Original Records of Witchcraft Trial of Ralph and Mary Hall Who Afterward Fled to the Manor of Pelham

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"Ralph Hall thou standest here indicted, for that having not the feare

of God before thine eyes Thou did'st upon the 25th day of December,

being Christmas day last was 12 Moneths, and at severall other times

since, as is suspected, by some wicked and detestable Arts, commonly

called witchcraft and Sorcery, maliciously and feloniously practice and

Exercise, upon the Bodyes of George Wood, and an Infant Childe of

Ann  Rogers, by which said Arts, the said George Wood and the
Infant Childe (as is suspected) most dangerously and mortally fell
sick, and languisht unto death.  Ralph Hall, what does thou say for
theyselfe, art thou guilty, or not guilty?"

-- Witchcraft Charge Read Against Ralph Hall on October 2, 1665.

The witch hunt was underway.  George Wood had grown sick, languished, and died.  After his death, his widow had a child who also grew sick, languished, and died.  Something was terribly wrong in the English settlement of Seatalcott (also known as Setauket) on Long Island (today's Town of Brookhaven).  The only explanations for such incomprehensible losses were the "wicked and detestable Arts" known as "witchcraft and Sorcery."  A monumental witch hunt followed.

In 1665, New Yorkers Ralph and Mary Hall found themselves battling for their lives.  The pair was accused of using witchcraft and sorcery beginning on Christmas day, 1664 and at various times thereafter to cause the sicknesses and subsequent deaths of George Wood and the new baby of his widow, Ann Rogers.  The Constable and Town officials of Seatalcott charged the pair with murder by sorcery and witchcraft.  Ralph and Mary Hall were dragged before  the first session of the first Court of Assizes for the Colony of New York.

The Court of Assizes for the Colony of New York was established under the Duke's Laws in 1665.  The first session of the Court began on September 28, 1665 at New York before the Governor of the Colony, his Council, and the Justices of the Peace of the so-called East Riding of Yorkshire, a judicial district that was "ridden" on horseback by Justices of the Peace to dispense justice and that included Long Island.  The court's calendar in that first session has been described as follows:

"Thirteen actions were entered for trial, one original suit between Jno Richbell vs. Inhabitants of Huntington to be tried by the special warrant from the Governor; six appeals from Court of Sessions of Gravesend and other towns including one from the Mayors Court of New York; four bills in equity:  one action on the case and one of 'Trespasse.'"

Source:  Christoph, Peter R. & Christoph, Florence A., eds., New York Historical Manuscripts:  English -- Records of the Court of Assizes for the Colony of New York, 1665-1682, p. 1 (Baltimore, MD:  Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1983).

One of the thirteen actions tried by the new Court of Assizes during that first session in the fall of 1665 was the murder trial of Ralph and Mary Hall.  That trial was held in an adjourned session of the court on October 2, 1665.  The court met "at New Yorke on the Island of Manhattan."

The Stadt Huys (i.e., City Hall) Where the Court of Assizes Met

and Where Ralph and Mary Hall Were Tried on October 2, 1665.

Drawing by J. Carson Brevoort Prepared from a 1679 Sketch by

Jasper Danckaerts, and Printed as a Lithograph in 1867.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The Sheriff of New York, Allard Anthony, escorted the pair into Court that day.  In the courtroom was a jury of twelve:  Foreman Thomas Baker of Easthampton, Captain John Symonds of Hempstead, "Mr. Hallet" and Anthony Waters of Jamaica, Thomas Wandall of Marshpath Kills, "Mr. Nicolls" of Stamford, and six men from New York City including famed New Yorker Jacob Leisler:  Balthazer de Haart, John Garland, Jacob Leisler, Anthonio de Mill, Alexander Munro, and Thomas Searle.

The two prisoners, Ralph and Mary Hall, were brought before Sheriff Allard Anthony who read the indictment against them.  The two likely were terrified as they faced murder charges that could cost them their lives.  Court authorities read depositions from witnesses to the jury.  Not a single witness, however, appeared in person to testify against the prisoners.

After the deposition testimony was read, the Clerk of the Court of Assizes had each of the two prisoners stand, raise their hand, and asked them how they plead:  "art thou guilty, or not guilty?"  Both pleaded not guilty and "threw themselves to bee Tryed by God and the Country."

The twelve jurors deliberated and soon returned with the following verdict:

"Wee having seriously considered the Case committed to our Charge, against the Prisoners at the Barr, and having well weighed the Evidence, wee finde that there are some suspitions by the Evidence, of what the woman is Charged with, but nothing considerable of value to take away her life.  But in reference to the man wee finde nothing considerable to charge him with."

The Court of Assizes immediately imposed sentence on the two prisoners.  The Court directed that Ralph Hall "should bee bound Body and Goods for his wives Apperance, at the next Sessions, and so on from Sessions to Sessions as long as they stay within this Government, In the meane while, to bee of and upon Entring into a Recognizance, according to the Sentence of the Court they were released."

Poor Ralph and Mary Hall seem to have fled Seatalcott/Setauket (Brookhaven).  Indeed, they seem to have fled to the island owned by Pelham founder Thomas Pell that we now know as City Island.  See Drake, Samuel G., Annals of Witchcraft in New England and Elsewhere in the United States from their First Settlement Drawn Up from Unpublished and Other Well Authenticated Records of the Alleged Operations of Witches and Their Instigator, the Devil, pp. 125-27 (NY, NY: Burt Franklin 1869) ("Under these Bonds they continued until the 21st of August, 1668, at which Time 'they were living upon the Great Miniford's Island.'").

I have written before about poor Ralph and Mary Hall and their persecution for witchcraft well before the hysteria of the Salem Witchcraft trials later in the 17th century.  See:

Bell, Blake A., Ralph and Mary Hall (Persecuted in the 17th Century for Witchcraft) Fled to the Manor of Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XV, Issue 34, Sep. 1, 2006, p. 8, col. 2.   

Thu., Oct. 30, 2014:  Did Thomas Pell Act on Pangs of Remorse After Witchcraft Persecution Involving His Family?

Fri., May 12, 2006:  Possible Evidence that Residents of the Manor of Pelham Were Acquitted in Rare 17th Century Witchcraft Trial in New York.

It seems likely that Thomas Pell's pangs of remorse over his family's earlier involvement as witnesses at the witchcraft trial of Goody Knapp, who was executed after a finding that she was a witch, led him to allow Ralph and Mary Hall to settle on Great Minneford Island (today's City Island) that he owned.  Indeed, as I have noted before, the Reverend Nathaniel Brewster who began preaching in Setauket the same year Ralph and Mary Hall were accused by local authorities of witchcraft and sorcery was a stepson of Pelham founder Thomas Pell and preached periodically in Eastchester, once part of the Manor of Pelham until Thomas Pell sold the land to the so-called Ten Families who founded the settlement.  Brewster may well have played a role in helping Ralph and Mary Hall settle on his stepfather's island.  See Tue., Nov. 04, 2014:  Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, Stepson of Thomas Pell.

