I Have A Witch Story

      Several months ago, I completed one of those Ancestry DNA tests and found some older branches of the family tree that I had no idea even existed.  The connection to a pirate of long ago was fascinating as was the realization that two of my fourth great grandfathers on my mother’s side of the family were brothers.
     I had to keep going over that one.  It seemed that one should be a grandfather and his brother should be an uncle but they both turned out to be my fourth Great Grandfathers, as well as Great, Uncles.  Both men were long gone by the time the female Great Great Great Grandchild of my Grandfather married her distant cousin the male Great Great Great Grandchild of the other Grandfather…
     I wonder if they knew they were cousins… to tell the truth, it was hard for me to figure it out, so I don’t know if they knew the relationship.  I only determined the relationship when I saw it laid out in the “thru lines” on the Ancestry website.  A fairly close cousin and I listed different thru lines of the same lineage – ya I was confused too.
     Anyway - This ancestry stuff is fascinating.  Just going back a few generations, you start to understand the vast amount of people who brought you to this point in time.  It all seems pretty simple when you start out with two sets of grandparents but those grandparents double with each preceding generation. 
     By tracing your family tree back to your tenth Great Grandparents, that would involve finding 2,048 couples or nearly 5,000 people.  I’ve only been doing this research for the past eight months or so and obviously I haven’t found all of those couples.  However, as I haphazardly managed to trace one generation back after another, a few ancestors slowly revealed themselves to be from the time of the Salem Witch Trials.
     During this Fall and Halloween Season, it seems appropriate to share what I can only describe as a most surprising tapestry of family lines leading back to the horrific events of the 1690’s in Salem Massachusetts.   

"Witches In My Family Tree"
    In taking this journey back in time to research my ancestors, I was lucky to have several documented generations of Grandparents.  That information coupled with the DNA matches supplied through Ancestry DNA gave me a head start on the various pathways that I would follow. 
   One family branch that I wanted to explore was that of Mary Heath.  Mary Heath married Dr. Jabez Green – making her the Grandmother of my Grandfather Joe Green. The Heath family line goes back to Job Heath – a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary War and the ancestor that allowed for Mom and I to join the Daughters of the American Revolution.  All very well documented.
     Years ago, I had a conversation with my Aunt Peg (my mother’s sister) and she gave me some insights into the Heath family and their arrival to America.
    The hints that Ancestry offered matched the information that I had received from my Aunt.  I was able to go back further in my family tree using the documents and Ancestry “member” family trees provided in their website – it was fun!  You just never know what family name is going to pop up or where it will lead…
     When I found my way back to John Heath, I learned that he had married a Frances Hutchins.  That didn’t interest me at the time and I continued on with the Heath family line.  Later on, I came back and started following the Hutchins branch – which led me to learn that Frances Hutchins was the daughter of Joseph Hutchins.  Joseph was the son of John Enoch Hutchins and Frances Alcock Hutchins who were my 9th Great Grandparents.
    According to documents found on the Ancestry DNA website and researching other historical accounts of the day, I found that my Great Grandmother Frances Alcock Hutchins was born in 1612 in Newbury, Massachusetts and married a carpenter named John Hutchins.  They had eight children and at some point, moved to Haverhill.   In 1653 she was arrested for wearing a silk hood. 
     There was a law that prohibited the display of finery by persons of “meane” condition.  You had to have property worth a certain value to be allowed to wear such fine clothing.  The charges were dropped, when it was determined that my grandmother was not of “meane” condition.   I’m not sure why – but I was proud to learn that she was of a financial stature that allowed for her wearing finery.
     Unfortunately, years later she would be arrested again.  On August 19, 1692 she was arrested on the charge of witchcraft.  The complaint was filed by Timothy Swan of Andover, Ann Putnam, Jr. and Mary WalCott of Salem Village.  She was 80 years old when she was imprisoned.  She never went to trial and was bonded out on December 21, 1692. 
     From what I have read, being held in the local prison at that time was awful.  There are horror stories – although I have found nothing relating to my grandmother’s time in the prison.  My heart aches for my 80 year-old nine times Great Grandmother languishing in jail for several months.  She survived the ordeal and lived another year and a half.  She died in Haverhill on April 5, 1694
     Here is the family lineage leading back to my Grandmother and Accused Witch Frances Alcock Hutchins on my Mother’s side of the family.  You might find it boring, but you may want to refer back to this a few times because things are going to get a little weird…
Frances Elizabeth Hutchins Lineage
9th  Great Grandparents        Frances  (Alcock) Hutchins             John Enoch Hutchins
                                                     1612-1694                                            1604-1685
 
