Between 1648 and 1688, four women were executed for witchcraft in Boston and Dorchester. Witchcraft can be loosely defined as the act of invoking evil spirits or consulting, covenanting with, entertaining, employing, feeding, or rewarding any evil spirit. In practice, it often meant the failure to conform. This week, we’re discussing the trials and executions of Margaret Jones, Alice Lake, Ann Hibbins, and Ann Glover, who fell victim to superstition and Puritan morality.
Women and Witchcraft
- Margaret Jones’ trial in John Winthrop’s journal
- A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft
- WBUR interview with Sara Black
- The Case of Ann Hibbins, Executed for Witchcraft at Boston in 1656
- Memorable Providences by Cotton Mather
- Samuel Sewall records the execution of Ann Glover
- The case of Ann Glover gets used to promote the racist myth of “Irish Slaves“
Boston Book Club
Witch Hunt Podcast host/ creator Nancy Mades-Byrd describes the series as a podcast about the history of scapegoating, and season one details the Salem witch trials.
To get you hooked, episode one asks the question – Why is Salem the witch hunt people remember? It examines the European roots of the Salem witch trials and features renowned author Frances Hill, author of “A Delusion of Satan.” In episode two, historian Dr. Mary Beth Norton discusses what was it about the villagers of Salem that made them the people most likely to unleash a witchcraft Hysteria. The ten episode season weaves together a compelling narratives and includes the reflections of direct descendants of some of the victims.
Upcoming Event
And for our upcoming event this week, we’re featuring a talk at Old South Meeting House that’s presented by the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands and cosponsored by the group Boston Harbor Now called “Peddocks Island: Rich History, Vital Future.” Peddocks is the second largest of the 34 Boston Harbor Islands. Managed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, it is a favorite park for day trips from Boston and family camping, but the island also has a rich history.
There’s archaeological evidence, including the oldest human remains ever found in Massachusetts, that the island was long occupied by Native Americans. It was the site of one of the first interactions between European visitors and the indigenous population, when a French trading ship visited in about 1616. Early English colonist Thomas Morton recalled in his 1637 book A New English Canaan, “upon some distaste given in the Massachusetts bay by the Frenchmen, then trading there with the natives for beaver, they set upon the men at such advantage that they killed many of them, burned their ship, then riding at anchor by an island there, now called Peddocks island.” The survivors were taken as captives, with Morton writing that the victors, “distribut[ed] them unto five sachems, which were lords of the several territories adjoining: they did keep them so long as they lived.”
In more recent history, Peddocks island was home to Fort Andrews, which was designed during the Spanish American War era and played a role in Boston’s harbor defenses during both World Wars. Visitors today can explore the crumbling barracks and the concrete bunkers that use to house cannons so big that they broke windows every time they were fired. They can also visit a cottage community that is the last remnant of Boston’s early 20th century Portuguese-American fishing fleet. Over the years, the island played host to a healthy trade in bootlegging and speakeasies during prohibition, to a venue for Sunday baseball when Boston’s blue laws prevented such frivolity on land, and to an entrepreneurial group from the Passamaquoddy tribe of Maine who came all the way to Boston Harbor to hunt seals for a cash bounty.
Today, Peddocks Island is at a crossroads, and the quiet campground and historic fort where your humble hosts have spent many happy summer weekends are slated for redevelopment. Plans are on the table to bulldoze much of historic Fort Andrews and replace it with a luxury hotel and spa, an outdoor concert venue, and a conference center. With that context, here’s how the event at Old South Meeting House is described:
Peddocks Island, a series of drowned drumlins, is part of the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park. It’s currently the largest of the 34 Boston Harbor Islands that is open to the public. Home to historic Fort Andrews, walking tours, geological features, and archaeological sites, the island is in the midst of an exciting redevelopment planning process led by Boston Harbor Now with the National Park Service and the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Cheri Ruane of Weston & Sampson Design Studio, lead consultant for the island’s development plan, and Alice Brown of Boston Harbor Now, will discuss fascinating highlights of the island’s past, present, and future.
The event will be held at 6:30pm on Thursday, October 10. It’s free and open to the public, but advanced registration is required. If you plan to attend, please listen with a skeptical ear for any whitewashing of a plan to convert one of Boston’s last great wild spaces to a luxury retreat open only to the elite.