Great Blogs: Witches of Massachusetts Bay (with genealogy links)

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Witches of Massachusetts Bay

As you might have guessed by now, I have an affinity for witches. No, not the spell casting,  cauldron brewing witches, but the real women and men of Colonial New England who were accused and tried for witchcraft. I am related to at least one accused witch, Mary Perkins Bradbury and to several witch accusers. What a terrifying time to live, when you believed that your neighbors, the very people you counted on for support, were giving you the evil eye, killing your children, your livestock, making you ill, and all manner of devilish acts. 

The first and lesser known cases of witchcraft in the colonies occurred in Connecticut. Their were cases in other colonies as well but the brunt of the trials were in Massachusetts. Of course the best known witch trials were those that were held in 1692 in Salem. But, women, and to a lesser extent men, from all over the Colony of Massachusetts found themselves ensnared in the web of witchcraft. I can only imagine their horror, knowing they faced at best stigmatization from their peers to worst case losing all they held dear, including their lives. 

I want to tell you about a great website/blog that is a super resource if you are researching your witchcraft ancestors, both accused and accuser. This site includes research, resources, genealogy links, road trip plans, notes on historic sites linked to witchcraft, the whole shebang.  You can find all this and more at Witches of Massachusetts Bay Here is a link to the blog article on my book, Weave a Web of Witchcraft and an interview with the author (me).  

Salem Witch Trials: Documentary Archive and Transcription Archive 

This website, hosted by the library of Virginia is a Salem Witch lovers dream. Court records, testimony, maps, records books, and letters. This site has it all. Easy to navigate and chock a block full of fascinating information if you are into the Salem Trials. The information here is top-notch. 

Great Blogs: Boston 1775 and Nutfield Genealogy

I thought I'd write about some of my favorite blogs that I go to for information or just to see what everyone else is up too. Here are two great blogs, one history and one genealogy. 

Nutfield Genealogy by Heather Wilkinson Rojo. 

Nutfield was the original name of Londonderry, New Hampshire. It was settled by Scots-Irish immigrants in the 1700s. My ancestors lived there so I enjoy this blog a lot. Heather and I have some common ancestors which is fun. She writes about the early inhabitants of the town, history, current genealogy events, such at the 400th anniversary of Plymouth and other great topics. Blog posts are well labeled and easy to search. She does not advertise on her blog so it is clutter-free which makes for very easy reading. I have posted comments on her blog and gotten swift replies. The research is sound and reliable. 

If you are researching ancestors in New Hampshire this is a great place to look for information. You can find Nutfield Genealogy here.

Boston 1775

Boston 1775 is the work of author and historian J. L. Bell. The blog has a very narrow focus: the start of the American Revolution and Boston. Bell is a prolific blogger, posting almost daily. The site is well laid out and easy to navigate. Subject range from people, place, politics and gossip. The list of labels is massive. Bell also lists a great list of his favorite blogs such as 18th c. American Woman and other websites for historical places such as the Old North Church in Boston. Along the left hand side of the blog is a lengthy list of resources with links. This is a great help for those looking to expand their research. He has links to the National Archives, The British National Archives, lots of historical societies and genealogy research sites such as American Ancestors. 

My only complain about his site is that the print is very small and squished together, otherwise it's the bomb. You can find Boston 1775 here.  J. L. Bell is also a contributing author to the great site Journal of the American Revolution. A fantastic website that is all things American Revolution, written by top notch experts. You can find the Journal of the American Revolution  here. 

I have read one of Bell's books: The Road to Concord and found it highly entertaining and very informative.