52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 44 (TRICK OR TREAT)
"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble." {1}
In the same timeline that Macbeth was being performed my ancestors were leaving England as part of The Great Puritan Migration.
Did Shakespeare believe in witches?
The Puritans were afraid of evil spirits. Witchcraft was often seen as the reason for bad things happening to good people.
The past few weeks I have seen images of witches brewing their cauldrons and riding brooms alongside the sales of individually wrapped chocolates and candies. I was left wondering if dressing up at Halloween as a witch was cultural appropriation. Setting off to find out I found the quote below.
" 'I’ve seen these ‘slutty witch’ costumes and they’re demeaning not only to women, but to practising [sic] witches such as myself,' said Raven Mackinaw, 24, of Dartmouth," {2}
"The word Witch actually is derived from the word “Wicca” meaning “Wise One.” Certainly once considered wise and a knowledgeable resource during trying times, witches were now considered to be something to be absolutely feared and avoided. The church viewed healing, once helpful to many, now as evil sorcery, pagan worship as well as something akin to black magic. These supposed witches were accused of very bad things, most specifically that of doing the devil’s evil bidding and being in cahoots with him in some orchestrated plan to destroy mankind." {3}
 |
| Photo source: Halloween Express {3} |
Many years before the Salem Witch Trials the Puritans of Massachusetts were seeing evil walking among them. In 1654 Mary Bliss Parsons was accused of causing the death of Sarah Bridgman's baby boy by witchcraft.
" Sarah Bridgman related her tale of how in May 1654 she heard a "great blow on the door" and immediately sensed a change in her newborn. Then she saw "two women pass by the door with white clothes on their heads." The women disappeared, and Bridgman concluded her son would die because "there [was] wickedness in the place." {4}
Mary's husband charged Sarah for slander, and won. Sarah (nee Lyman) Bridgman was given a choice of paying a fine or making a public apology: She chose the fine.
For the next 18 years suspicions against Mary for witchcraft continued. In 1674 Mary (nee Bliss) Parsons was formally accused of witchcraft by James & Sarah (nee Lyman) Bridgman's son-in-law Samuel Barlett when his wife Mary (nee Bridgman) died. Mary Bliss Parsons was found innocent of these charges in a Boston court. Sometime around 1680 Mary and husband (Cornet Joseph Parsons) moved from Northampton to Springfield where they had previously lived. Joseph died in 1683, and Mary never remarried. It is rumoured that she was never able to fully leave the accusations of witchcraft behind her.
The accuser was my 10th great aunt
Sarah Lyman
BIRTH 8 FEB 1621 • High Ongar, Epping Forest District, Essex, England
DEATH 31 AUG 1688 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
married to
James Bridgman
BIRTH abt 1620 • England
DEATH 17 MAR 1676 • Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
The accused was the mother-in-law of my first cousin X10 removed
Mary Bliss
BIRTH 1626 • Balstone, Devon, England
DEATH 29 JAN 1712 • Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, USA
married to
Cornet Joseph Parsons
BIRTH 1618 • Great Gorrington, Devon, England
DEATH 9 OCT 1683 • Springfield, Massachusetts
Although I found no evidence that Sarah (nee Lyman) Bridgman and Mary (nee Bliss) Parsons were related to each other I did find evidence that I am related to both of them through my mother's maternal line. On the 14th of June 1711 these two ladies had their family's merged when their grandchildren Ebenezer Bridgman & Mary Parsons were married. They were my 2nd cousins 9x removed.
Check out these books (fiction and not) about Mary Bliss Parsons:
My Enemy's Tears: The Witch of Northampton by Karen Vorbeck Williams, Fawkes Press, LLC (Oct. 17 2016)
The Real Witches of New England: History, Lore, and Modern Practice by Ellen Evert Hopman, Destiny Books; 1 edition (September 18, 2018)
Silencing the Women: The Witch Trials of Mary Bliss Parsons by Kathy-Ann Becker, Booklocker.com, Inc. (Nov. 15 2013)
Trilogy:
The Strong Witch Society: The Diary of Mary Bliss Parsons (Vol 3), by D.H. Parsons, All Things That Matter Press (Jan. 14 2011)
The Lost Revelation: The Diary of Mary Bliss Parsons (Vol. 2), All Things That Matter Press (Oct. 16 2012)
Beyond Infinite Healing: The Diary of Mary Bliss Parsons (Vol 3), by D.H. Parsons, All Things That Matter Press (July 21 2014)
Finding your family in historical events!
This is why I search -
Cause ...
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***
Footnotes:
{1} Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1, William Shakespeare,
{2} Witch Halloween costumes are cultural appropriation, say ‘real’ witches, The Manatee, Retrieved October 31st 2019 from
https://themanatee.net/witch-halloween-costumes-are-cultural-appropriation-say-real-witches/
{3} History of Witches and Witchcraft, Halloween Express, Retrieved October 31st 2019 from https://www.halloweenexpress.com/history-of-witches-and-witchcraft/
{4} Jury Finds Mary Parsons Not Guilty of Witchcraft, May 13, 1675, Mass Moments, Retreved October 31st 2019 from
https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/jury-finds-mary-parsons-not-guilty-of-witchcraft.html
Sources:
A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials, One town’s strange journey from paranoia to pardon, Jess Blumberg, October 23, 2007, Smithsonian, Retrieved October 29th 2019 from
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/
Climbing the Genealogy Tree Blog, Is There A Witch In Your Family?, Retrieved October 31st 2019 from
http://climbing-the-genealogy-tree.blogspot.com/2010/10/is-there-witch-in-your-family.html
Find A Grave, Mary Bliss Parsons, Retrieved October 31st 2019 from
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22828242
History of Witches and Witchcraft, Halloween Express, Retrieved October 30th 2019 from
https://www.halloweenexpress.com/history-of-witches-and-witchcraft/
Jury Finds Mary Parsons Not Guilty of Witchcraft, May 13, 1675, Mass Moments, Retreved October 31st 2019 from
https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/jury-finds-mary-parsons-not-guilty-of-witchcraft.html
The Manatee, Retrieved October 31st from
https://themanatee.net/
Northampton’s Mary Bliss Parsons slander and witch trial court documents, 22 News, Retrieved October 27th 2019 from
https://www.wwlp.com/news/digital-first/northamptons-mary-bliss-parsons-slander-and-witch-trial-court-documents/
The Tragedy of Macbeth Quotes, William Shakespeare, Retrieved October 31st from
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth/macbeth.4.1.html
Turn the Hearts Blog, Early America - Mary BLISS PARSONS, Retrieved October 31st from
http://larkturnthehearts.blogspot.com/2007/11/early-america-mary-bliss-parsons.html
A Witch? A Relative? Mary (Bliss) Parsons, Retrieved October 31st 2019 from
https://reneeriley.wordpress.com/2015/10/31/a-witch-a-relative-mary-bliss-parsons/
Links:
Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/
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