Researching my Boothby family has taken me back to the very beginnings of many New England towns. Many of my ancestors were founding members or early inhabitants of towns in Massachusetts such as Ipswich, Watertown, Beverly, Framingham, Groton, Mendon, Topsfield, Sudbury, Rowley, Newbury and Lynn. This was on both the Boothby and Hayman branches of my father's family. So, it was not at all surprising to find that I had accused witches as ancestors! They were, of course, innocent people unjustly accused during a time of mass fear and hysteria, and then sentenced to imprisonment or death. Being related to an accused witch was enough to cast doubt. That is precisely what happened to Phebe Wildes in 1692 during the hysteria that gripped New England.
Phebe Wildes was born in Topsfield, Massachusetts in 1653 and died 8 April, 1723. She married Timothy Day on 24 July 1679 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. She is my 8th Great Grandmother. Her sister was Sarah Wildes Bishop. Their father was John Wildes who married Priscilla Gould. After Priscilla died, John married Sarah Averill. It appears that Sarah was not a well-liked woman, by both the town (she had been accused of wearing a colorful silk scarf violating the town laws in 1663) or the family of Priscilla Gould. This family resentment, ill-will and hatred fueled accusations of witchcraft. The Wildes were also engaged in a land dispute with Topsfield and Salem Village, which made the couple unpopular.
On 21 April , 1692 a complaint of witchcraft was made against Sarah Wildes, along with several other neighbors and her step daughter Sarah and her husband Edward Bishop. She was arrested on 22 April and "examined" in Salem Village the same day. Both of her step daughters Sarah and Phebe, along with Edward Bishop were also arrested. During her examination an afflicted girl named Sarah Bibber claimed to see Sarah's spirit sitting on the beam of the meeting house. When judges asked Wildes to respond to the charge, she replied "I am not guilty, Sir." She was indicted on one charge of witchcraft and taken to the Salem jail. Her trial began on 29 June, 1692 and most of the evidence against her came from the family and friends of her husbands first wife Priscilla Gould. She was found guilty, sentenced to death, and was hung on 19 July, 1692 along with Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Howe, Susannah Martin and Sara Good. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/sarah-wildes/
So, what happened to Phebe? She was accused of witchcraft when her step mother, sister and brother-in-law were accused (guilt by association) and she was taken to Ipswich Gaol (jail) where she remained until 24 September of the same year until she was released on bonds for her reappearance. She had been accused with two other women of bewitching the sister of a Lieut. Stevens and causing another women to go into convulsions while crossing the Ipswich Bridge. Phebe was never tried, and the fact that she was sent to the Ipswich Gaol and not the Salem Jail probably saved her life. She was about 39 years old when she was imprisoned. She died on 8 April, 1723 at the age of seventy.
Phebe's sister Sarah and her husband Edward Bishop were imprisoned in the Boston Jail. They were able to escape, and fled to New York. They returned to Massachusetts after the hysteria subsided. **On a fun side note, my husband's relative Captain John Alden was also imprisoned in the Boston jail after being accused of witchcraft. He escaped with the help of friends and also fled to New York, returning to Massachusetts when it was safe.....
The Salem Witch Trials were the result of a combination of many things: family feuds, church politics, fear of attack from Native Americans, hysterical behavior that was encouraged and allowed to flourish, and a political authority that was not to be questioned. 19 people and 2 dogs were executed in Salem and one person was pressed to death under a pile of stones for refusing to testify. The governor of the colony ordered an end to the trials in 1693 after his own wife was accused.
Following the trials, no judges involved publicly confessed their egregious error and guilt with the exception of one. The only confessor was Judge Samuel Sewell (1652-1730). He was a member of the court that ultimately sentenced 19 people to be hanged. He called for a public day of fasting, prayer and reparation. There is a wonderful book about his life and the effect the trials had on his later beliefs of social justice, written by Eve LaPlante called Salem Witch Judge: The Life and Repentance of Samuel Sewall published by Harper One 2008. I highly recommend it.
Samuel Sewall is also an important part of this story, as he sits in my family tree as well. His sister Hannah married Jacob Toppan in Newbury, Massachusetts in 1670. From that line, we get to the Angier line, and on down to the Hayman line, which connected to the Boothbys with the marriage of Lillie Mae Hayman Horner to Josiah Thomas Boothby in 1898 in Lexington, Oregon.
Relationship Reference:
Phebe Wildes Day m. Timothy Day
*Joseph Day m. Patience Hilton
*Hannah Day m. Nathanial Whitney
*Moses Whitney m. Mary Page
*Molly Whitney m. Lemuel Rounds
*Mary Rounds m. Josiah Boothby
*Josiah Boothby m. Elizabeth Peyton
*Josiah Thomas Boothby m. Lillie Mae Hayman
*Sterl Kenneth Boothby m. Tersilla Brondolo
*Dale Boothby m. Margaret Hansen
*Me!
Recommended websites for more information on the Salem Witch Trials:
salemwitchmusuem.com (their section on Witch Hunts is eye opening and informative, especially in light of current events)
Historic Ipswich on the Massachusetts Northshore Blog (Ipswich and the Salem Witchcraft Trials)
History of Massachusetts Blog (The Witchcraft Trials of Sarah Wildes March 23, 2019).
For those of you who are keeping track, here is my 52Ancestors in 52Weeks Week 17 Theme: My Favorite Place entry. I literally could not come up with a favorite place to research, or visit, or talk about. Every place I research is unique and fits into the puzzle that makes up my family history. So, this is my favorite place to find most of the pieces and hopefully put them together in a cohesive way so that new generations can gain a sense of their own unique place in their families and history. We welcomed grandchild #2 Elora Lynn to the family just a few weeks ago. She fits in perfectly!
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