Recently, a cousin of mine unearthed a very interesting woman in his family tree who lived in Sweden. Initially, he had tracked down an Estonian stonemason in his family tree who had immigrated to Sweden and had been involved in the construction of several churches.
And, as a bizarre turn, the stonemason’s oldest daughter (Anna Simonsdotter 1625-1676) was the second last witch to be executed in Sweden. She was part of the mass hysteria that had swept Europe and America in the mid to late 1600s. Like many “witches”, she had been initially accused, and then testified on, by her children. She was beheaded and her body burned on August 5, 1676, in the main square in Stockholm. Eventually, the authorities caught on that the children were lying, and several were punished. The rest of the imprisoned “witches” were released.
https://www.biography.com/news/real-witches-in-history
In the USA, of course, we had a similar tale of the Salem Witches. Again, community hysteria led to the untimely deaths of innocent women, much to the eventual chagrin of their leaders. More than 200 people were accused; thirty people were found guilty, nineteen of whom were executed by hanging (fourteen women and five men). One other man died under torture after refusing to enter a plea.
Any chance that you have a witch in your family tree? When researching your family tree, you never know what you might find.
Ron Gilmore
Email: rvg3@me.com
Website: https://rgenealogy.ca