Mary and Rebecca....

Mary (Towne) Estey*.....

....was born on August 24, 1634 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.

In 1655, she was wed to Issac Estey in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts.

She died on September 22, 1692.
 

Hanged as a witch.....

The warrant for her arrest read as follows:

To the Marshall of the County of Essex or dept or Constables of Salem You are in theire Majest's names hereby required to appre- hend and forthwith bring before mee at the house of mr. Thomas Beadles in Salem the Body of Mary Easty the wife Isaac Easty of Topsfeild to be Examined Relateing to sundry acts of witchcraft by her Committed yesterday and this present day according to Com- plaint aboves'd and hereof you are not to faile

Dated Salem May 20th 1692

(Taken from Essex County Archives, Salem - Witchcraft Vol. 1, Page 117)

Mary was tried on September 9, 1692.

What follows is a copy of the petition Mary wrote to the court following her condemnation:

To the honorable judge and bench now sitting in Salem, and the Rev. Minister, this petition showeth that your humble, poor petitioner, being condemned to die, doth humbly beg of you to take it into your judicious and pious consideration that your petitioner, knowing my innocence, and blessed be the Lord for it, and seeing the wiles and subtlety of my accuser, by myself cannot but judge charitably of others who are going the same way as myself, if the Lord step not mightily in. I was confined a whole month on the same account that I am now condemned, and then cleared, as your honors know, and in two days' time I was cried out upon again and have been confined and am now condemned to die. The Lord above know my innocence then, and likewise does now, as at the great day will be known by men and angels. I petition to your honors not for my own life, for I know I must die, and the appointed time is set, but if it be possible, that no more innocent blood be shed, which undoubtedly cannot be avoided in the way and course you go in. I question not but your honors do to the utmost of your powers in the discovery and detection of witchcraft and witches and would not be guilty of innocent blood for the world, but by my own innocence, I know you are in the wrong way. The Lord in his infinite mercy direct you in this great work, that innocent blood be not shed. I humbly beg of your honors that you would be pleased to examine some of those afflicted persons and keep them a part sometime, and likewise try some of those confessing witches, I being confident several of them have belied themselves and others, as will appear, if not in this world, in the world to come, wither I am going, and I question not but your honors will see an alteration in these things. * They say myself and others have made a league with the devil. We cannot confess. I know and the Lord knows, as will shortly appear, that they belie me, and I question not but they do others. The Lord above knows, who is the searcher of all hearts, as I shall answer at the tribunal seat, that I know not the least thing of witchcraft, therefore cannot, I dare not belie my own soul. I beg your honors not to deny this my humble petition for a poor, dying and innocent person, and I question not but the Lord will give a blessing on your endeavors.

Mary Estey Mary was executed on September 22, 1692.  (*Note: There are historical variations in the spelling of Mary's surname: Estey, Esty, Easty, Eastie, and Eastick are but a few....)  Mary's sister, Rebecca, was also hanged as a witch on July 19, 1692.... 

 

Mary was my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother.  Rebeca, my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great aunt.

So, some might say I come from a long line of witches....

Happy Hallowe'en....from a real witch!