Witch they called her.
Mary Bliss Parsons, my 9th Great Aunt was accused on more than one occasion of being a witch. Mary was a daughter of the wealthy prominent Bliss family. She was the wife of Joseph Parsons and mother of 14 children. Her husband was a hard working, business savvy, honorable man who acquired great wealth. He had connections with prominent people and made good investments. They had a large home and were very wealthy.
In 1656 Mary and her family moved from Springfield Massachusetts to Northampton Massachusetts. Soon after they settled in jealous neighbors started to whisper rumors that Mary had made a pact with Satan and she was a witch. Whenever livestock died, or children or spouses became ill neighbors would claim it was Mary casting spells because they had a disagreement or argument with her. If anyone had a disagreement with any member of the Bliss or Parsons family and something tragic happened they blamed Mary. The daughter of a neighbor became angry at her mother and decided to pretend illness to retaliate against her mother. Mary was accused of putting a spell on the girl. Mary's husband immediately brought slander charges upon the neighbors and after Mary was found not guilty at trial neighbors publicly apologized.
18 years later the charge of witch was again cast at Mary by the same neighbors when their spouses died. The trial was held in Boston and Mary spent three months in jail while awaiting trial and during the trial. She was acquitted.
After the trial Mary Bliss Parsons and her family moved back to Springfield Massachusetts where Mary lived until her death in 1712.
I am not going to write a lot about this as there are brilliant articles and books on these events everywhere. Especially this book,
Witch-Hunting in Seventeenth-Century New England: A Documentary History 1638–1693
and
SILENCING THE WOMEN: The Witch Trials of Mary Bliss Parsons - Kathy-Ann Becker.
No comments:
Post a Comment