Posted on 07/10/2006 1:53:00 PM PDT by freepatriot32
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Witch of Pungo is no longer a witch. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine on Monday exonerated Grace Sherwood, who 300 years ago became Virginia's only woman convicted as a witch tried by water.
"I am pleased to officially restore the good name of Grace Sherwood," Kaine wrote in a letter Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf read aloud before a re-enactment of Sherwood's being dropped into the river.
"With 300 years of hindsight, we all certainly can agree that trial by water is an injustice," Kaine wrote. "We also can celebrate the fact that a woman's equality is constitutionally protected today, and women have the freedom to pursue their hopes and dreams."
Sherwood, a midwife who at times wore men's clothes, lived in what today is the rural Pungo neighborhood, and later became known as "The Witch of Pungo." Her neighbors thought she was a witch who ruined crops, killed livestock and conjured storms, and she went to court a dozen times, either to fight witchcraft charges or to sue her accusers for slander.
She was 46 when she was accused in her final case of using her powers to cause a neighbor to miscarry.
On July 10, 1706, Sherwood was dropped into the Lynnhaven River and floated _ proof she was guilty because the pure water cast out her evil spirit, according to the belief system of the time. The theory behind the test was that if she sank, she was innocent, although she would also drown.
Sherwood may have been jailed until 1714, when records show she paid back taxes and with the help of then-Gov. Alexander Spotswood she was able to reclaim her property. She then lived quietly until her death at 80.
Belinda Nash, 59, has been researching Sherwood for years and asked for the governor to exonerate the woman. A group annually remembers Sherwood with a re-enactment in the river.
For Monday's ceremony attended by about 60 people, the re-enactment took place on land _ in front of the Ferry Plantation House, a historic home where Nash volunteers as director and, dressed in costume, tells visitors about Sherwood. The courthouse where part of Sherwood's trial took place was located on the old plantation property.
Nash's daughter, Danielle Sheets, was tied cross-bound, her thumbs to her toes, and placed in a small boat, just as Sherwood would have been.
"I be not a witch. I be a healer," Sheets shouted, in character. "Before this day be through, ye will all get a worse ducking than I."
___
On the Net:
Information about Grace Sherwood: http://carolshouse.com/witch/
Ferry Plantation House: http://www.virginiabeachhistory.org/ferryfarm.html
Virginia Historical Society: http://www.vahistorical.org/
Thank you for a great Python reference.
My thoughts exactly. After I read this through I said,
"Oh! She DID NOT drown as a result of the water trial!"
And living to age 80 in the 18th century was no mean feat.
yitbos
How is this a British case?
I know, I prefer trial by jury meself!! :-P
> Some Delusional Souls might believe in Witchcraft and participate in such, but it is idiocy. By the Way, When I see a Harry Potter Movie, I consider it fiction, like Star Wars...which both are.
Hope you didn't get me wrong...some religions are legitimate faith systems, e.g., Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism. Other belief systems are dangerous, e.g., Islam, Satanism; or potentially dangerous, e.g., Scientology: Islam, Satanism and Scientology are cults, not religions. Wicca is kind of like the Easter Bunny...if you are an adult and believe in that crap, you're nuts.
Notwithstanding, I love the Harry Potter books.
I respect a politician who's not afraid to go against public opinion. [Eye-roll]
"How is this a British case?"
Weren't they all British?
He has... um... moral... courage...........
No, I agree, with most of what you said. Wiccans think they can conjure up a spell, with crystals and herbs. Kind of dumb...I would not lump the Easter Bunny in with Witches.
But aren't they being insensitive to the Wiccan religion?
So I wonder if they'll be renaming Witchduck road now? After all, it was named after her.
Should give hope to all who are wrongly convicted, that within 300 years they'll be exonerated by a Democratic governor.
And that, with time and sufficient hindsight, all pressing priorities are eventually given full consideration. A feel good moment for everyone, except for Ms. Sherwood.
Having recently moved back to Va., this 'non-story' makes me consider moving again.
I agree, they should change the name of the road to Dem Duck Rd.
...now the "Hillary Clinton exit".
Make it an urban enterprise zone.
It already was...
The state of VA is turning purple more and more every year. Soon it will be blue and I will move back to my red state of Texas.
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