Reice and Blanche Lewis Bedortha of Springfield in the Colony of Massachusetts

origins

Reice Bedortha was one of many brave men who left their home in Wales to begin a new life among the Puritans of Massachusetts. [1] He was not alone, his there were a certain Welsh contingent among the settlers of Springfield, including Thomas Myrrick, Mary Parsons, Griffith and Sarah Jones, Alexander Edwards and his wife Blanche Lewis. It is believed that Blanche and Mary Parsons were from the same village in Southern Wales, Llanvaches, and it is possible that Mary Parson's first husband was Blanche's brother. Did they all travel together? Maybe. One, if not the first, Nonconformist Minister in Wales, William Wroth, formed a New England style church in Llanvaches. He died there in 1641. Perhaps his death was the impetus for their immigration. 

springfield

Blanche and Reice married in 1645. [2] Springfield at that time had only a few dozen households. A single long street ran through the village. Houses and house lots lay on the right side of the river, planting fields were across the river and each man was also given a tree lot to the east of the street.  The Bedortha's northerly neighbor was fellow Welshman Griffith Jones and to the south was Benjamin Cooley. There was  also a cow common on which they grazed their livestock. Their first home would have been tiny, likely a single room with a lean-to on the back and a loft for storage. The chimney would have been mud-lined. I think the average 21st century man would be amazed at how primitive their world was. [3]

children

Reice and Blanche had five children, a small number for those days. All four children were sons, only three lived to adulthood. [4]

1. Unknown child b. 14 March 1646, died

2. John b. 13 March 1647, buried 30 March 1648

3. Joseph b. 15 January 1649 m. (1) Mary Dumbleton (2) Mrs. Lydia Dumbleton (3) Hannah      Marshfield

4. Samuel b. 1 October 1651 m. (1) Mercy Dumbleton (2) Mary Remington Leonard

5. John b. 4 December 1654

daily life

Fantastic Book On Pynchon and Springfield

Life in the 1650s was no picnic in the park. Everything was done by hand. Food production consumed most of the families waking hours. Land was cleared, tilled, planted, weeded. Crops harvested and preserved. Livestock fattened during the summer months was slaughtered and salted for winter. Candles, soap, cloth, clothing, furniture were made by hand. No Walmart Super Center to run to for a gallon of milk! The magistrate and veritable head honcho of the town was William Pynchon. He did run a 'store' which sold seed, tools and other necessities to the towns people on credit. 

Aside from farming, Reice was called on, like all good men of the Bay State to participate in civic government. He served as Fence Viewer multiple times, not always doing a good job as he was once fined for dereliction of duty. The job was not as silly as it sounds as intact fences kept livestock where they belonged and out of peoples gardens and crops. In 1666 and 1676 Reice was the town constable, He was overseer of the highways twice, prizer of the stock, and hayward. One of his most important posts was town Selectman. [5]

church life

Attendance at church was mandatory, no sleeping in on Sundays. In such a small town, your absence was noted. Hugh and his family were assigned a pew in church. Pew seating was based on rank and wealth. His began in the fifth pew and eventually moved up one row to the fourth. The pews would be divided by a central aisle; men on one side women and children the other. Wives were assigned a corresponding pew. Each household contributed to the maintenance of their minister, a church rate or tax, again it was not optional. Once home from church, the family was free from work for the remainder of the day, in fact if caught working, you could be fined. Dinner was served cold, as cooking was considered work. 

land

Springfield made multiple land disbursements during it's early years. Reice accrued multiple parcels on land. He must have built a second house at some point as he was involved in a court case against John Bagg who leased a house from Reice, the house appears to have burned, hence the court case. 

witchcraft

My Book on Hugh and Mary Parsons

In early 1651 John and Joan Carrington of Wethersfield, Connecticut, just down river from Springfield, were accused, found guilty and hung for witchcraft. Within weeks Mary Parsons accused her husband Hugh of the same crime. His neighbors were quick to speak against him, including Reice and Blanche who both told tales of ghostly lights, strange pains and imaginary dogs. Their testimony helped send both Hugh and Mary, who confessed to witchcraft after murdering her son, to prison in Boston. Mary died before she could be hung and Hugh got off. He never returned to Springfield. 

