Salem’s witch trials were the last frenzy of witchcraft accusations in colonial New England. But what was the first? Join us for a free virtual lecture with Elizabeth Kapp, Curator of History at the Springfield Museums, on Thursday, September 25th at 6:00 pm EST. Discover the story of Mary Lewis and Hugh Parsons featured in...
The American Ancestors organization once estimated 15 million people can trace their family line back to the Salem witch trials. We often tell visitors that the English colonists of 1692 were the founding fathers and mothers of our country. They were themselves descended from the earliest settlers, who were establishing a new country and took...
In 1900, America was introduced to both its first fairytale and its first good witches. L. Frank Baum’s iconic children’s story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ushered in a new age for the witch, transforming these monstrous figures of old into good, kind, and beautiful characters. While we will never know what precisely inspired Baum...
