Stumped
for a Halloween costume? Take a clue from our family tree; dress like an
ancestor. Visit a picture of Mary (Bliss) Parsons, my 8th ggm,
http://ccbit.cs.umass.edu/parsons/hnmockup/home.html.
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Mary Bliss wed Joseph Parsons in Hartford, MA in 1646. He was a prominent member of the community. Later they moved to Northampton, MA. This was years before the notorious Salem Witch Trials (1692-93). Mary parsons was involved in at least three trials; 1656 for slander, 1674 for witchcraft and again in 1679. She successfully defended herself, although family wealth and connections undoubtedly helped. An educational site for children: http://ccbit.cs.umass.edu/parsons/goodyparsons/.
Pedigree
line for Mary (Bliss) Parsons: My 8th great
grandmother (through my father’s maternal line):
Mary
Bliss (1628 - 1712)
Joseph
Parsons (1647 - 1729) son of Mary
Bliss
Daniel
Parsons (1685 - 1774) son of
Joseph Parsons
Daniel
Parsons (1709 - 1760) son of Daniel Parsons
Gideon
Parsons (1739 - 1836) son of Daniel Parsons
Gideon
Parsons (1779 - 1855) son of Gideon Parsons
Jedidiah
Cleveland Parsons (1805 - 1889) son of Gideon Parsons
Mary
Parsons (1855 - 1916) daughter of Jedidiah Cleveland Parsons
Jennie
Sadie Wheeler (1887 - 1942) daughter of Mary Parsons
Robert
William Bush (1920 - 1999) son of Jennie Sadie Wheeler
Jennie
Joann Bush (Lambert) daughter of Robert William Bush
Elizabeth (Periment) Clason (1631-1714)
While
searching an ancestral thread for Elizabeth Clason/Clawson, an early
finding was an account of a trial in 1692 of a woman from Stamford, Connecticut
who was accused of being a witch. The label on a MA site, "Elizabeth
Clawson thou art a witch and thou deseruest to dye", caught my attention. See:
http://www.ctgenweb.org/county/cofairfield/pages/stamford/witch_trial.htm
What followed
was a wealth of information about our ancestor's life and the community of
Stamford, and of course her entire trial. After a long ordeal that
included dunking and imprisonment, and an extraordinary show of support from
the community, charges were dismissed. She returned home, but suspicion
followed her throughout her life. More
readings: Escaping Salem: The Other Witch
Hunt of 1692. Richard Godbeer. New York: Oxford University Press,
2005.
Subsequently, the
whole family became alive through numerous books, blogs and websites. Circ.
2008 we visited the Stamford, CT Historical Society, just had to get close and
personal to events and places. Genealogy can do that to a person.
Pedigree
line from Elizabeth Periment: My 8th great
grandmother (through my father’s paternal line):
Elizabeth
Periment (1631 - 1714)
Jonathan
Clason (1655 - 1685) son of Elizabeth Periment
Stephen
Clason (1681 - 1746) son of Jonathan Clason
Susanna
Clason (1716 - 1749) daughter of Stephen Clason
James
Longwell (1736 - 1814) son of Susanna Clason
Adonijah
Longwell (1791 - 1852) son of James Longwell
Eliza
Ann Longwell (1824 - 1900) daughter of Adonijah Longwell
Wesley
Bush (1845 - 1917) son of Eliza Ann Longwell
Harvey
Ray Bush (1886 - 1961) son of Wesley Bush
Robert
William Bush (1920 - 1999) son of Harvey Ray Bush
Jennie
Joann Bush (Lambert) the daughter of Robert William Bush
My family
also has connections to other "witches" from the period. Some escaped death; some did
not. Perhaps a story for next year. In
any event, by the end of 1693, the religious frenzy and hysteria of the early
NE colonies had dissipated and “witch” trials were no longer an accepted way of
dealing with one’s fellow colonials. Good thing, too. Otherwise, a lot of us
would not be here.
Jennie