tragedy

In March of 1683 tragedy struck the Bedortha extended family, this time there was no witch to blame. On Wednesday the 17th of March, Mercy Bedortha, daughter of Samuel and Mercy Dumbleton Bedortha died. The following day Reice, his youngest son John, and his daughter-in-law Mary, wife of Joseph, were crossing the Connecticut River. Were others with them, I would guess so. Where were they going and did it have anything to do with the death of Reice's infant granddaughter? Perhaps. In any case their craft overturned and they were drowned. 

Reice's estate, valued at £207 was divided unequally between surviving sons Joseph and Samuel. Each were charged with supporting their mother. Blanche's death was not recorded. 

WEAVE A WEB OF WITCHCRAFT is the story of Hugh and Mary Parsons of Springfield. Although a work of historical fiction, this book is meticulously researched and uses the actual testimony given at their depositions by Blanche, Reice and the many other villagers who spoke out against them. The book brings draws an accurate portrayal of life in the 17th century and especially Springfield, a Puritan backwater on the frontier of the Bay Colony. It is available on Amazon  in both Kindle and paperback versions. If you have enjoyed reading my blog please consider purchasing my book!

Sources:

[1] The Connecticut Nutmegger. Glastonbury, CT: Connecticut Society of Genealogists, 1970-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.)https://www.americanancestors.org/DB59/i/11796/554/23565438

[2] New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015.https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1568/i/21174/120/426876572

[3] Hanna Maria Bedurtha, Record of the Bedurtha Family,1645-1896, (Agawan, Mass,1896).

[4] Bedurtha, Record.

[5] Henry M. Burt, The First Century of the History of Springfield - The Official Records from 1636 to 1736 {1899 Springfield} 2 Volumes Vol.1:176

Deaths of Reice, JOhn, Mercy and Lydia:

Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1621-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016).

https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/i/46055/1690/1320125860

Connecticut Witches: Joan and John Carrington of Wethersfield

I recently published a novel based on the life of Hugh and Mary Parsons, accused witches of Springfield, Massachusetts. A few months before Hugh was accused by his wife and neighbors, the Carringtons were found guilty and hanged for witchcraft.  Unlike the Parsons their testimony did not survive but was their case the impetus for the subsequent accusations leveled against Hugh Parsons?  

The people of Springfield were well aware of the fate of the Carringtons. Wethersfield was a short thirty mile boat ride down the Connecticut River, and word of their arrest and trial would have quickly traveled to the towns upriver. In fact one of the strikes against Hugh, in his wife's opinion, was that he did not speak against the Carringtons. But, Hugh had a good reason to avoid speaking of witchcraft. His wife had accused Mercy Marshfield, newly arrived from Connecticut of witchcraft in 1649. She had fought back and won a slander case against Mary Parsons. The fine was steep and cost Hugh a lot of money. 

John Carrington arrived in New England by 1644. Some researchers have speculated that he was the John Corrington who, along with wife Mary, arrived in 1635 on the Susan and Ellen. But, between 1635 and 1644 there is not a single record of John. This has lead the Great Migration Project at the New England Historical and Genealogical Society to conclude that they not one and the same. [1]

John's name crops up in the court records for several offences including selling a firearm to an Indian, a serious offence. He was a carpenter by trade and a farmer by necessity. His wife's name was Joan. Not much else is know about pair. They were likely unpopular in their community and may have had some peculiarities. Or, they might have been a perfectly normal couple, either way, their world was rocked by the accusation of witchcraft. 