8th  Great Grandparents       Joanna Corliss                                     Joseph Hutchins
                                                   1650-1734                                              1640-1689
 
7th  Great Grandparents       Frances Hutchins Heath                     John Heath
                                                   1676-1761                                               1674-1720
 
6th  Great Grandparents        Mary Eaten                                           Nehemiah Heath
                                                     1727-1754                                               1718-1769
 
5th  Great Grandparents        Susanna Stevens Heath                      Job Heath
                                                     1751-1828                                               1747-1851
                                                  
4th Great Grandparents         Eliza Fish                                               Job Heath Jr.
                                                                                                                       1784-1860
 
3rd Great Grandparents         Esther Millet Heath                             Hial Heath
                                                     1811-1893                                                1813-1872
 
2nd  Great Grandparents     Mary Heath Green                               Dr. Jabez Green
                                                   1840-1888                                              1818-1875
 
1st Great Grandparents        Katherine Rogers Green                     Charles Hial Green
                                                   1874-1955                                               1870-1932
 
Grandparents                         Lillian Olson Green                              Joseph Nathaniel Green
                                                   1904-1983                                               1900-1985
 
Parents                                    Alyce Green Smith                                William Harry Smith
                                                   1928-2009                                               1928-2012
                                                 Sue Smith (Stoeber) Reyzlik
 
      During another late-night research session on Dad’s side of the family – days after I had found the pirate – (which was cool) – I started following a random branch from Mary Ellen Lefever. She was the wife of my 2nd Great Grandfather Alexander Smith Jr.  Rather than go through a bunch of names that mean nothing to you, I’m going to post the lineage so you can follow it back in time for yourself.
 
Honorable Thomas Danforth Lineage
 
10th  Great Grandparents     Mary Withington Danforth             Hon. Thomas Danforth
                                                   1623-1697                                               1623-1699
 
9th  Great Grandparents       Rebecca Parker Danforth                 Ens. Jonathan (John) Danforth
                                                   1661-1754                                               1659-1711
 
8th  Great Grandparents       Dorothy Shed                                     Samuel Danforth
                                                   1692-1749                                              1692-1749
 
7th  Great Grandparents       Rebecca Danforth                              Ephraim Daves (Davis)
                                                   1717-1771                                               1706-1778
 
6th Great Grandparents        Hannah Davis                                     Joseph Hall
                                                   1739-1807                                             1734-1804
 
5th Great Grandparents        Elizabeth (Hall) McPeek                   Daniel McPeek
                                                   1759-1839                                             1756-1835
 
4th Great Grandparents        Sophia Lavinia Price                         Ezekiel McPeek
                                                   1786-1861                                             1786-1856
 
3rd  Great Grandparents      Easter Price McPeek                          John LeFever
                                                   1822-1895                                            1818-1900
 
2nd  Great Grandparents      Mary Ellen LeFever                          Alexander Smith Jr
                                                   1851-1907                                            1852-1933
 
1st  Great Grandparents         Esther Swanson                                Harry Harris Smith
                                                   1883-1959                                            1879-1959
 
Grandparents                          Belle Powers                                      Clarence Smith
                                                   1907-1952                                            1905-1951
 
Parents                                       Alyce Green Smith                           William H. Smith
                                                   1928-2009                                           1928-2012
                                                                                                                Sue Smith (Stoeber) Reyzlik
 
    Sooooo... all the individuals involved in this journey back in time are super interesting to me but, in order to save a little time, we’re going to start at my 6th Great Grandmother listed on the chart above – Hannah Davis. 
       It turns out that Hannah Davis was the daughter of Rebecca Danforth – which you may want to remember because I will be circling back around to her again… I think… 
    Anyway – Rebecca Danforth was the daughter of Dorothy Shed and Samuel Danforth.  Here is where we take a hard-right turn in that tree branch called Danforth.  Samuel Danforth was the son of Ens. Jonathan Danforth who was the son of the Honorable Thomas Danforth.  Thomas Danforth is my 10th Great Grandfather and he served as a Judge in the Salem Witch Trials…

     Mind Blown and It’s Fall - Almost Halloween – WITCHES – Hysteria – Judges - Trials!            Oh my…

