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Legacy of the Connecticut Witch Trials at the Naugatuck Event Center
October 12, 2019 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
The Legacy of the Connecticut Witch Trials will be held on October 12th from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm at the Naugatuck Event Center in Naugatuck.
Join Dr. Richard S. Ross, Beth Caruso and Tony Griego as they talk about the CT Witch Trials.
Dr. Richard S. Ross Professor Emeritus and former College Librarian at Trinity College of Hartford, Connecticut has crafted a presentation based on his recent book “Before Salem: Witch hunting in the Connecticut River Valley 1647-1663,” McFarland & Company, 2017.
From 1647-1663 eleven people were hanged as witches on the New England frontier, the Connecticut River Valley. The outbreak of witch hunting in New England was directly influenced by the English Civil War and the witchcraft trials begun in 1644 led by the witch hunter Matthew Hopkins in East Anglia, England.
The authorities in New England were armed with a legal manual influenced by recent English demonological writings for identifying a witch and new techniques pioneered by Hopkins for examining witches. For a variety of reasons examined in this book the witch hysteria spread rapidly throughout New England and first erupted in the Connecticut River Valley.
Earlier reports of these activities and trials were collected primarily by ministers and included information on demonic possession, bewitchment, counter magic, witch accusations, legal issues, and the clerical role in these trials.
These earlier witchcraft trials later influenced contemporary writers on the Salem witch trials in 1692. This study offers a fresh assessment of the first outbreak of witch accusations, trials and executions in the Connecticut River Valley. It discusses the witchcraft trials before Salem and the reasons for the continued witch hunting that led to the executions of convicted witches up to 1663.
Beth Caruso and Tony Griego are founders of the online Facebook Page CT WITCH Memorial. ( WITCH stands for Witch Interrogations, Trials & Colonial Hangings) It is dedicated to educating the public about Connecticut’s witchcraft trial history and efforts to acknowledge the victims of those trials.
In addition to these goals, they are committed to gathering and sharing event information related to this topic. They were also both involved in a memorial ceremony for all victims and leading efforts to pass a resolution in Windsor to symbolically clear the names of Alice Young and Lydia Gilbert (1st and 7th witch trial victims).
Anthony Griego is a Vietnam Era Army veteran 1961-1964 having enlisted during the Berlin Crisis. He is also a retired New Haven Police Sergeant with thirty-two years of service, retiring in 1998. After a 1992 visit to Salem he became interested in the Salem Witch Trials and later discovered that in fact Connecticut Colony had the first hanging starting in 1647.
In 2005 he worked with a like-minded group to encourage the State of Connecticut to acknowledge the witch events that took place between 1647-1663. Working with others on February 6, 2017, the Windsor Town Council voted 9-0 in an official Proclamation to clear the names of two town residents, Alse Young and Lydia Gilbert. Recently Fairfield/ Bridgeport presented a similar Proclamation for hanged Goody Knapp.
Stratford, Connecticut is also working on a Proclamation for Goody Bassett. It is our goal to educate the public to these historical events and encourage Wethersfield, Farmington, and the City of Hartford to issue similar Proclamations so that all eleven who lost their lives will be remembered.
Beth Caruso is a novelist who wrote the book One of Windsor: The Untold Story of America’s First Witch Hanging Based based on her research about Alice (Alse) Young. She recently released a second novel The Salty Rose: Alchemists, Witches & A Tapper in New Amsterdam.
It features the Hartford Witch Panic and the rise of John Winthrop Jr., the colonial leader who helped stop the witch trials in Connecticut. Since the publication of her first novel, Beth has been actively involved in raising awareness about the Connecticut witch trials and has advocated for justice and recognition of all the victims.
