Grace Sherwood, the daughter of carpenter John White and the wife of
John Sherwood, a small planter in Princess Anne County, seemed to
have run afoul of her neighbors quite a bit. There were several
instances of them accusing her of witchcraft, bewitching livestock,
etc. At least once she and her husband brought action for slander but
lost the court case [by the middle of the 17th century calling
someone a witch in VA. was grounds for slander]. In January 1706,
described as a "widow of middle years" [her husband died in 1701],
she filed charges of assault and battery against neighbor Luke Hill
and his wife. Grace won the case and was awarded 20 shillings. The
next month Luke charged her with witchcraft, bewitching his hogs and
cattle. Several other neighbors joined in, accusing her of causing
ruined crops, killed livestock, and conjuring storms. She was
questioned by the Princess Anne County Court and 2 signs of being a
witch were found on her body. The Governor and General Court were
petitioned to take the case, but the Virginia Attorney General said
the charges were too vague, and sent it back to the county. A jury of
women was selected, to examine her body for more signs of being a
witch, but they refused and did not appear. They were threatened with
contempt and a new panel of women was appointed. The sheriff took her
into custody and she was held in jail till she could be sent back to
the General Court for trial, which finally happened July 10, 1706.
She defended herself and rebutted the accusations against her, and
consented to being ducked, "trial by water." She was tied up and put
into the Lynnhaven River at a place still known as Witchduck Point.
She did not drown- in fact, she freed herself and swam to the surface
[there were men in boats nearby, ready to fish her out if the
possibly innocent Grace should appear to be drowning]- and then
served several years in jail. Gov. Spotswood, on her release, helped
her regain her lost property and she paid back taxes on it in 1711.
In 1733 she willed her estate to her 3 sons and by 1740 she was
deceased, aged around 80 years, as the will was probated in that
year. On July 10, 2006, 300 years later, Virginia Governor Kaine
officially pardoned her.

The above from my notes. There were 15 witch trials in colonial
Virginia. The only other conviction was in 1656, when a clergyman
from Scotland accused a William Harding of witchcraft. He was found
guilty, sentenced to "10 stripes" and banished from the county (but I
have not been able to find out what county that was].

Another correction from my notes, In 1699 Gov. Francis Nicholson
imposed a fine of 5 shillings to anyone who did not go to church at
least once in 2 months.

Nancy

-------
I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.

--Daniel Boone

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