     Just to be clear… The year is 1692 and I have an accused witch from Salem on my mother’s side of the family and a Judge from the Salem Witch Trials on my father’s side of the family.  What are the odds of that?  No seriously – what are the odds of that?   It’s crazy – right? 
     When I found Thomas Danforth in my family tree, I had to learn more.  It turns out he was pretty cool.   Thomas Danforth came to America with his father Nicholas (a widower) and his siblings in 1634.  They were puritans and were escaping religious persecution.  Soon after his arrival, Nicholas began acquiring property.  He died in 1638, leaving his property and the care of his children to his eldest child, Thomas.
     Thomas become a “freeman” of the colony in 1643 - which gave him the right to vote and participate in the colony’s political affairs.  I was a bit impressed that he was appointed the Treasurer of Harvard College in its charter of 1650 and that he served as a steward of the College from 1669 to 1682… cool!
     Thomas Danforth was totally political – lots happened… too much to talk about here.  He was in and out of power – he lost by just a few votes here and there – he was deputy Governor,  he got married – had kids – bought more land – tried to protect the praying Indians. 
    Ya, I missed the praying Indian thing in history.  There was a war. Or maybe a couple of wars. Some of the Indians in the region were converted to Christianity and were known as the praying Indians.  There was a lot of hostility with the neighboring Indians and that created a great deal of mistrust toward the recently converted.   I read that Danforth had worked out a deal to move the praying Indians to Long Island and provide a buffer between the two parties.  The pilgrims were still nutty about the whole situation. 
      Little side story… Danforth and some of his colleagues were on a mission to check on the welfare of the praying Indians and set sail for Long Island.  At some point in the journey, their smaller vessel was rammed by a larger boat filled with disgruntled pilgrims.  I guess no one was injured but Danforth and his fellow travelers all got dunked in the icy waters…   I am getting off topic – sorry. (And Thomas was there during the time that the Quakers were being treated unfairly – four Quakers got hung - again off topic – but I have a bunch of Quakers in the family so I will go there eventually.)
     This last bit of information came from an article I found online.  The Article was written by John Goff and posted May 27, 2011 in the Salem Gazette.  In the article, Mr. Goff was explaining how Salem would never be completely removed from its Witch Trial past but suggested the focus should be on the tolerance that grew from that unfortunate time.  I liked the question he posed to the reader… “How different would or could Salem be today and in the near future, if a much stronger light was cast upon the history and contributions of the surprising 17th- century Danforths?”

     The Danforths?  He suggests that a stronger light be cast upon the surprising Danforths – cool.     
      The following is an excerpt from that article that includes references to the praying Indians and the Salem Witch Trials:

     In 1999, Danforth Gallery in Maine printed a 300th anniversary reflection upon the life of the eldest of the three Danforth boys: Thomas Danforth, our Salem witch judge. The 1999 study concluded “Perhaps the most intriguing characteristic of Thomas Danforth was his willingness to stand up for his convictions despite opposition.” A progressive advocate for colonists’ rights, Thomas also profoundly supported the rights of Christianized Native Americans during King Philip’s War in the 1670s. Like Gookin, he was persecuted for his decent treatment of Praying Indians during that war.
     During the 1690s, Thomas Danforth also worked quietly and efficiently to end the Salem Witch Trials hysteria — and to restore basic fairness, order and peace. A treasurer of Harvard College and a campaigner for human rights, Thomas’s sense of fairness for all — including oppressed minorities — was generations and centuries ahead of his time.

   From my reading thus far, I gather Thomas Danforth was a decent man.  I like that about my 10th Great Grandfather.
     I must say that I am amazed, that in following the branches and little off shoots of twigs here and there, that I was able to find my way back to two unrelated people, both a part of my family history and both entangled in the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692.    Frances as a witch through my mother’s line and Thomas as a judge through my father’s line. 
     Armed with this evidence, I started researching the Salem Witch Trials.  I began amassing the knowledge I would need to write a story about this particular aspect of my family ancestry.  I was deep into the process of pondering 1692 Salem… but I was simultaneously researching my family lineage on the Ancestry Website.
      One night I was back on the trail of  my Dad’s lineage.  One thing I have learned is that the women in my family are absolutely “spellbinding” so I naturally have a tendency to follow the green leaf hints attached to the women listed on the website family tree. 
     Now if you recall, I explained earlier that Rebecca Danforth married Ephraim Davis.  Rebecca was the branch that led back to the Honorable Thomas Danforth – the Judge.  Rebecca was the daughter of Samuel Danforth and Dorothy Shed. Dorothy is the woman where the lineage takes an even more interesting female turn.       Dorothy Shed Danforth was my 8th Great Grandmother and the daughter of Ens. John Shed and Sarah Chamberlain – my 9th Great Grandmother.  Sarah was the daughter of Rebecca Shelley Chamberlain – my 10th Great Grandmother, who just happened to be another woman accused of being a witch in Salem. 
     I examined this lineage closely because this seemed a little too weird even for me.  As far as I can tell from Ancestry DNA and various online searches, this appears to be a valid lineage.  I will post the lineage here for reference.