Below is a transcription of material from "New York Historical Manuscripts:  English -- Records of the Court of Assizes for the Colony of New York, 1665-1682" relating to the trial of Ralph and Mary Hall who fled Setauket on Long Island to settle on City Island in 1668.

*          *          *          *          *

"[38-43]

[CALENDAR:  Oct. 2 Trial of Ralph Hall and Mary, his wife, for witchcraft.  The prisoner was brought to the bar by Allard Anthony, sheriff of New York;  indictment by constable and overseers of Seatalcott read, charging prisoners with murder of George Wood and an infant child of Ann Rogers, widow of George Wood, by sorcery and witchcraft; several depositions are read but no witnesses appear; prisoners plead not guilty, Vedict of jury that there is sligh suspicion against the woman but nothing against the man.  Sentence of court that the man give bond for his wife's appearance at each sessions while they stay within the government and for her good behaiour.  Bond given.]

[TEXT (FROM DH4):]

At the court of Assizes held in New Yorke the 2d day of October 1665 etc.

The Tryall of Ralph and Mary his wife, upon suspicion Witchcraft.

The names of the persons who served on the Grand Jury.

Thomas Baker, Foreman of the Jury, of East Hampton.

Capt. John Symonds of Hempsteed.

Mr. Hallet             }
                             }  Jamaica
Anthony Waters   }

Thomas Wandall of Marshpath Kills.

Mr. Nicolls of Stamford

Balthazer de Haart   }
John Garland           }
Jacob Leisler            }     of New Yorke.
Anthonio de Mill       }
Alexander Munro     }
Thomas Searle        }

The Prisoners being brought to the Barr by Allard Anthony, Sheriffe of New Yorke,  This following Indictment was read, first against Ralph Hall and then against Mary his wife, vizt.

The Constable and Overseers of the Towne of Seatallcott, in the East Riding of Yorkshire upon Long Island, Do Present for our Soveraigne Lord the King, That Ralph Hall of Seatallcott aforesaid, upon the 25th day of December; being Christmas day last, was Twelve Monthes, in the 15th yeare of the Raigne of our Soveraigne Lord, Charles the Second, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith etc., and severall other dayes and times since that day, by some detestable and wicked Arts, commonly called Witchcraft and Sorcery, did (as is suspected) maliciously and feloniously, practice and Exercise at the said towne of Seatalcott in the East Riding of Yorkshire on Long Island aforesaid, on the Person of George Wood, late of the same place by which wicked and detestable Arts, the said George Wood (as is suspected) most dangerously and mortally sickned and languished, And not long after by the aforesaid wicked and detestable Arts, the said George Wood (as is likewise suspected) dyed.

Moreover, The Constable and overseers of the said Towne of Seatalcott, in the East Riding of Yorkshire upon Long Island aforesaid, do further Present for our Soveraigne Lord the King, That some while after the death of the aforesaid George Wood, The said Ralph Hall did (as is suspected) divers times by the like wicked and detestable Arts, commonly called Witchcraft and Sorcery, Maliciously and feloniously practise and Exercise at the said Towne of Seatalcott, in the East Riding of Yorkshire upon Long Island aforesaid, on the Person of an Infant Childe of Ann Rogers, widdow of the aforesaid George Wood deceased, by which wicked and detestable Arts, the said Infant Childe (as is suspected) most dangerously and mortally sickned and languished, and not long after by the said Wicked and detestable Arts (as is likewise suspected) dyed, And so the said Constable and Overseers do Present, That the said George Wood, and the said Infante said Childe by the wayes and meanes aforesaid, most wickedly maliciously and feloniously were (as is suspected) murdered by the said Ralph Hall at the times and places aforesaid, against the Peace of Our Soveraigne Lord the King and against the Laws of this Government in such Cases Provided.

The like Indictment was reade, against Mary the wife of Ralph Hall.

Therer upon, severall Depositions, accusing the Prisoners of the fact for which they were endicted were read, but no witnesse appeared to give Testimony in Court vive voce.

Then the Clarke calling upon Ralph Hall, bad him hold up his hand, and read as followes.

Ralph Hall thou standest here indicted, for that having not the feare of God before thine eyes Thou did''st upon the 25th day of December, being Christmas day last was 12 Moneths, and at severall other times since, as is suspected, by some wicked and detestable Arts, commonly called witchcraft and Sorcery, maliciously and feloniously practice and Exercise, upon the Bodyes of George Wood, and an Infant Childe of Ann Rogers, by which said Arts, the said George Wood and the Infant Childe (as is suspected) most dangerously and mortally fell sick, and languisht unto death.  Ralph Hall, what does thou say for theyselfe, art thou guilty, or not guilty?

Mary the wife of Ralph Hall was called upon in like manner.

They both Pleaded not guilty and threw themselves to bee Tryed by God and the Country.

Where upon, their Case was referr'd to the Jury, who brought in to the Court, this following verdict vizt.

Wee having seriously considered the Case committed to our Charge, against the Prisoners at the Barr, and having well weighed the Evidence, wee finde that there are some suspitions by the Evidence, of what the woman is Charged with, but nothing considerable of value to take away her life.  But in reference to the man wee finde nothing considerable to charge him with.

The Court there upon, gave this sentence, That the man should bee bound Body and Goods for his wives Apperance, at the next Sessions, and so on from Sessions to Sessions as long as they stay within this Government, In the meane while, to bee of and upon Entring into a Recognizance, according to the Sentence of the Court they were released.

[MOULTON:  The most extraordinary trial that occurs in the annals of our juridical history took place at this first Court of Assize.  It was a trial for suspicion of witchcraft on the 2 Oct. 1665.

A list of the Grand jury (12) were named

The prisoners were Ralph Hall and Mary his wife.  The prisoner being brought to the bar by the sheriff of New York the Indictment was read, viz:  The Constable and overseers of the Towne of Seatalcott, in the East Riding of Yorkshire upon Long Island do present for our Sovereign Lord the King that Ralph Hall of Seatalcott aforesaid upon the 25 Dec. being Christmas day last past and severall other dayes and times since that day by some detestable and wicked Arts comonly called Witchcraft and Sorcery, did (as is suspected) maliciously and feloniously practice and excercise at the said towne etc. on the person of George Wood by which wicked and detestable Arts the said George Wood (as is suspected) Most dangerously and Mortally sickened and languished and not long after etc. dyed.'

Another count in the Indictment charges him with like wicked and detestable art of witchcraft (as is suspected) practiced afterwards upon an infant child of the widow of said Wood, by which the child also died.  And so the said Constable and overseers do present that the said George Wood and the said Infant childe by the ways and meanes aforesaid were (as is suspected) murdered by said Ralph Hall etc.

The like Indictment was read against Mary the wife of Hall.

