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Remember, the colonists were Puritans so they had very strong religious beliefs.

In some areas, things weren’t going so well for the colonists. They were fighting Native Americans, there were floods, and there was disease. Who might the colonists have blamed for these things?. Remember, the colonists were Puritans so they had very strong religious beliefs.

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Remember, the colonists were Puritans so they had very strong religious beliefs.

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  1. In some areas, things weren’t going so well for the colonists. They were fighting Native Americans, there were floods, and there was disease. Who might the colonists have blamed for these things? Remember, the colonists were Puritans so they had very strong religious beliefs.

  2. So they became worried about…

  3. Witchcraft

  4. In each of the New England colonies, they made it a capital crime (a VERY serious crime) to have any type of relationship with Satan.

  5. The Blue Laws Blue laws were mostly about what religious practices were allowed and what you were allowed to do on Sundays. There was a law added to the Blue Laws saying that any man or woman who was a witch can be put to death.

  6. Connecticut’s Witch Trials CT’s witch trials were held from the 1640’s until almost 1700. The first witch ever hanged in America was Alyse Young, who hanged in Connecticut. The good news is… Starting in 1662 the state of Connecticut said that the witching act had to be witnessed by more than 2 people. There were no executions of alleged witches after 1662 in Connecticut.

  7. Usually, trials were in a courtroom. Usually the woman or man accused of being a witch did not get a lawyer. If he or she was found guilty, the “witch” would be hanged.

  8. In 1692, they judged witches a different way. A person suspected of being a witch would have their right hand tied to their left foot and their left hand tied to their right foot. Then the person would be thrown into a pond or river. If the person floated, then they were a witch. If the person sank, then they were innocent. This happened in Fairfield in Edward’s Pond, which used to be right in the center of Fairfield.

  9. Famous Fairfield Witch Trials

  10. Goody Knapp 1660’s She had a reputation for having a temper and insulting people People believed that there were “imps” with witches Women examined Goody and said that she had sucking marks on her body People wanted her to name others but she wouldn’t and was hanged

  11. In 1692 two women named Catherine Branch and Mercy Disborough were accused on being witches. They did not find any marks on them but prosecutors REALLY wanted to convict them. Since there were no marks on them the court used the water method to test.

  12. Everybody said that both women floated. This was used in evidence during their trials. In Mercy Disborough’s trial, eleven jurors said she was guilty, but the twelfth would not give in. Mercy Disborough went free.

  13. Judges of the General Court demanded a new trial for Mercy Disborough. This time she was found guilty by the same jurymen as before, except one, who had gone to New York and was replaced. Nobody knows whether the missing juror was the one who said not guilty in the first trial is not known. Disborough eventually was let go because the way the court made the jury was illegal. After this, there were no more trials in Fairfield.

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