Pardoning the Witches

Additional remarks by Jim Meehan “Nobody thinks that were these women witches anymore, so what’s the point? History proves they weren’t witches.”  (A modern day resident of Salem Massachusetts.)       Witch trials were held in Connecticut between 1647 and 1697 – five of them in the town of Wethersfield – …

About the Author: Chris Pagliuco

Chris Pagliuco is a freelance writer holds an MA in history from Trinity College. He teaches high school history in Madison, Connecticut and serves as town historian in Essex, Connecticut.  He is also a member of the editorial team of Connecticut Explored, a quarterly history publication. His publications include the …

Connecticut’s Witch Trials

By Chris Pagliuco  © Connecticut Explored. This article first appeared in the Winter 2007/08 issue of Hog River Journal (now Connecticut Explored). www.ctexplored.org. Reprinted by permission. Connecticut’s 17th-century witch trials have long been overshadowed by the more numerous and better publicized proceedings in Salem, Massachusetts. But Connecticut’s were among the first …