She's a witch!

I decided to begin exploring a new segment of the family tree until I finish creating a database of the posts in this series, and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a reference to the famous witch trials of the 1600s. And it's possible that one of my ancestors was called as a witness in the trial of a woman who was given a reprieve.

John Choate came to America in 1643 from Essex County, England at the age of 19. According to a document titled, "John Choate and His Descendants," which may well be the subtitle to a book called The Choates in America 1643-1896, by E.O. Jameson and published in Boston in 1896, not much is available about the details of his life. By "not much," the author seems to mean more than the 1,000 or so words excerpted from the work and provided on Family Search. To me, that much material is a gold mine.

John settled in a section of Ipswich, Mass., know as Chebacco and married some 17 years later. He managed to purchase some land for a homestead paying "in cattle not over 8 years old; in grain English and Indian and partly in West India goods. Over the years he purchased more land as it became available and even bought most of the land on an island located about two miles from his homestead. The island was know as Hog Island, possibly because the shape of the island resembled a sleeping pig or because local residents would pasture swine there. 

He eventually took the oath of a free man, held the rank of sergeant in the local militia, and was a member of the Congregational Church, which qualified him to vote. He managed to get himself arrested at least three times -- once for theft of apples, once for lying and once for refusing to aid a marshal in making an arrest. He beat the rap each town.

The chronicle also mentions that John appeared as a witness in a few court proceedings including the case of "Rachell Clentons," who was accused of being a witch. A warrant for her arrest addressed to the constable of Ipswich can be found online at salem.lib.virginia.edu. It reads, in part, "Whereas There is Complaint Exhibbitted to the Honored Court now holden in Ipswich -- In Behalfe of their magesties against Rachell -- Formerly the Wife of Lawrence Clenton of Ipswich on grounded suspicion of witchcraft, & whereas Recognizance is Enterd, for prosecution." 

The warrant lists a number of individuals who the constable is to ensure appear in court to present their evidence against the woman, whose name is now standardized as Rachel Clinton. John is not listed among them, so I don't know where Jameson's information comes from or whether John appeared as a witness for the prosecution.

Before she became a defendant in a witch trial, she was ill treated by her former husband, a servant who conspired with his master to rob her of what little inheritance she had. She had to turn it over to the master before he would allow the marriage. Her husband had an affair and a child with another woman and was made financially responsible for the child's upkeep.

At one point Rachel accused a man of having sex with her while she was still married, a charge she later dropped, which caused her to be whipped. Her marriage to Lawrence landed the pair in court several times because they often lived separately. Eventually a court ordered Lawrence to lodge with her once a week, when she would be required to have sex with him. 

Lawrence proceeded to have a second affair that produced two more children. He and the woman were whipped and decided to leave town. Rachel was reduced to being a beggar.

In 1692 she was arrested for being a witch and clapped in irons. Several witnesses made outrageous claims against her. One man, for instance, said he encountered a large turtle that moved as fast as he could ride, and the turtle disappeared when he thought of Rachel. Another claimed beer disappeared mysteriously from his house after Rachel came there and was rebuffed. You can read a more complete accounting of the charges here: https://historicipswich.org/2021/04/28/rachel-clinton/#:~:text=On%20May%2028%2C%201692%2C%20Rachel,of%20witchcraft%2C%20arrested%20and%20jailed

A couple of the area's ministers made appeals on her behalf, and one man stepped down from the court in opposition to the proceedings.

She was one of 56 women accused of witchcraft and tried in Salem but was not one of the three convicted and executed. Rachel was released in 1693 and died two years later alone and in poverty.

Image: from HistoricIpswich.org accompanying article on Rachel Clinton.