We have no idea of the accusations against the pair, but if they were anything like those leveled against Hugh Parson, we would find them shocking in their silliness. Hugh was accused of magicking away knifes and trowels, turning a cows milk different colors, causing aches and pains, splitting of puddings and other silly actions. Astoundingly, the magistrate, William Pynchon took the entire event seriously, possibly because of the case of the Carringtons. He may have felt he had a standard to uphold or it might have the the fact that he himself was in the dog house for his personal religious beliefs recently expressed in his self-published book which was burned in Boston. In any case, the fate of the Carringtons must have played a part in Hugh and Mary's arrests and trails. 

I can only imagine the terror this couple felt as their indictments and death sentences were read aloud in court:

John Carrington thou art indited by the name of John Carrington of Wethersfield—carpenter—, that not hauing the feare of God before thine eyes thou hast interteined ffamilliarity with Sattan the great enemye of God and mankinde and by his helpe hast done workes aboue the course of nature for wch both according to the lawe of God and the established lawe of this Commonwealth thou deseruest to dye. [2] 

 Joan Carrington thou art indited by the name of Joan Carrington, the wife of John Carrington, that not hauing the feare of God before thine eyes thou hast interteined ffamilliarity with Sattan the great enemye of God and mankinde and by his helpe hast done workes aboue the course of nature for wch both according to the lawe of God and the established lawe of this Commonwealth thou deseruest to dye.  

John and Joan were hung shortly after their trial. Justice was swift and brutal with no chance for an appeal. But that was life, short, difficult and not very sweet. It is said that they had at least one if not two children; John Jr. and a daughter Rebecca. Rebecca must have been farmed out to a local family. She survived and married in 1671 to Abraham Andrews. 

In 1672 a second woman named Mary Parsons was tried for witchcraft in Springfield, she survived and lived to die an old woman. But the scars must have been deep and the threat ever present. 

If you are interested in reading a detailed account of Hugh and Mary Parsons and a historically accurate portrayal of life in the 1650s in Puritan Massachusetts and Connecticut I recommend my novel WEAVE A WEB OF WITCHCRAFT, the story of their lives and how they came to be tried as witches. Luckily, their testimony survives and has formed the basis for my book which is available in paperback and Kindle version on Amazon. 

Sources:

[1] Great Migration 1634-1635, C-F. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C-F, by Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001.

https://www.americanancestors.org/DB115/i/7373/215/235159728

[2] Records of the Particular Court, 2: 17, 1650-51

Mary Bliss Parsons: Accursed Name, Witch of Springfield, Massachusetts

Weave a Web of Witchcraft

In 1651 Mary and Hugh Parsons of Springfield were sent to Boston to stand trial on charges of Witchcraft, a hanging offense, long before the Salem trials. Mary died in prison shortly after her arrival. Accused of murder as well as witchcraft, her fate was sealed the minute she admitted to the crimes. Hugh fought his charges and despite being found guilty by the Court in Boston, the verdict was overturned and he was released from prison. He never returned to Springfield. You would think one witch was plenty for any small Massachusetts town, but not so for Springfield. Not only did it harbor a second witch, but her name was also Mary Parsons, what are the odds? 

Mary Bliss and Joseph Parsons

Mary, the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Bliss, was born in England around 1628. Her father was the son of Thomas Bliss of Belstone Parish in Devonshire, he immigrated to the New World and settled in Hartford, Connecticut. Mary married Joseph Parsons of Springfield on 2 November, 1646. 

Joseph Parsons was an ambitious successful man. In 1646 he was elected town surveyor of Springfield, still a small town;  in 1647 he was one of only 42 taxpayers (all men of course). He continued to fulfill his civic duty with increasingly more important jobs. By 1651, he was elected a selectman of the town. In 1655 he purchased land that would become the town of Northampton, to which the family removed shortly thereafter [1]

Discord

In the narrow world of Puritan Massachusetts, petty jealousies, slights, and insults fermented just below the surface. According to some, Mary Bliss Parsons was a strong woman who spoke her mind. When the Parsons moved to their new home of Northampton they were followed by other residents of Springfield, including Sarah and James Bridgeman. What seems to have started as idle gossip on the part of Sarah soon blossomed into something much more, accusations of witchcraft.