Rebecca Shelley Chamberlain Lineage
 
10th  Great Grandparents        Rebecca Shelley Chamberlain            William Chamberlain
                                                        1627-1692                                               1619-1706
 
9th  Great Grandparents          Sarah Chamberlain                               Ens. John Shedd
                                                       1655-1735                                               1655-1737
 
8th  Great Grandparents          Dorothy Shed                                         Samuel Danforth
                                                       1692-1749                                                 1692-1749
 
7th  Great Grandparents          Rebecca Danforth                                  Ephraim Daves (Davis)
                                                       1717-1771                                                    1706-1778
 
6th  Great Grandparents          Hannah Davis                                         Joseph Hall
                                                       1739-1807                                               1734-1804
 
5th  Great Grandparents          Elizabeth (Hall) McPeek                       Daniel McPeek
                                                       1759-1839                                                1756-1835
 
4th  Great Grandparents          Sophia Lavinia Price                            Ezekiel McPeek
                                                       1786-1861                                               1786-1856
 
3rd  Great Grandparents         Easter Price McPeek                              John LeFever
                                                      1822-1895                                               1818-1900
 
2nd  Great Grandparents      Mary Ellen LeFever                                Alexander Smith Jr
                                                    1851-1907                                                 1852-1933
 
1st Great Grandparents           Esther Swanson                                      Harry Harris Smith
                                                       1883-1959                                               1879-1959
 
Grandparents                             Belle Powers                                           Clarence Smith
                                                       1907-1952                                               1905-1951
 
Parents                                          Alyce Green Smith                                  William H. Smith
                                                        1928-2009                                               1928-2012
                                                                                                                     Sue Smith (Stoeber) Reyzlik
 
      So now I have two Great Grandmothers arrested, and languishing in the dungeon jail in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692.  Let me just ask the question again…

WHAT ARE THE ODDS? And – please note – it is the women who lead to the most interesting places – the women in my family are fascinating.
     I don’t know if my 10th Great Grandmother Rebecca Chamberlain knew my 9th Great Grandmother Frances Hutchins.  I sort of feel… that it is likely that they were in prison together.  Rebecca Chamberlain died at the age of 67 on September 26, 1692.  Frances Hutchins was sent to prison on August 19, 1692 at the age of 80.  In my mind, it makes sense that they would have been held together in Salem. 
     Since GG Rebecca died while in prison, I had to do a little further reading on the conditions of the jail – what I learned was disturbing – to say the least. 
    In one reporting, it stated that during the worst of the witch hysteria, so many people were arrested that they were held in area village jails – however, for those awaiting trial, they were held in the Salem Dungeon and Jail. 
     I mentioned earlier that the conditions in the jails were horrific, but in reading further I found a few more details… The jails were hot in summer and cold in winter.  They were infested with lice, rats and stank of dung.  In one article it stated that all the jails were bad, however, the Salem Jail was the worst.  Conditions for those accused of witchcraft were harsh – extremely harsh.
     The accused witches were held in irons in the dungeon of the jail.  The Salem jail was built near a river and during high tide, the water would seep into the dungeon.  There was no sanitation for the prisoners and they were forced to wallow in their waste.  Through the narrow openings to the outside, the villagers would gather and yell their vicious taunts to the prisoners below. 
     My, 80-year-old, Great Grandmother Frances Hutchins, lived from August through December of 1692 in what I imagine were those awful prison conditions.  She made it out alive.
     My, 67-year-old, Great Grandmother Rebecca Chamberlain didn’t make it out alive. Although years younger than GG Frances, Rebecca didn’t fare as well in the rat and lice infested hell hole in the bowels of Salem. My GG Rebecca was one of more than a dozen who died under the horrible dying conditions of Salem’s dungeon.

  *UPDATE ON JAIL DEATH LOCATION - (October 26, 2020 - one day after publication of this entry) I was continuing my research on this family connection and I found an entry that stated that GG Rebecca died in the Cambridge Jail.  Well - poo.  I will keep looking for new info.  I will update as necessary - maybe even write a new entry... who knows what things will be revealed???  So anyway - GG Frances and GG Rebecca were not in the dungeon together - like I said - poo! 