Whereupon depositions of witnesses accusing prisoners of the fact were read but no witnesses appeared to give testimony in court viva voce.

The prisoners were then separately called for by the 'Clarke' to hold up their hands while he recapitulated the substance of the Indictments.

They both pleaded not guilty and threw themselves to be tried by God and the country.

Whereupon their case was referr'd to the Jury who brought into Court this verdict, viz:  We having seriously considered the case committed to our charge against the Prisoners at the Barr and having well weighed the Evidence Wee finde that there are some suspitions by the Evidence, of what the woman is charged with, but nothing considerable of value to take away her life.  But in reference to the man we finde nothing considerable to charge him with.  'The Court thereupon gave this pretence that the Man should be bound body and goods for his wife's appearance at the next sessions, and so on from sessions to sessions, as long as they stay within this Government.  In the mean while 'to live of the good Behavior.'  So they were returned into the sheriff's custody and upon Entering into a Recognizance according to the sentence, they were released.]"

Source:  Christoph, Peter R. & Christoph, Florence A., eds., New York Historical Manuscripts:  English -- Records of the Court of Assizes for the Colony of New York, 1665-1682, pp. 9-12 (Baltimore, MD:  Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1983).

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Another Account of the 1653 Witchcraft Trial of Goodwife Knapp In Which Thomas Pell's Wife Testified

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"When . . . reminded that she was now to die, and therefore should deal truly, she burst into tears, and desired her persecutors to cease, saying, in words that must have lingered long in the memory of those who heard, and which it is impossible now to read without emotion, -- 'never, never, poor creature was tempted as I am tempted; pray, pray for me.'"

-- Words of Goodwife Knapp not long before she was hanged for witchcraft following testimony by Lucy Brewster Pell, wife of Thomas Pell.

"If this [implicating another as a witch while on the gallows] was done in the hope of obtaining a reprieve, as seems likely, the poor creature was disappointed, for she was speedily turned off by the executioner, and hung suspended until life was extinct."

-- Account of the execution of Goodwife Knapp for witchcraft in late 1653.

By the 1650’s a preoccupation with the supernatural and a hysterical effort to root out those who “covenanted” with the spectral world had swept through Connecticut – home of Thomas Pell, the founder of the Manor of Pelham.  Sadly, it seems that Thomas Pell’s family members were not immune from the hysteria. Thomas Pell's wife, Lucy, and his step-daughters were involved in the witchcraft persecution that led to the execution of Goodwife Knapp not long before Thomas Pell acquired the lands that became Pelham and surrounding areas.

I have written on several occasions of the involvement of Lucy Brewster Pell and her daughters in the witchcraft persecution of poor Goodwife Knapp in 1653.  See:

Fri., Jul. 07, 2006:  The Involvement of Thomas Pell's Family in the Witchcraft Persecution of Goody Knapp. 

Thu., Oct. 30, 2014:  Did Thomas Pell Act on Pangs of Remorse After Witchcraft Persecution Involving His Family?

Bell, Blake A., The Involvement of Thomas Pell's Family in the Witchcraft Persecution of Goody Knapp, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 4, Jan. 23, 2004, p. 11, col. 1.

We know a great deal about the witchcraft trial and execution of Goodwife Knapp due to a subsequent lawsuit brought by the husband of Goodwife Staples, an acquaintance of Goodwife Knapp who implicated Staples in witchcraft from the gallows steps in an unsuccessful effort to gain a reprieve.  Mr. Staples sued to clear his wife's name and succeeded.  The depositions taken during that lawsuit, however, paint a horrid, sad, and brutal persecution and execution of Goodwife Knapp.

We may know a great deal about the witchcraft persecution, trial, and execution of Goodwife Knapp, but we do not know precisely what conduct led to the witchcraft accusations against her.  We do know, however, of the torment and anguish that Goodwife Knapp suffered before her execution.  

After her conviction, an ad hoc "committee" of women visited her in confinement.  Lucy Brewster Pell led the group, accompanied by two of her daughters referenced as "Goody Lockwood, and Goodwife Purdy."  These were step-daughters of Thomas Pell, likely the product of Lucy Brewster Pell's first marriage to Francis Brewster who was lost at sea in 1647.  The women tormented Goodwife Knapp, demanding that she confess to witchcraft and threatening that unless she confessed, the devil would take her soul more quickly after her death.  Goody Knapp seemed to believe that the ulterior motive of the women was to have her implicate an acquaintance -- Goodwife Staples -- as a witch.  Goodwife Knapp refused, saying she "must not say anything that was not true" and "must not return evil for evil."  She further warned the women against encouraging such accusations, saying "Take care, that the devil have not you; for you cannot tell how soon you may be my companion."

The women led by Lucy Pell and her daughters continued their onslaught and continued to demand a witchcraft confession from Goody Knapp.  They urged her to confess since, due to her conviction, she would die anyway.  At this, Knapp burst into tears.  She begged her persecutors to cease and piteously cried "never, never, poor creature was tempted as I am tempted; pray, pray for me."

 On the appointed day, a procession of "magistrates and ministers, young persons and those of maturer years, doubtless nearly the entire population of Fairfield" led Goodwife Knapp to the gallows.  Even along the way the local minister urged Goody Knapp to confess to witchcraft.  

At the gallows, Goody Knapp mounted the ladder and had a "moment's grace."  She then descended the ladder and approached Roger Ludlow, one of the magistrates involved in her trial.  She whispered in his ear and then returned to the gallows where she "was speedily turned off by the executioner, and hung suspended until life was extinct."

Once dead, the body of Goodwife Knapp was cut down and laid next to a grave that had been dug nearby.  Once again, a group of women stepped forward and demanded to examine the body for marks of the devil.  One of those women was Goody Staples.  According to one account:

"Calling upon her companions to look at the supposed witch-marks, she [Goody Staples] declares that they were naught but such as she herself or any woman had.  'Aye, and be hanged for them, and deserve it too,' was the reply of one of the older women present.  Whereupon a general clamor ensued, and seeing that there was now nothing to be gained, and much to be apprehended if she persisted, Mrs. Staples yielded, and returned home."  

What did Goodwife Knapp whisper in the ear of magistrate Roger Ludlow immediately before she was hanged?  Apparently in hopes of a last minute reprieve, she repeated a story she had told before about an acquaintance and neighbor, Goodwife Staples.  She told Ludlow that Goodwife Staples had admitted that an Indian had visited her and shown her glowing objects as bright as day that were Indian gods that would bring wealth and power to their possessor.  

Goodwife Staples saw Goody Knapp whisper in the ear of Magistrate Ludlow at the gallows and must have feared what Goody Knapp told him.  Indeed, Goodwife Staples was the one who exclaimed to the women who examined the body for marks of the devil that all the marks present "were naught but such as she herself or any woman had."

