Initially, I planned for the heroine to be a
descendant of one of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials because I grew up
hearing stories about my ancestor, Susannah Martin, who was hanged as a witch
there.
However, when I found out about Alse Young, I had to
feature her in my story.
Alse was the first person executed for witchcraft in
this country in the colony of Connecticut on May 26, 1647 around 45 years
before the hysteria in Salem.
Little is known about her. She lived in Windsor and
had a daughter also named Alse who was accused of the same crime about 30 years after
her mother’s death but never indicted. It was common practice at that time to
name daughters after their mothers. Sadly, family members of the people arrested
were frequently persecuted as well.
Historians believe Alse’s (the mother) husband was John
Young although the only substantiation of this was a notation on the back of an
alchemical physician’s note stating Young had been married to a woman who was
executed for witchcraft in Hartford.
There is no record of why Alse was denounced or any
evidence presented against her. However, there was an outbreak of influenza at
the time and many people died. Alse may have been scapegoated by the town’s
prominent citizens.
In my novel, Witch
Trial Legacy, Alse appears in spirit form to help the heroine break the
curse which gives her visions of future tragedies but prevents anyone from
believing her when she tries to warn them.
I took some writer’s license with Alse’s story. I made
her an attractive, well-to-do widow pursued by a greedy neighbor and changed
her daughter’s name to “Truth”. Having mother and daughter characters with the
same name could be confusing for readers, and since Puritans often named babies
after virtues, I thought “Truth” would be the perfect name for Alse’s daughter.
She is the only one who acknowledges the real reasons behind Alse’s execution.
She also manipulates the town’s perceptions of reality in order to obtain her
revenge.
It’s a shame that Alse and other victims from
Connecticut are not better known today. We hear a lot about Salem, but little
about other areas. Too many lives were lost due to superstition. I’m hoping to
help spread the word so that more people realize the tragic circumstances and
commemorate them.
The Windsor town council formally exonerated Alse on
February 6, 2017. A memorial service for her was held there on May 26, 2017 and
a brick engraved with her name is among the memorial bricks beneath the flag
pole near town hall.
Here are a couple of references to learn more about Alse.
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/alse-young-witch/
https://connecticuthistory.org/alse-young-executed-for-witchcraft-today-in-history-may-26/
https://www.jud.ct.gov/lawlib/history/witches.htm
Witch
Trial Legacy is available for preorder from Amazon and
releases everywhere on October 11. Check back here next month for the cover reveal!
If you would like more info about me or my books, please visit my website at: http://katherineeddingersmits.weebly.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter, and I’ll send you a free exclusive short story. Newsletters come out once or twice a month and always include contests, freebies, and fun. Unsubscribe any time by clicking at the bottom.
Thanks so much for reading this!
Katherine Eddinger Smits
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You have an interesting family history. If my g'grandmother and her daughter were alive they could relate to Alse and her daughter. I'm looking forward to reading to reading Witch Trial Legacy.
ReplyDeleteKathy, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this book. I would love to feature your cover reveal and/or promo on my blog. I'm so glad you were able to use inspiration of Alse in it. Alse speaks for generations. It's sad how common it still is for people who are a little different or don't follow along with herd mentality to be scapegoated and crushed.
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