Grace Sherwood
Encyclopedia
Grace Sherwood was a woman tried and convicted of witchcraft in the Princess Anne County court of the U.S. state of Virginia
in 1705–1706, in one of the most notable witch trials in the folklore of Virginia. She was also the subject of several fanciful oral and written stories surrounding the actual historical events.
Sherwood, was accused of witchcraft and eventually tried by means of "swimming"—one of several types of trial by water—an ordeal that she failed. She was not executed, but was instead imprisoned, and later released, living to be 80 years old. That she was jailed and released indicated a change, or at least a difference, in the attitudes of Virginians to alleged witchcraft as compared to cases elsewhere. Folklorist Thomas E. Barden, professor of English at the University of Toledo
, observes that in both the folk tales of Sherwood's story and the official accounts there is lacking "[t]he deep sense of malevolence and complicity with Satan that permeates the witch legends of New England, where a few years before Sherwood's trial nineteen women were hanged and one man was pressed to death" (see Salem witch trials
). Oliver Chitwood of Johns Hopkins University
hypothesized that since official records of the proceedings against Sherwood stop after her ducking and (second) examination for marks of witchcraft, it is quite likely that the case against her was simply dropped by the Virginian authorities. Barden observes that the magistrates apparently "lost their taste for the whole business".
observed the bottom of one page of the records had crumbled away so that the lost text is now only available from transcripts made by previous historians. There are no contemporary images of her, a fact that has led to a confusion by historians over her race. Historian and biographer Edward W. James observed that one writer—attributed in the 1869 Putnam's Magazine as simply "A Virginian"—had taken the statement "two titts of a Black Coller" in the historical records of the trial (more on which below) and had inferred from that one thing that Sherwood "was at least a mulatto
of the despised 'free nigger' order, if not a negress". James called this (along with several other tales of Sherwood, more on which below) "fanciful". It has, nonetheless, led to comment by historian Michal Sobel (whose other analyses of the history are below) and by baptist minister, Dr. Madeline McClenney-Sadler, of the Exodus Foundation, who describes being female and black as "two traits considered characteristic of those familiar with witchcraft".
James asserts, however, that Grace Sherwood was "the daughter of a substantial mechanic and small land owner". Author and local historian, Amy Waters Yarsinske, a past president of the Norfolk Historical Society and the Norfolk Historical Foundation, who, like James observed that much of what is written about Grace Sherwood is "fiction based little on truth", states that Grace was the daughter of a Pungo
landowner and carpenter John White, who married James Sherwood and bore him three sons: John, James, and Richard. Both she and James link Grace Sherwood to James White through the record of a deed of land that he made in 1680 to his son-in-law, Grace's husband, of a parcel of 50 acre (0.202343 km²) at Bansnett's Creek.
What illustrations there are of Sherwood and the events and places surrounding her date from more than a century later. Shaw's No. 12: Witch Duck Creek (at left) dates from the early 19th century. Bill Ballard, 20th century painter and an illustrator for the Raleigh News & Observer, provided the illustration of Sherwood's trial by water for Frank Roy Johnson's Witches and Demons in American folklore which a reviewer in the Journal of American Folklore thought to be "a rather merry portrayal".
s in damages), and in turn Hill then brought proceedings against her for witchcraft.
Initially, in February 1706, Sherwood was ordered, by the court, to present herself in person for examination by a jury of women. The verdict returned by that jury, on March 7, was "Wee of þe Jury have Serchth Grace Sherwood & have found Two things like titts with several Spotts." The "titts" and "spotts" being searched for were so-called witch's marks, physical blemishes that were supposed to be indications of a witch. Hill, in light of this verdict, then petitioned that Sherwood be prosecuted before the General Court. However, this petition was rejected by the attorney general, who referred the case back to Princess Anne County court on the grounds that the charge lacked both the grounds and the specificity for prosecution before the General Court. He directed that the case be re-examined before it could be presented to the General Court, which would also require an indictment
by a grand jury
.
Once again, in the Princes Anne County court, a jury of women was summoned, for a second physical examination of Sherwood to be made. However, this time there was some trouble in obtaining women to serve upon such a jury. So the court presented Sherwood with the option of trial by water instead, which on July 5 she agreed to undergo. The actual ordeal took place on July 10, with the county sheriff taking her to a point in the Chesapeake Bay
in Lynnhaven
—a point that is now, because of this, known as Witchduck Point
—and throwing her into the water. Ironically, the sheriff had been ordered by the court to be careful about the process, to ensure that there was good weather on the day so that Sherwood didn't catch cold and to make sure that her life was not endangered. Sherwood "swam", an indication of guilt in such a test. She was also physically examined for witch's marks by another jury of women when she came out of the water, whose verdict was (as that of the earlier jury had been) a positive one.
As a result, the county sheriff had to jail Sherwood. However, as noted, there are no surviving official records beyond this point, so it's not known in detail what then happened to her. Since it is known from other records that when she died she left her son a 145 acre (0.5867947 km²) estate, a house, some cattle, and some ancillary possessions, it is possible to infer that she was released from jail to live freely once more at some point. There is also a record, dated June 16, 1714, of a land grant to Sherwood of 144 acre (0.58274784 km²) by Alexander Spotswood
.
, contends that the events surrounding Sherwood's trial are a reflection of contemporary attitudes towards witches and witchcraft in Virginia, which were markedly different to the attitudes evident elsewhere. She bases this thesis on three things: the inferred attitude of the judges of Princess Anne County court, the events of earlier and related trials, and the inferred attitude of the jury of women charged with the examination for witch's marks.
