Not all that sad. After Grace had filed a charge of assault and  
battery against a neighbor, the neighbor retaliated with charges of  
witchcraft against her [bewitching livestock, ruining crops,  
conjuring storms]. For a time she was shunted back and forth between  
the local Princess Anne County Court and the Governor and the General  
Court. The Va. Atty General said the charges were too vague and sent  
the case back to the county. The first group of women who were  
appointed to examine her for "marks of a witch" refused, and another  
group was named. Her dunking included a group of men in a boat  
nearby, in case the "innocent" Grace should sink, they could rescue  
her before she drowned. As it happened, she freed herself and, of  
course, came to the surface. The area is still known as Witchduck  
Point and Witchduck Road in Virginia Beach. She was sent to jail for  
a time [no Virginia witch was ever executed], was later released, and  
Governor Spotswood helped her get her property back; in 1714 she paid  
back taxes on it. In 1733 she willed her estate to her 3 sons, and  
was deceased by 1740, aged 80. I believe there were only 15 witch  
trials in Colonial Virginia, and most resulted in aquittals. One man,  
accused by a Scottish preacher, was whipped and banned from the  
county. The authorities seemed to have discouraged witch trials and  
they often ended with a lawsuit for slander being filed  against the  
accuser, who was usually fined for bringing false charges. I think  
the fact that witch cases in Virginia were solely a civil and legal  
matter and lacked the religious involvement of the trials in New  
England made a huge difference. I've never heard of your case.  
Perhaps it happened in New England? Or was local and no record is  
left of it?

Nancy

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

--Daniel Boone



On May 2, 2008, at 10:59 AM, Paul Heinegg wrote:

> There's a terribly sad story about a woman named Grace Sherwood who  
> was tried by dunking in Princess Anne County in 1706. The court  
> also appointed a jury of five competent women who searched her and  
> found that "she is not like them or noe other woman that they  
> know." [Minutes 1691-1709, pages 431, 433, 442, 444-5, and others].
> Paul
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