Historical Society Of Easton Hosts Lecture On Witch Trials

EASTON, Conn. – The Historical Society of Easton will begin its Fall Lecture Series at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19, in the Easton Public Library’s Community Room, 691 Morehouse Road, with a talk about the witchcraft trials that were held in Colonial times in Connecticut.

by Lynn Funk

10/13/2014 5:00 a.m.

The lecture guide will be Richard G. Tomlinson, author of Witchcraft Prosecution: Chasing the Devil in Connecticut. The book deals with the history of the 17th and 18th century witchcraft trials. He is also the co-founder and director of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists.

During the lecture, he will discuss the three major witchcraft trials that took place in Connecticut – the Hartford Witch Panic in 1662-63, the prosecution of Katherine Harrison of Wethersfield and the trial of Mercy Disbrow. Disbrow was the last woman to be convicted of witchcraft in Connecticut, and it happened around the time the famous witch trials were going on in Salem, Mass.

Tomlinson’s book will be available for purchase after the event. The lecture is free to attend, but donations to benefit the Historical Society of Easton are welcome.

For more information, call the Historical Society of Easton at 203-261-2090, email to hseastonct@gmail.com or visit the website at www.historicalsocietyofeastonct.org.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Westport and receive free news updates.