After these sad events, Roger Ludlow repeated Goodwife Knapp's last words about Goody Staples and the glowing Indian objects.  The husband of Goody Staples sued Ludlow to clear his wife's name.  The records of that lawsuit preserve the story of this terrible moment in the history of the family of Thomas Pell and the settlement of Fairfield.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes the text of yet another account of the witchcraft persecution, trial, and execution of Goodwife Knapp.  The text, from a book published in 1886, is followed by a citation and link to its source.

June 10, 1692 Hanging of Accused Witch,

Bridge Bishop of Salem, Massachusetts.

NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

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"'In October, 1653, about two and a half years after the event just narrated, the General Court passed another resolution in the following words:  'Mr. Ludlow, Mr. Wells, Mr. Westwood and Mr. Hull, are desired to keep a perticulier Courte at Fairfield, before winter to execute justice there as cause shall require. 4  [Footnote 4 reads:  "Col. Rec., i. 249."]

'The unfortunate person on whose account justice was to be executed was, as before, a woman, charged with witchcraft.  She is designated simply as 'Knapp's wife,' or 'goodwife Knapp,' in the only account we have of the proceedings; namely a number of depositions in the case of Thomas Staples of Fairfield, who in the spring of 1654, sued Roger Ludlow of that place, for calling his wife a witch.  It is not impossible that goody Knapp may have been the wife of Roger Knapp of New Haven, who removed to Fairfield, although his name is not mentioned among the residents there until 1656.  His son, Nathaniel, lived in Pequannock in 1690, and joined the church afterwards organized there, his name occur- [Page 148 / Page 149] ring frequently upon the early records of the North Church in Bridgeport.

'The trial took place in the autumn of 1653, before a jury and several 'godly magistrates' (the same probably that are named in the order of the General Court), and doubtless lasted several days.  There were many witnesses, but the indictment and the substance of the greater part of their testimony are wanting.  We learn, however, that a strong and perhaps decisive point against the accused, was the evidence of Mrs. Lucy Pell and Goody Odell, the midwife, who by direction of the Court had examined the person of the prisoner, and testified to finding upon it certain witch marks, which were regarded as proof positive of intimacies.  Mrs. Jones, wife of the Fairfield minister, was also present at this examination, but whether as a spectator or as one of the examiners, is not clearly stated.

'The jury brought in a verdict of guilty, and goodwife Knapp was sentenced to death.  After her condemnation she was visited by numbers of the towns-people, who constantly urged her to confess herself a witch and betray her accomplices, on the ground that it would be for the benefit of her soul; and that while there might have been some reason for her silence before the trial, since a confession then might have prejudiced her case, there could be none now, for the reason that she was sure to die in any event.  The pains of perdition were held up to her as sure to be her position, in case of a refusal.

'Upon one of these occasions, the minister and a number of the towns-people being present, the poor woman replied to her well-meaning tormentors that she 'must not say anything that was not true,' she 'must not wrong anybody,' but that if she had anything to say before she went out of the world she would reveal it to Mr. Ludlow, at the gallows.  Elizabeth Brewster, a bystander, answered coarsely, 'if you keep it a little longer till you come to the ladder, the devil will have you quick, if you reveal it not till then.'  'Take care,' replied the prisoner indignantly, 'that the devil have not you; for you cannot tell how soon you may be my companion.' 'The [Page 149 / Page 150] truth is,' she added, 'you would have me to say that goodwife Staples is a witch, but I have sins enough to answer for already, and I hope that I shall not add to my condemnation; I know nothing against goodwife Staples, and I hope she is an honest woman.'  She was sharply rebuked by Richard Lyon, one of her keepers, for this language, as tending to create discord between neighbors after she should be dead, but she answered, 'goodman Lyon, hold your tongue, you know not what I know; I have been fished withall in private more than you are aware of.  I apprehend that goodwife Staples hath done me wrong in her testimony, but I must not return evil for evil.'  When further urged, and reminded that she was now to die, and therefore should deal truly, she burst into tears, and desired her persecutors to cease, saying, in words that must have lingered long in the memory of those who heard, and which it is impossible now to read without emotion, -- 'never, never, poor creature was tempted as I am tempted; pray, pray for me.'

Yet it appears that her fortitude sometimes gave way, and that she was induced to make a frivolous confession to the effect that Mrs. Staples once told her that an Indian had brought to her several little objects brighter than the light of day, telling her that they were Indian gods, and would certainly render their possessor rich and powerful; but that Mrs. Staples had refused to receive them.  This story she subsequently retracted.

'The procession to the place of execution, which is stated by an eye-witness to have been 'between the house of Michael Try and the mill,' or a little west of Stratfield boundary, included magistrates and ministers, young persons and those of maturer years, doubtless nearly the entire population of Fairfield.  On the way to the fatal spot the clergyman 5 [Footnote 5 reads"  "Rev. John Jones, who came from England in 1635."] again exhorted the poor woman to confess, but was rebuked by her companion Mrs. Staples, who cried, 'Why bid her confess what she is not?  I make no doubt, but that if she were a witch she would confess.'

'Under the shadow of the gallows the heart of Goody Knapp must again have failed her, for being allowed a [Page 150 / Page 151] moment's grace after she had mounted the ladder, she descended and repeated her former trifling story respecting Mrs. Staples, in the ear of Mr. Ludlow, her magistrate.  If this was done in the hope of obtaining a reprieve, as seems likely, the poor creature was disappointed, for she was speedily turned off by the executioner, and hung suspended until life was extinct.

'When the body had been cut down and laid upon the green turf beside the grave, a number of women crowded about it eager to examine the witch signs.  In the foreground we see Mrs. Staples kneeling beside the corpse, and in the language of one of the witnesses, 'wringing her hands and taking ye Lord's name in her mouth,' as she asseverates the innocence of the murdered woman.  Calling upon her companions to look at the supposed witch-marks, she declares that they were naught but such as she herself or any woman had.  'Aye, and be hanged for them, and deserve it too,' was the reply of one of the older women present.  Whereupon a general clamor ensued, and seeing that there was now nothing to be gained, and much to be apprehended if she persisted, Mrs. Staples yielded, and returned home.  

Among the names occurring in that narrative are some like Gould, Buckly and Lyon, that are common in Fairfield to this day.  The Odells and Sherwoods may have been residents of Pequannock. 6  [Footnote 6 reads:  "There were no settlers at Pequannock as early as 1654."]  Mr. Ludlow saw fit to repeat the story told him by the dying woman, and to further assert that Mrs. Staples had not only laid herself under the suspicion of being a witch, but 'made a trade of lying.'  Hence the suit already mentioned, in which the New Haven Court had the good sense to give a decision in favor of the plaintiff, and allow him fifteen pounds damages."

Source:  Orcutt, Samuel, A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport Connecticut, Part I, pp. 148-51 (New Haven, CT:  Press of Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1886) (Published under the auspices of the Fairfield County Historical Society).

