First Execution for Witchcraft – Margaret Jones Hanged

First Execution for Witchcraft – Margaret Jones Hanged
Uncover the dark chapter of American history as we explore the life and execution of Margaret Jones, the first person hanged for witchcraft in Massachusetts Bay Colony on June 15, 1648. Accused of using her herbal medicine and midwifery skills for malevolent purposes, Jones’ trial and execution were influenced by the methods of infamous witch-hunter Matthew Hopkins. Through accounts from Governor John Winthrop and John Hale, witness the beginnings of the Salem Witch Trials and the hysteria that would claim many innocent lives.

From the Book:
Colonial American History Stories – 1215 – 1664

Greetings, today I will talk about the beginning of the nightmare that we know as the Salem Witch Trials.

The General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony condemned Margaret Jones to hang for the crime of witchcraft on June 13, 1648. Mrs. Jones was the first victim executed for this crime in Massachusetts. She was probably not the first ever accused. But Witch Finder General, Matthew Hopkins’ methods provided a framework of gathering evidence. Accusers used his methods to gather the evidence used to convict her. The accounts of her trial and execution come from Governor John Winthrop, who presided over the trial, and John Hale. Authorities also charged her husband with witchcraft. He was not convicted.
Margaret Jones, Midwife and Healer (1613 – June 15, 1648)
Margaret was the wife of Thomas Jones. The couple lived in Boston’s Charleston section where she practiced a form of herbal medicine and served as a midwife. The witchcraft charges stemmed in part from her practice of medicine.
English Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins (? – Aug. 12, 1647)
Matthew Hopkins lived in Essex, England. Historians know little about him before he burst into history in 1645. He did so with his self-proclaimed title, Witch Finder Generall. One night in mid-March, he claimed to have overheard six witches in Manningtree, England. The witches discussed their meetings with the devil. He claims they discovered him and tried to kill him. This commenced his career as a witch hunter. He and two assistants began traveling the English countryside offering to ferret out witches. The townspeople took him up on his offer. For three years, a witch-hunt that lasted from 1647 until 1648 claimed between 200 and 300 victims. His published book, The Discovery of Witches, came out in 1647. In this book, he outlined his methods and describes his experiences with the witches in Manningtree. The book serves as a manual for witch hunters. The witch hunters in New England used his book as a guide to collecting evidence to convict witches.
Governor John Winthrop (January 12, 1588 – March 26, 1649)
John Winthrop was born to a prominent merchant family in Edwardstone, Suffolk, England. He became a wealthy Puritan lawyer. His efforts with the Massachusetts Bay Colony led to his appointment as governor of the Colony from 1630 to 1634. He led the first wave of colonists and served as governor of the colony for twelve of its first twenty years. His “History of New England” provides an invaluable source of information about colonial Massachusetts.
John Hale (June 3, 1636 – May 15, 1700)
John Hale witnessed the execution of Margaret Jones as a boy of twelve. He published a book, Modest Inquiry, in which he gives his account of the trial and execution. His account differs slightly from that of Winthrop’s record. Hale grew up to be a minister and took a significant role in the later Salem Witch Trials.
The Accusations
Hale and Winthrop’s accounts differ slightly. According to Hale, neighbors accused her after a quarrel between them and her. After the quarrel, some calamity befell their cattle. According to Winthrop’s journal, many of her patients accused her of saying “they would never heal if they refused to take her medicine.” These, and other accusations, led to the charges and imprisonment in early 1648.
The Evidence
Using Hopkins methods, an appointed witch watcher observed an accused witch for twenty-four hours. If during that time her “familiar” visited her to feed, then she was a witch. The accused had to sit in a certain position, with legs crossed, for the entire period. She was “watched” on May 18, 1648.
Winthrop’s journal records the accumulated evidence against her:
“1. That she was found to have such a malignant touch, as many persons, men, women, and children, whom she stroked or touched with any affection or displeasure, or etc. [sic], were taken with deafness, or vomiting, or other violent pains or sickness.
“2. She practising physic, and her medicines being such things as, by her own confession, were harmless, — as anise-seed, liquors, etc., — yet had extraordinary violent effects.
“3. She would use to tell such as would not make use of her physic, that they would never be healed; and accordingly their diseases and hurts continued, with relapse against the ordinary course, and beyond the apprehension of all physicians and surgeons.
“4. Some things which she foretold came to pass accordingly; other things she would tell of, as secret speeches, etc., which she had no ordinary means to come to the knowledge of.
“5. She had, upon search, an apparent teat … as fresh as if it had been newly sucked; and after it had been scanned, upon a forced search, that was withered, and another began on the opposite side.
“6. In the prison, in the clear day-light, there was seen in her arms, she sitting on the floor, and her clothes up, etc., a little child, which ran from her into another room, and the officer following it, it was vanished. The like child was seen in two other places to which she had relation; and one maid that saw it, fell sick upon it, and was cured by the said Margaret, who used means to be employed to that end. Her behavior at her trial was very intemperate, lying notoriously, and railing upon the jury and witnesses, etc., and in the like distemper she died. The same day and hour she was executed, there was a very great tempest at Connecticut, which blew down many trees, etc.”
The Execution
The Court convicted her on June 13 and sentenced her to be hanged on June 15. The hanging took place on an elm tree just outside Boston on June 15, 1648.
The episode is based upon my book, Colonial American History Stories – 1215 – 1664, available on the web site, http://www.mossyfeetbooks.com. The book is the first book in the 6 volume Timeline of United States History Series . Discover some of the famous and almost forgotten historic stories of America. The story begins with the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 and the beginnings of the concept of limited government and ends, for now, with the beginning of the American Revolution in 1775. I would encourage you to subscribe to the Mossy Feet Books You Tube channel for more great content. If you like my videos, please hit the “Like,” button. The more likes I get the more You Tube will show it to other people, allowing me to grow the channel. I also entreat you to visit my website, http://www.mossyfeetbooks.com. There you will find sample chapters, podcasts, a slew of content and links to where you can buy my books. While visiting the web site you can subscribe to it and receive email notifications of when I publish a new book or other content, like this video and podcast. If you like what I am doing, please purchase a book, as it helps fund my work.
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