were accused of witchcraft in what would become the Commonwealth of Massachusetts between 1638 and 1693. Most escaped execution. While much attention has focused on clearing the names of those put to death in Salem, most of those caught up in witch trials throughout the 1600s have largely been ignored, including five women hanged for witchcraft in Boston between 1648 and 1688. "It's important that we correct the injustices of the past," said Hutchinson, who noted he counts both accusers and victims among his ancestors. "We'd like an apology for all of the accused or indicted or arrested." For now, the group has been collecting signatures for a petition but hopes to take their case to the Statehouse.
Among those accused of witchcraft in Boston was Ann Hibbins, sister-in-law to Massachusetts Gov. Richard Bellingham; she was executed in 1656. A character based on Hibbins would later appear in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850. Another accused Boston witch, known as Goodwife Ann Glover or Goody Glover, was hanged in the city in 1688. A plaque dedicated to her is located on the front of a Catholic church in the city's North End neighborhood, describing her as "the first Catholic martyr in Massachusetts." It's one of the few physical reminders of the city's witch trial history.
(More
witch trials stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
