Sorcery And Absolution

Hartford Courant

March 25, 2008

Thanks to the perseverance of a mother and daughter, state lawmakers are poised to come to terms with a troubled chapter in the state's history.

Debra Avery and her daughter, Addie, are descendants of Mary Sanford of Hartford, one of nearly a dozen Connecticut residents (most of them women) convicted of witchcraft and executed in the mid-1600s.

By contemporary standards, their "crimes" might be considered an independent streak or a mental illness. Ms. Sanford was reported to have been dancing outside late one night and consuming alcohol. By that standard, who among us is not a witch?

Historians say the witchcraft trials were a byproduct of a rigidly constrained Puritan society and harsh Colonial life. A more basic cause, however, is the tendency to look for a scapegoat.

Of the 29 people convicted in the infamous Salem witch trials in Massachusetts, 19 (14 women and five men) were hanged. Another man was crushed to death in an attempt to coerce him into entering a plea; others died in prison.

Records show Mary Sanford was probably hanged. The Averys believe it's time to set the record straight about their relative.

Lawmakers have drawn up a resolution absolving some 40 residents accused of practicing witchcraft and denouncing the trials. It doesn't name anyone (in case records turn up more people persecuted for witchcraft). Nor does it call for a pardon; Rep. Michael Lawlor, who helped to draft the resolution, reasons that a pardon would imply the victims had committed a crime.

This may not be the most pressing issue facing the General Assembly this term, but it's always good to set the record straight.