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Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, Stepson of Thomas Pell

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Thomas Pell is widely considered the founder of the Manor of Pelham though he never resided permanently on the lands that he acquired from local Native Americans on June 27, 1654.  According to Pell's will, Pell left no issue (offspring) of his own.  In 1647, however, he married Lucy Brewster, the widow of Francis Brewster of Fairfield.  Lucy brought to her second marriage several children from her first marriage to Francis Brewster.  One of those children, Nathaniel Brewster, had 17th century ties to Eastchester and Pelham and is the subject of today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog.  

Nathaniel Brewster was born to Francis and Lucy Brewster before 1618.  [Knapp, Alfred Averill, The Ancestral Lines of Mary Lenore Knapp, p. 117 (Ann Arbor, MI:  Edwards Brothers, Inc., 1948).]  Brewster died in 1690 in Setauket (now Brookhaven), Long Island.  See id.  In about 1644, shortly before his father was lost at sea in 1646, Nathaniel married Abigail Reynes, a daughter of John Reynes whose mother is unknown.  See id.  

Nathaniel Brewster and his first wife, Abigail Reynes, had at least two children:  John Brewster, born about 1645 in England, and Abigail Brewster.  Shortly after Thomas Pell acquired the lands that became the Manor of Pelham in 1654, Nathaniel Brewster married his second wife, Sarah Ludlow, who was a daughter of Roger Ludlow and his wife, Mary (Cogan) Ludlow in about 1655/56.  Roger Ludlow was an important early English settler who helped found the Colony of Connecticut as well as Fairfield and Norwalk.  Id.  According to one source, Nathaniel and his second wife, Sarah, had at least the following children:

"Sarah Brewster, b. about 1656.  m. Jonathan Smith. . . . 

Timothy Brewster, b. about 1858.  m. Mary Hawkins. . . . 

Daniel Brewster, bapt. 10-31-1662, Alby, England.  m. about 1693, Anne Jayne, dau. of William Jayne. . . . 

Hannah Brewster, b. about 1669/70. or 5-19-1679.  m. 1st, John Muncey.  2nd, John or Samuel Thompson. . . . 

Dinah Brewster, b. about 1666.  m. 4-6-1685, Joseph Tooker, son of Capt. John and Sarah Tooker. . . . 

Deborah Brewster, not proven by records."

Id., p. 118.

Nathaniel Brewster graduated from Harvard in 1642.  He served as a preacher in England from 1643 until 1663.  He returned to America at an opportune time.  His stepfather, Thomas Pell, had sold a large section of his land on June 24, 1664 to Philip Pinckney and others to permit the establishment of the settlement that became Eastchester.  The original ten families of Eastchester plus others who joined them built houses and settled adjacent to the lands owned by Thomas Pell.  

In 1665, the settlers of Eastchester agreed to the "Eastchester Covenant," an early 17th century copy of which still exists.  The Eastchester Covenant contained articles of agreement by which the early settlers agreed to abide as if the articles had the force of Town law.  One of the articles, designated number "19." in the early copy of the Eastchester Covenant, provided "That we give some encouragement to Mr. Bruwster eatch other weecke to give us a word of exortation and that when we are settelled we mete togeather etch other weeke one hour to talke of the best things."  [For an image of the early copy of the Eastchester Covenant, see Eastchester 350, Archive of Original Records:  Eastchester Covenant, 1665 <http://eastchester350.org/350/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Eastchester-Covenant1.pdf> (visited Nov. 1, 2014).]  

The "Mr. Bruwster" referenced in the above-quoted article was Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, a stepson of Thomas Pell.  Though Brewster had preached in England for nearly two decades, in 1663 he returned to America after "The Great Ejection" that followed the Act of Uniformity 1662 in England.  In The Great Ejection, about two thousand Puritan ministers left their positions as Church of England clergy, following changes after the restoration of Charles II to power following The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell.  

For a very short time after his arrival in America, Brewster preached in Boston.
 Beginning in 1664, however, Brewster began preaching every other week in the tiny settlement of Eastchester  [See, generally, Morgan, Eloise L., ed., Out of the Wilderness -- The Emergence of Eastchester, Tuckahoe & Bronxville, NY 1664-2014, p. 67 & nn.154-57 (Privately Printed, Eastchester 350th Anniversary, Inc.).]  It would appear that Thomas Pell's ties to the tiny settlement of Eastchester facilitated a paid, though brief, tenure for Pell's stepson, Nathaniel Brewster, who preached to the Eastchester settlers every other week for about a year.  By 1665, however, Brewster removed to Setauket [now Brookhaven], Long Island where he preached for twenty-five years until his death in 1690.  Id.  It appears that Nathaniel Brewster removed to Eastchester not only because he had an opportunity to preach there, but also because certain of his children already lived there (see below).

This information sheds fascinating light on a matter about which I have written several times involving settlers who were allowed in 1669 to live on Minneford Island (today's City Island), part of the lands owned by Thomas Pell of the Manor of Pelham.  Nathaniel Brewster, Pell's stepson, was a preacher in Setauket in 1665 and thereafter.  Early in his tenure as a preacher in Setauket, a local husband and wife, Ralph and Mary Hall, were accused of practicing witchcraft and harming local residents who had become sick.  They were brought before the Court of Assizes which, after a witchcraft trial, sentenced the couple as follows:

"[Ralph Hall] 'should be bound Body and Goods for his Wife's Appearance at the next Sessions and so on from Sessions to Sessions, as long as they stay in this Government. In the mean While to be of good Behaviour.'"  The Court's message in its sentencing was clear:  "GET OUT!"  By August 21, 1668, the couple was living on Great Miniford's Island," part of the land owned by Thomas Pell.  [See Drake, Samuel G., Annals of Witchcraft in New England and Elsewhere in the United States from their First Settlement Drawn Up from Unpublished and Other Well Authenticated Records of the Alleged Operations of Witches and Their Instigator, the Devil, pp. 125-27 (NY, NY: Burt Franklin 1869).]

Although I have speculated that Thomas Pell's pangs of remorse over his family's earlier involvement may have played a role in allowing Ralph and Mary Hall to settle on Pell's lands, it would certainly seem that the circumstantial evidence is strong that Setauket preacher Nathaniel Brewster brokered an arrangement with his stepfather, Thomas Pell, to allow Ralph and Mary Hall to flee Setauket and settle on Minneford Island, part of Thomas Pell's lands. 

To read more about Ralph and Mary Hall of Setauket and their witchcraft persecution, see:  

See Fri., May 12, 2006:  Possible Evidence that Residents of the Manor of Pelham Were Acquitted in Rare 17th Century Witchcraft Trial in New York.

Thu., Oct. 30, 2014:  Did Thomas Pell Act on Pangs of Remorse After Witchcraft Persecution Involving His Family?