In the earlier  witchcraft case, Mary Parsons accused the widow Mercy Marshfield of witchcraft. Mercy sued her for slander and won. Hugh Parsons was forced to pay an enormous fine to settle the case. Likewise the growing rumor that Mary Bliss Parsons was a witch began to impact her life. Reputation was everything to these people and to be falsely accused of witchcraft was not to be borne. Joseph Parsons, on behalf of his wife, accused Sarah Bridgeman of slander. 

Slander Trial

Sarah Bridgeman and her neighbors were deposed in both Springfield and Northampton. Every manner of ill luck, sickness and misfortune was laid at the feet of Mary Bliss Parsons. There was testimony about yarn, pigs, sick children and a cow that was bitten by a rattlesnake. Counter testimony was given by supporters of the Parsons; Mary was an innocent victim falsely accused by vicious neighbors happy to see her get her comeuppance. [2] 

The local magistrate found in Mary's favor and on September the 8th Sarah was arrested. She traveled to Cambridge in October to stand trial. Sarah was found guilty of slander and just like Hugh Parsons, her husband was ordered to pay damages and court costs to the tune of £17 1s. 8d., quite a sum in those days. 

Witchcraft

Following the slander trial, life resumed its course but old wounds festered. In 1672 Robert Bartlett married Mary Bridgeman, daughter of Sarah and James. Sadly, the woman died within two years of marriage and the Bridgemans and Bartletts knew just who was at fault. The families again accused Mary Bliss Parsons of witchcraft. Once again, testimony was taken and anyone with a grudge against the Parsons had a ready tale to tell. Mary appeared before the court, ready to proclaim her innocence and face her accusers. Mary's body was searched, by her neighbors, for the mark of witch. Presumably none were found.

Mary was arrested and ordered to face trial.  In March she was sent to Boston to await her trial in prison. Her trial took place in May, before the Court of Assistants. Mary argued her own case and her testimony made a greater impact on her jury as she was freed, case dismissed. Her return to Northampton must have been bittersweet; she'd won, but she still had to live among her accusers. The stigma of her imprisonment and trial surely left a deep wound on this proud strong woman. 

Aftermath 

By 1679 Mary had borne twelve children, most of whom survived to adulthood. She and her family survived the devastating (1675-76) King Philip's War, which all but drove the English from their American Colonies. 45 of Springfield's 60 houses were burned to the ground and many residents killed. Scary times for nervous, superstitious, witch believing, devil behind every bush kind of people. Joseph purchased land in Springfield, after the war and moved the family back to Springfield. 

Joseph died in 1683. Mary lived a good long life dying in 1712. I wonder what her thoughts were on the 1692 Salem witchcraft trials, which resulted in the deaths of many innocent men and women. Did she feel sympathy for them? Did she believe for one minute that they might be guilty? Did she think on the witchcraft accusations of her namesake, Mary Parsons and wonder if she too might have been innocent? I hope so. 

Not a portrait of Mary Bliss Parsons

The Portrait

Apparently some folks have come to believe that the accompanying portrait is of Mary Bliss Parsons. This does not appear to be the case. See this blog for an explanation. 

More on Mary Bliss Parsons
See this excellent website from UMASS on Mary Parsons and her life and trial.  Includes digital copies of testimony, photos of her descendants homes, genealogies, etc. 

Sources

[1] Henry Parsons, Parsons Family; Descendants of Coronet Joseph Parson Springfield 1636...Northampton 1655, (New York: Frank Allaben Genealogical Company, 1912), Internet Archives (https://archive.org/details/parsonsfamilyde00parsgoog/page/n48 : accessed 1 January 2019).

[2] James Russell Trumbell, History of Northampton, Massachusetts Vol. 1, (Published in Northampton: 1898). Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=GNo_AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=mary+bliss+parsons&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwic1tz368zfAhUO-6wKHaNZBi4Q6AEwA3oECAYQAg#v=onepage&q=mary%20bliss%20parsons&f=false : accessed 1 January 2019).