Witch trials in Connecticut? The mass hysteria of Salem's persecution was absent but the injustice of wrongful accusations and suffering from it was there.
The Beginning of the Ordeal
The year was 1692, the same year the travesties of the Salem witch trials began. The accuser was Katherine Branch, a French servant girl who worked for Daniel Wescot. She victimized six women by her allegations. Branch had fits in April. It began when she was harvesting herbs. She said she felt something pinching her. When she returned home, she sobbed, then told Wescot about the experience.
She claimed to have seen a cat who promised her good things if she would follow it. A few days after this, she said she saw ten cats who said they would kill her for talking about what happened. She had more fits, accompanied by visions, for almost two weeks.
Branch accused Goodwife Elizabeth Clausen of being the witch who caused her troubles. Clausen was a woman of fine reputation, but had been feuding with Mrs. Wescot about an amount of spun flax.
Wescot asked a midwife to help. The woman said she thought Branch’s condition might have natural causes. The midwife tried different cures, none of which were effective. Finally, she concluded that Branch was bewitched. Emboldened, the girl accused five other women of being witches.
There was a court inquiry in May although Mrs. Wescot suspected Branch was lying. The accused denied they were witches. One fled to another colony to avoid arrest. Clausen and another of the accused, Mercy Disborough, were examined for witch’s marks. Clausen was exonerated, but Disborough was found to have unnatural wart like growths that were deemed evidence against her. Branch continued to experience her fits.
The Ordeal
Clausen and Disborough were imprisoned while evidence against them was sought. The trial began in September. They were indicted by a grand jury. They pled not guilty. Mary Staples and Hannah and Mary Harvey, three more of Branch’s victims, were accused and acquitted.
Disborough insisted on being given the swimming test. She and Clausen were tied up and thrown into the water. They floated, a sign of guilt.
The persecution continued. Many people were deposed and testified against the accused. The belief was that to defend those accused of witchcraft meant they were in league with the devil. Finally, two of Clausen’s neighbors defended her. Others joined them. Seventy-six people signed a petition testifying to Clausen’s good character and actions.
The jury could not reach a verdict. Five prominent ministers were asked to examine the evidence and court records of the trial. They said the swimming test couldn’t be evoked as evidence. This was illegal and sinful. Disborough’s growths could only be used as evidence if a physician prescribed this. They suspected Branch had lied.
The Outcome
The jury reconvened in October and heard additional testimony. At the same time, nineteen of the Salem victims had been hanged, 200 more were accused and 100 were imprisoned.
Disborough was convicted and sentenced to death. Clausen was found not guilty and released from jail. After the trial ended Disborough’s friends claimed the last half of the trial was illegal. One of the original jurors was absent. The woman was reprieved.
Source: Guiley, Rosemary Ellen, The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft. ISBN: 0-8160-3849-X.