Another interesting issue to consider in connection with Nathaniel Brewster's brief tenure as a Puritan preacher in Eastchester is where did he and his family live.  No record has yet been located by this author to resolve this issue.  It is fascinating, however, to speculate that Brewster and his family lived in his stepfather's house believed to have been located on Pell's Point (today's Rodman's Neck) a thousand yards away from the center of the tiny little settlement of Eastchester at the time.  

We know that Brewster's stepfather, Thomas Pell, owned a home on a farm in Pelham due to the inventory of that portion of Pell's estate within the colony of New York taken shortly after his death in late September, 1669.  The inventory of Thomas Pell's New York estate is a fascinating document that seems to reveal much about Pelham's earliest years.  According to tradition, Thomas Pell never lived on the lands bought from Native Americans that came to be known as Pelham. His principal abode remained in Fairfield in the Colony of Connecticut.  The inventory, however, strongly suggests that Thomas Pell built a substantial farm on his Pelham lands and that the farm, which likely was located on what we know today as Rodman Neck, was in use at the time of Pell's death.  The inventory shows that Pell had "howsing [housing], lands, barnes" on the land that came to be known as Pelham.  There is an additional reference in the inventory to "House and land in Westchester" owned by Pell.  This is interesting because Westchester County was not created until 1683.  There was, however, a settlement known by the English as "West Chester" or "Westchester" in a portion of today's Bronx County on land that Pell sold to the early settlers of that community.  There is at least the possibility that Thomas Pell had a working farm on Rodman's Neck that included some form of housing as well as a house in the settlement of West Chester.  If, as tradition holds, Thomas Pell built a house and farm on today's Rodman's Neck, it would seem nearly a given that Nathaniel Brewster and his family would have stayed in the house during his time preaching at Eastchester.  Alternatively, they could have stayed in a house owned by Pell in the settlement of "West Chester" which was adjacent to the southern boundary of Eastchester.

One genealogist who has studied Nathaniel Brewster's life has written about him as follows:

"Nathaniel Brewster graduated at Harvard in 1642.  Preached in England from 1643 to 1663.  In Brookhaven, L.I. until his death [sic].  (It has also been said that he was Pastor at Setauket, L.I., from 1644 to 168, probably incorrect [sic].)  He was a member of the first class to graduate at Harvard in 1642.  Received the degree of B.D. from Dublin, Ireland in 1656.  In 1649 he appeared as Attorney for Thomas pell at Walderswish, Co. Suffolk, England.  His will was made 3-16-1684/85.  Proven 5-3-1695, at Brookhaven.  The will of John Reynes, dated 9-26-1662, proven 5-30-1663, mentions 'my son-in-law, Nathaniel Brewster who married my daughter'.  In a suit in England, 1660, Roger Ludlow is called 'natural and legal father of Jonathan-Joseph-Roger-Anne-Marie and Sarah ludlow.  If Sarah was still unmarried in 1660, she could have been the mother of Daniel and Timothy Brewster, but none older.  Roger Ludlow, father of Sarah, returned to England between 1651 and 1653.  Sarah's ancestry goes back to Magna Charta."

[Knapp, Alfred Averill, The Ancestral Lines of Mary Lenore Knapp, p. 117 (Ann Arbor, MI:  Edwards Brothers, Inc., 1948).]

Interestingly, Setauket citizens purchased a home for Rev. Nathaniel Brewster for use as a manse in Setauket (now Brookhaven), Long Island when he moved there in about 1665.  That home has been preserved, still stands, and is administered by the Ward Melville Heritage Organization.  The structure is believed to be the oldest now standing in the Town of Brookhaven.  It is a lovely saltbox-style structure created from the original "one-room cottage" built by Brewster in about 1665.  An image of the home appears below, embedded from within the Ward Melville Heritage Organization Web site.

The Brewster House, Town of Brookhaven, Long Island.

Photograph by Dr. Ira D. Koeppel, 2013.  Source:  This

Photograph is Embedded from the Ward Melville Heritage

Organization Web Site and is Not Copied To This Blog.  Thus,

If the Photograph is Removed from the Ward Melville Heritage

Organization Web Site or the Web Address for the Image

Changes, It Will No Longer Display Above.  See Image at

http://wmho.org/brewster-house.

A local historian has written of Nathaniel Brewster, his wife Sarah Ludlow Brewster and her father, Roger Ludlow, as follows:

"Roger Ludlow married a sister of Governor John Endicott.  It is probable that this marriage did not take place until after he came to America as none of his children were of age when he left New England.  One of his children was born at Windsor, and probably most of his other children were born at Fairfield.  His daughter Sarah married Nathaniel Brester.  'She is represented as a person eminently distinguished for her genius and literary acquirements.'  Savage supposes her husband Nathaniel Brewster to have been a son of Francis Brewster of the New Haven Colony, and a nephew of the celebrated Elder Brewster, of the Plymouth Colony.  He was a graduate in 1642 of the first class of Harvard College, and, on account of the liberality allowed at that time to all classes of christians [sic], he with most of his class returned to England.  He received the degree of B. D. from the Dublin University, and was settled as a minister over the parish of Alby in Norfolk County.  It was during his residence in England that he married Sarah Ludlow.  Upon the restoration of Charles II, Episcopacy being again restored, Brewster returned with his wife to New England, and from Oct. 1663 preached at the First Church in Boston.  He was settled over the church of Brookhaven, Long Island, in 1665, where he continued his pastoral duties for the remainder of his life.  He died in 1690.  Both he and his wife 'were buried in the Presbyterian burying-ground of Setauket, but the inscriptions on their tomb stones are too much effaced to be read.'  They left three sons, John, Timothy, and Daniel, whose numerous descendants are still found there.

Capt. Caleb Brewster of Black Rock, who distinguished himself in the Revolution, was one of the descendants of the Rev. Nathaniel Brewster and his wife Sarah Ludlow.  His grand-son, Caleb Brewster Hackley, who now resides at Black Rock, is the sole surviving representative in Fairfield of this distinguished family.  Still further light is thrown upon the family pedigree of Roger Ludlow, by Sir Anthony B. Strausham, of London."

[Schenk, Elizabeth Hubbell, The History of Fairfield - Fairfield County, Connecticut from the Settlement of the Town in 1639 to 1818, Vol. I, p. 319 (NY, NY:  Published for the Author by the Press of J. J. Little & Co., 1889).].

Gravestone of Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, Setauket

Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Setauket, Suffolk County, New York.

Photograph by Michael Sparks.  Source:  This

Photograph is Embedded from the Find-A-Grave Web Site

and is Not Copied To This Blog.  Thus, If the Photograph is Removed from

the FindAGrave.com Web Site or the Web Address for the Image

Changes, It Will No Longer Display Above.  See Image at

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=31597216

Another authority has written of Nathaniel Brewster as follows:

"[I]t is most remarkable that the identity of so prominent a clergyman as the Rev. Nathaniel Brewster should still be an unsettled question.  The compiler of the Brewster Genealogy, published in 1908, says:  'The problem upon which numerous genealogists have been working for many years concerning the parentage of Rev. Nathaniel Brewster of Brookhaven, L. I., has not been solved.'