     In researching the jail, I learned something else.  The prisoners were charged for every item they used during their imprisonment (like straw for bedding and food). Before anyone could be released, they had to pay their tab. 
     I found stories about women who had been arrested for witchcraft and later found innocent.   They had lost everything during their imprisonment and could not afford to pay what they owed. Those innocent women remained imprisoned.   
    In another instance, a four-year-old child was imprisoned with her pregnant mother – both accused of practicing witchcraft.  The young girl was by her mother’s side as she gave birth in the dark, damp dungeon.  She was by her mother’s side when the baby died.  She was by her mother’s side when her mother died.  The little girl survived her time in the dungeon but mentally she never healed.  It’s truly heart breaking to imagine the heartlessness of those who would place a child in a cage.
     Another profoundly soul-less practice of the time, was that if a prisoner died while being held in the local jail, the family was required to pay for the removal of the corpse.  If the body wasn’t paid for, the corpse was tossed into a ditch on the outskirts of town where it would remain.  The body rotting in the ditch, was a grisly reminder of what awaits you, if you dare perform the evils of the witchcraft on the innocent citizens of the community.  I sincerely hope that Rebecca’s family was able to claim her body for proper burial.

     Although I am many years (centuries) removed, I honestly sense a connection to the people in the far-reaching branches of my family tree.  The feeling I experienced upon learning that I had found a direct link to such a horrendous event was one of curiosity… I was certainly intrigued... upon further research, that feeling morphed into an overwhelming sense of sadness. Two Great Grandmothers – wrongly accused of witchcraft – both suffered the horrors of the 17th  Century Salem jail – one died in that jail. 
     In examining 1692, I learned that there were multiple personalities and belief systems at play in those darkest of days.  There had been a long history of persecution of witches that had been brought forward to the new world.  Various personal motives, religious beliefs, greed, fear, the desire for control and power – all contributed to create the mass hysteria that consumed Salem and the surrounding areas. 
     The situation was out of control and yet there were forces of light at play.  Good people working behind the scenes to calm the hysteria.   Truly righteous individuals doing their best to end the madness.   Thomas Danforth was such a man.  A man ahead of his time, a campaigner for human rights and a decent human being.   His efforts, on behalf of those wrongly accused, warms my heart.
One final thought and for that I would like to highlight a small segment of my family  tree:
 
Rebecca Shelley Chamberlain Lineage
 
10th  Great Grandparents     Rebecca Shelley Chamberlain          William Chamberlain
                                                   1627-1692                                               1619-1706
9th  Great Grandparents        Sarah Chamberlain                             Ens. John Shedd
                                                   1655-1735                                               1655-1737
8th  Great Grandparents       Dorothy Shed                                        Samuel Danforth
                                                   1692-1749                                                1692-1749
7th  Great Grandparents        Rebecca Danforth                                Ephraim Daves (Davis)
                                                     1717-1771                                               1706-1778
 
     Look at my 8th Great Grandparents Dorothy Shed and Samuel Danforth.  Dorothy is the Granddaughter of Rebecca Chamberlain – the accused witch who died in prison in 1692.  Although it isn’t shown in this chart - Samuel Danforth is the Grandson of the Honorable Thomas Danforth – the judge who sought to right that terrible wrong. 
     Dorothy and Samuel were both born in 1692.  I’m sure they grew up with the knowledge of what had happened in the year they were born.  The Chamberlain family and the Danforth family must have known each other.  Dorothy and Samuel were two kids growing up in Salem at the same time.  
     I wonder what their respective families thought of their marriage?  It must have all worked out. They raised four children together and the information I found, indicates that they both died in 1749.  Perhaps one could not live without the other - it's a romantic notion. 
     I choose to believe that Samuel and Dorothy were destined to be together - that they were extremely happy and truly in love.  I further choose to believe that they named their daughter Rebecca Danforth Davis (my 7th Great Grandmother) in honor of Rebecca Chamberlain (my 10th Great Grandmother) who died in the Salem Dungeon in the year 1692.  *UPDATE - Cambridge Jail... poo
     If you read this entry carefully and you are familiar with me personally – perhaps you picked up on some clues for an upcoming entry.  I am still in that pondering stage where I write my stream of consciousness.   I’ll just say, at this point the writing is all over the place.   Perhaps some time, in the shed this next week, will allow for much needed clarity and editing…
     Soooo… for now my friends, the first portion of the long winding Tale of the “Witches in my Family Tree!” is posted and the continuing saga is yet to be determined…
    Happy Fall – Happy Halloween!  And if I don’t post before Thanksgiving – My wish for you is one of plenty… family, love, food, gratitude, tolerance and caring for others.   
If you need me, I will be in the shed!