In 1656, Jane was back in court and was required to put up a bond of 20 pounds. The evidence was heard by a group of three men, Brian Pendleton, Henry Sherburne, and Renald Fernald. I also descend from all three of these men.
On this day, Susannah Trimmings testified that "On Lord's Day 30th of March at night going home with Goodwife Barton, she seperated from her at the freshet next to her house. On her return between Goodman Evens' and Robert Davis' she heard a rustling in the woods, which she at first thought was occasioned by swine, and presently after, there did appear to
her a woman whom she apprehended to be old Goodwife Walford. She asked me where my consort was; I answered I had none. She said thy consort is at home by this time. Lend me a pound of cotton. I told her I had but two pounds in the house, and I would not spare any to my mother. She said I had better have done it; that my sorrow was great already, and it should be greater for I was going a great journey but should ne'er come there. She then left me, and I was struck as with a clap of fire on the back, and she vanished toward the water side in my apprehension in the shape of a cat. She had on her head a white linen hood tied under her chin and her waistcoat and petticoat were read, with an old green apron and a black hat upon her head. Taken upon oath, 18th April 1656 before Brian Pendleton, Henry Sherburne, Renald Fernald."
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An unnamed witness came forward and stated that it could not have been Jane Walford because she had been at home, acting normally, at the time of Susannah Trimmings' incident.
Another witness against Jane Walford was Nicholas Rowe, who saw her as an apparition. He said she "came to the deponent in the evening and put her hand upon his breast so that he could not speak and was in great pain until the next day. By the light of the fire in the next room, it appeared to be Goody Walford but she did not speak."
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Thomas Walford - husband of Jane, the accused
Jane Walford
Martha Peverly
Christopher Noble
Mary Noble
Sarah Rand
Lydia Rand
Tryphenia Lunt
John Henry Cotton
Francis Llewellyn Cotton
Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother
For More Information See:
The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England by Carol F. Karlsen.
Witch-Hunting in Seventeenth-Century New England: A Documentary History 1638-1693, Second Edition by David D. Hall.
Brian Pendleton and His Descendants, 1599-1910, With Some Account of the Pembleton Families of Orange County, N.Y., Ostego County N.Y., and Luzerne County, Pa., and Notices of Other Pendletons of Later Origin in the United States, Everett Hall Pendleton, compiler.
Wow, this is interesting!! Thomas Peverel (Jane) was my 10th great grandfather on my fathers side. How very interesting to read this account!
ReplyDeleteThank you. My cousin tells me that we are descended from Jane and Thomas, too. Such a fascinating story. Melody Davis
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming since she was alive to sue the doctor that she was found innocent. Was Brian Pendleton one of the people that would have judged her? I'm aware He was a selectman but I am not aware of what they did. He was my 10x great grandfather also.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing this - also my 10th GGrandmother! Hello, family ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi, Jane Walford was my 9th Great Grandmother. This is a very Interesting find!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this - they are my 10th great grandparents as well and I had been looking for more details on the story
ReplyDeleteThomas Walford and Jane Guy Walford are my 9th Great Grandparents. I found this information as well during my ancestry research. I am also descended from William and Elizabeth Tuttle who came to the New World in 1635 on the Pilgrim ship the Planter. These are the ancestors of my Great Grandmother Ida Jane Tuttle Wilson. Her father was William S. Tuttle and Hannah Brown Tuttle.
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