Yet Mr. Savage, whose Genealogical Dictionary was published a half century ago, says that he was probably the son of Francis Brewster of New Haven, between whom and Elder William Brewster no kinship has yet been traced, though Mr. William A. Beers, author of a memoir of Roger Ludlow, quoted by Stiles in his History of Ancient Windsor, calls Francis, without authority, a 'nephew of Elder William Brewster.'  Sibley, in his Harvard Graduates (1873), accepts Mr. Savage's suggestion that Nathaniel was the son of Francis, who is credited in 1640 with a wife Lucy and a family numbering in all nine heads.  In 1646 Francis Brewster was one of the passengers on the ill-fated ship built in New Haven and sent out in command of Captain Lamberton, the loss of which at sea is said to have been disclosed to the anxious inhabitants through the apparition of the phantom ship.  Mrs. Lucy Brewster, his widow, married 2nd Dr. Thomas Pell and died in 1669.

Nathaniel Brewster was a member of the first class graduated at Harvard in 1642, his classmates being Benjamin Woodbridge, George Downing, John Bulkeley, William Hubbard, Samuel Bellingham, John Wilson, Henry Saltonstall and Tobias Barnard.  He married, according to Mr. Savage, Sarah Ludlow, daughter of Roger Ludlow, Deputy Governor of Massachusetts in 1637 and Chief of the Commission sent in 1639 to govern Connecticut, but when or where this union took place is not recorded. . . .

We are almost equally ignorant of the movements of Nathaniel Brewster after his graduation at Harvard, nor do we know when or why he went to England, though it was probably after the loss of his father.  The earliest note we find of him is in 1649, when Thomas Pell of New Haven, chirugeon, constituted Nathaniel Brewster of Walberswick, Co. Suffolk, his attorney.  This is pretty good evidence of Nathaniel's connection with the New Haven family, for Thomas Pell was his stepfather through marriage with the widow of Francis Brewster.  Brewster must have removed soon after to Norfolk, where he preached at several places.  A church was formed at Alby in that county in 1651 and Brewster seems to have had some connection with it from the first, but he did not settle there until 1653.  In 1654 an order of council directed that an augmentation of [36 pounds sterling], which had been granted for the better maintenance of Nathaniel Brewster, late minister of Nettisheard and Irsted, Norfolk, be paid to John Leverington from the time of Brewster's leaving it.

Mr. Brewster seems to have been persona grata to the Lord Protector Cromwell and to have been employed by him in affairs of State.  In 1655 he was sent to Ireland with the Protector's son Henry Cromwell, who went with a commission as major-General to command the forces there.  Oliver, writing to the Lord Fleetwood, Lord Deputy of Ireland, under date of 'Whitehall, 22nd June, 1655,' says of Brewster:

'Use this Bearer, Mr. Brewster, kindly.  Let him be near you:  indeed he is a very able holy man; trust me you will find him so.'  Carlyle, commenting on this letter, in Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, says:  'Of Mr. Brewster and the other reverend persons, Spiritual Fathers, held in such regard by the Lord Protector as is due to Spiritual Fatherhood, and pious nobleness of Intellect under whatever guise, I can say nothing:  they are Spiritual Great-grandfather's [sic] of ours, and we have had to forget them!  Some slight notices of Brewster, who I think was a Norfolk man: . . . are in the Milton State Papers:  they prove the fervent zeal, faith and fearlessness of these worthies.'

The Milton State Papers referred to are letters and papers addressed to Oliver Cromwell between 1649 and 1658, found among the political collections of John Milton, including several concerning the churches in Norfolk.  Among them is a document in regard to the parsonages of Alby and Twaite, presided over by Mr. Nathaniel Brewster, who, having constantly preached in both places, cannot raise above [50 pounds sterling] per annum out of both.  'So as the said Mr. Brewster, a great family, and much employed in the country by preaching freely, when there is need, is reduced to very great straits, and not like to continue in his function without assistance from the State.'

It was probably in consequence of this report that he was sent to Ireland by Cromwell.  Mr. Brewster was in Ireland somewhat more than a year, though apparently not continuously, as there is mention of him at Alby meanwhile.  He received, it is said, the degree of B. D. from the University of Dublin, but his name does not appear in the catalogue of graduates.  He was a widower at the time if he married, as is said, the daughter of Roger Ludlow.  His first wife is said to have been Abigail Reynes, daughter of John Reynes of Edgefield, Co. Norfolk, who must have been the mother of his 'great family' mentioned above.  Mr. Brewster was much older than Sarah Ludlow.  If the statement of his grandson to President John Adams be correct, that he was ninety-five years old at the time of his decease in 1690, he was born in 1595.  But this is scarcely probable, as he would have been forty-seven at his graduation from Harvard and sixty at the time of his marriage to Miss Ludlow, then a minor.  But if, as is usually stated, he was seventy years old at his decease, Dec. 18, 1690, he was born in 1620, and was therefore thirty-six years old at the time of his visit to Ireland.  As Jonathan, the eldest of Roger Ludlow's children, was then a minor, he could not have been more than twenty, and Sarah, if the youngest, not more than twelve years old.  Of course it is possible that the six children are not mentioned in the order of their birth, but even if Sarah were next to Jonathan she could scarcely have been more than half the age of the Rev. Nathaniel.  If she were 'eminently distinguished for her genius and literary acquirements,' as we are told, she must have gained them through her connection with the learned graduate of Harvard.

Mr. Brewster probably resumed his ministrations at Alby and Twaite on his return to England, but after the Restoration he came back to New England and preached in the First Church of Boston several months from October, 1663.  In 1665 he went to Brookhaven, Long Island, where his sister had settled and in the autumn of that year accepted a call as the first minister of the church there.  He was incapacitated from ministerial duties several months before his death."

[Champlin, John Denison, "Thompson and Brewster" in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Jan. 1915, Vol. XLVI, No. 1, pp. 4, 5-8 (NY, NY:  Jan. 1915).].

Another writing about the history of Long Island has written of Nathaniel Brewster as follows:

"There does not seem to have been any idea of anything but a civil government at Setauket (where was made the first settlement in Brookhaven) . . . Of course there was a clergyman in the community, and he was a man of parts, one who, if he was not one of the first colonists, came so early that he is acknowledged as the first minister.  He was the Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, a grandson of William Brewster, one of the Pilgrim Fathers.  His three sons were among the pioneers and it is thought that he merely went to Setauket to visit them and was induced to stay.  These sons were Timothy, Daniel and John, who became prominent in town affiars, the first named serving for twenty-three years as clerk, and the second being continued in that office for twenty-six years following.

There is no record in the earlier years, however, to show that Mr. Brewster was regarded as the minister of the town.  In fact, in 1662, the town meeting extended a call to a dominic named Fletcher to become the minister at a salary of [forty pounds sterling] a year, but whether he accepted or not cannot be determined.  But from his arrival Brewster acted as minister, and in 1665 seems to have fully accepted the charge, for a house was purchased for his use as a manse.  It was evidently a most superior structure, for it had doors and glass windows and other modern improvements.  Brewster died in 1690.  In 1685 he was laid aside from active work through ill-health, and Samuel Eburne, one of the men in Thompson's list, was chosen as his successor.

[Pelletreau, William S., A History of Long Island From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, p. 270 (NY and Chicago:  The Lewis Publishing Co., 1905).].

To read more about Nathaniel Brewster, stepson of Thomas Pell, see:

Long Island Genealogy:  The Brewster Family of Long Island - Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, LongIslandGenealogy.com <http://longislandgenealogy.com/Surname_Pages/brewster.htm> (visited Nov. 1, 2014).

FindAGrave:  Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, FindAGrave.com <http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=31597216> (visited Nov. 1, 2014).

Sullivan, May Lilian Hartwell, Rev. Nathaniel Brewster and His Wife, Sarah Ludlow.  Some of Their Descendants, (San Francisco, CA:  Privately Printed, 1919).  

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Did Thomas Pell Act on Pangs of Remorse After Witchcraft Persecution Involving His Family?

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Pelham youngsters will celebrate Halloween tomorrow.  What better time to consider monsters, witches, ghosts, and their relation to Pelham History?  

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog addresses 17th century witch hunts and their relation to Pelham History.  Yesterday's posting described a local sea monster known by some as the City Island Sea Serpent.  Tomorrow's posting will relate yet another account of a classic Pelham ghost story.

By the 1650’s a preoccupation with the supernatural and hysterical efforts to root out those who “covenanted” with the spectral world had swept through the Colony of Connecticut – home of Thomas Pell.  Sadly, Thomas Pell’s family members were not immune from the hysteria. 

In 1653, Pell's wife, Lucy, and his step-daughters (Elizabeth and Mary) were involved in a witchcraft persecution that led to the execution of Goodwife Knapp barely a year before Thomas Pell acquired the lands that became Pelham and surrounding areas.  

For those interested in learning more about these sad events, see:  

Fri., Jul. 07, 2006:  The Involvement of Thomas Pell's Family in the Witchcraft Persecution of Goody Knapp.  

Bell, Blake A., The Involvement of Thomas Pell's Family in the Witchcraft Persecution of Goody Knapp, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 4, Jan. 23, 2004, p. 11, col. 1.

June 10, 1692 Hanging of Accused Witch,

Bridge Bishop of Salem, Massachusetts.

Although Pell's wife and stepdaughters were heavily involved in the persecution of "Goody Knapp," there is no evidence of Thomas Pell's direct involvement.  Thomas Pell, however, cannot escape culpability for what happened to Goody Knapp.  First, his family's participation in the events that led to the hanging of Goody Knapp cannot be ignored.  Second, clearly Pell's wife, Lucy, kept him apprised of her involvement in the travesty of justice.  Indeed, there is a record of testimony in which Lucy Pell testified that regarding her efforts to force Goody Knapp to confess to being a witch, she told no one "but her husband."  Third, since Pell's wife and stepdaughters were present at the execution of Goody Knapp, it is not far-fetched to surmise that Thomas Pell likewise attended -- as did other Fairfield citizens.  In short, Thomas Pell, his family, and other Fairfield citizens at the time each bear a portion of the blame for the murder by hanging of poor Goody Knapp.

There is fascinating evidence from which it may be surmised that Thomas Pell may have had pangs of remorse regarding the execution of Goody Knapp.  It is, of course, impossible to gauge Pell's state of mind given that he left no record of his true intent.  Yet, one development late in Pell's life suggests that it is at least possible that he may have felt some guilt over the unfortunate end of Goody Knapp.

Thomas Pell owned a vast swath of land totaling about 50,000 acres that became known as the Manor of Pelham.  Among the lands he owned was Great Minneford Island, known today as City Island.  It appears that about a year before Pell's death in 1669, he may have provided refuge to Ralph Hall and Mary Hall of the Town of Seatalcott (later Setauket, now Brookhaven, Long Island).  Ralph and Mary Hall were dragged before the Court of Assizes in New York in 1665.  The charge in the indictment against Ralph Hall was that he:

"'upon the 25th Day of December [1663], being Christmas last was twelve Months, and several other Days and Times since that Day, by some detestable and wicked Arts, commonly called Witchcraft and Sorcery, did (as suspected) maliciously and feloniously practise and exercise, at the Town of Seatalcott [since Setauket, now Brookhaven], in the East Riding of Yorkshire, on Long Island, on the Person of George Wood, late of the same Place, by which wicked and detestable Arts the said George Wood (as is suspected) most dangerously and mortally sickened and languished, and not long after, by the aforesaid wicked and detestable Arts, the said George Wood (as is likewise suspected) died.' Also it was alleged, in the same Indictment, that an Infant Child of Ann Rogers, Widow of the aforesaid George Wood, had, 'some While after the Death' of Wood, sickened and died, and that its Death was caused by the said Hall. The same Indictment was also recited against the Wife of Hall, and then a Bundle of Depositions was read to the Court (no Witnesses appearing in Person), and the Accused called upon by the Clerk to hold up the right Hand, and the substance of the Charges were reiterated. They pleaded not Guilty, and their Case was committed to the Jury. In due Time the Jury rendered a Verdict, to the Effect that they 'found some Suspicions of what the Woman was charged with, but Nothing considerable of Value to take away her Life; but in Reference to the Man, we find Nothing considerable to charge him with.'"

The Court sentenced the couple as follows:  "[Ralph Hall] 'should be bound Body and Goods for his Wife's Appearance at the next Sessions and so on from Sessions to Sessions, as long as they stay in this Government. In the mean While to be of good Behaviour.'"  The Court's message was clear:  "GET OUT!"  By August 21, 1668, the couple was living on Great Miniford's Island," part of the land owned by Thomas Pell.  Source:  Drake, Samuel G., Annals of Witchcraft in New England and Elsewhere in the United States from their First Settlement Drawn Up from Unpublished and Other Well Authenticated Records of the Alleged Operations of Witches and Their Instigator, the Devil, pp. 125-27 (NY, NY: Burt Franklin 1869).

I have written of Ralph and Mary Hall before.  See Fri., May 12, 2006:  Possible Evidence that Residents of the Manor of Pelham Were Acquitted in Rare 17th Century Witchcraft Trial in New York.  

Perhaps the most intriguing part of this series of events is that it raises a question that can never be answered with certainty.  Did pangs of remorse over his family's involvement in the witchcraft persecution of Goody Knapp prompt Thomas Pell to give refuge to Ralph and Mary Hall ion a portion of Pell's land known today as City Island following their persecution for witchcraft on Long Island?

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