The judges' attitude toward Sherwood can be inferred from their inaction and reluctance. This is inferrable from several parts of the recorded history. When the first jury of women returned a positive verdict, the judges apparently did nothing, and it was the plaintiff, Hill, who had to spur further action by petitioning the Williamsburg
General Court (only then to have Virginia Attorney General Stevens Thompson refer the case back for not having charged Sherwood "with any particular act"). Similarly, when the judges ruled, with Sherwood's agreement, that she undergo trial by water, they took the (extraordinary for such things in general) step of explicitly charging the sheriff and his men with keeping Sherwood alive and in good health. "The weather being very rainy & bad so þt. possibly it might endanger her health it is therefore ordr.", wrote the judges, that the trial be postponed to a better day and that "boats & men" be on hand "alwayes having care of her life to pe.serve her from drowning". A final item of evidence for this inference is the fact that, although Sherwood "floated", although the second physical examination by "five antient women" found "two things like titts on her private parts of a Black Coller", and although those women declared Sherwood to be "not like them: nor noe any other woman that they knew of", the judges simply jailed her until a "future tryall" rather than (as would ordinarily be the case in general) condemning and executing her based upon that trial and examination verdict.
There were several trials related to accusations of witchcraft in Virginia, and their natures also shed light on the attitude of Virginians toward witches. There were no actual witch hunts, and of the eight people who, between 1626 and 1705, were actually charged with witchcraft, only one, William Harding, was actually convicted and punished. In contrast, there were ten cases where people who were accused of witchcraft, by their neighbours, brought suit for slander. Grace Sherwood had in fact been one of the people who had brought such a case. When her husband, James Sherwood, was alive, the twain had actually brought three such actions for slander, against people who had called Grace a witch. They sued Richard Capps; John and Jane Gisburn, for saying that Sherwood had "bewitched their piggs to Death and bewitched their Cotton"; and Anthony and Elizabeth Barnes, for saying that Sherwood "came to her [Elizabeth] one night and rid [rode] her and went out of the key hole or crack of the door like a black Catt".
Although Virginians were reluctant to convict of witchcraft—three of the aforementioned eight trials resulting in wholesale exoneration of the accused—they were also reluctant to find in favour of the Sherwoods for slander. The case against Capps was settled out of court, and in the other two cases the finding was in favour of the defendants—this despite the fact that nine witnesses for the plaintiff were brought to court to testify as to what the defendants had said. Virginians believed that witches and sorcerers existed and were abroad and active. The prosecution for witchcraft brought by Hill was, as noted before, a retaliation for Sherwood suing Hill, and his wife Elizabeth, as well. By that time, Sherwood was a widow, and by the records of history not a particularly well-off one. Sobel observes that "[i]n the short inventory of her goods that is recorded, virtually everything was labelled 'old'", including an "old bed", "a few old blankets", "Seven old Cheres", and "one old poore mangy Scabby horse". Despite this, and the lack of a husband to stand with her this time, Sherwood went to court accusing the Hills of having "Assaulted Brused Maimed & Barbarously Beaten" her, and won; only to be prosecuted for witchcraft in turn.
The possibility of retaliation also extends to the final supporting item for Sobel's thesis: the inferred attitude of the juries of women called to perform physical examinations of Sherwood. The forewoman of the first jury was one Eliza Barnes, whom Sobel suggests might well have been the same Elizabeth Barnes whom the Sherwoods had brought action for slander against, eight years before. But when the Princess Anne Court called for a second jury, women were reluctant to serve. The womenfolk were threatened with contempt of court
and "the utmost severity of the law", but in the end the judges observed that it was "doubtfull that they should not get" anyone to serve, leading them to switch to trial by ordeal as an alternate mode of trial. Solbel advances two hypotheses for this reluctance: either the women were afraid of Sherwood's power as a witch, or they simply didn't actually want Sherwood to be convicted of witchcraft and executed, witch or not.
Professor David F. Condon, emeritus professor of law and legal history at George Mason University
, agrees with this view of 17th and 18th century Virginian attitudes, saying: "I submit the indications are that those to whom was entrusted the governance of Virginia already were forecasting the enlightenment that would in a very few generations be exemplified by Washington, Jefferson, Mason, and Madison.". He concludes on the basis of the Sherwood case and others, including those of William Harding (convicted of sorcery in 1655, lashed, and banished) and captain Bennett (who had Katherine Brady hanged at sea), that whilst "small freeholders […] still held and persisted in their beliefs […] their superstitions led mainly to no-value defamation actions, and not to the acceptance of such charges by their leaders", as had happened elsewhere.
George Holbert Tucker observed that "[a]s anyone who has ever investigated the subject knows, there are really two Grace Sherwoods". The first is the historical one, outlined above. But in the centuries since, a folkloric one has grown up, from folk tales told and re-enactments made of her and her trial. James observed in the 19th century that "[a] great many fanciful things have been written […] by ingenious authors, who, instead of searching the records for facts, have tortured their imaginations for theories". Nearly a century later, and citing James, Condon characterized these "far-fetched tales" as the products of "[h]istorians as novelists, or those revising to match their own views of the evils of the past".
Several of the folklore accounts have somewhat fanciful versions of events. Barden reports that of the accounts he has reviewed, some versions have Sherwood escaping her ordeal by vanishing into the air, or disappearing into the water in an eggshell. In a syndicated newspaper article for the 200th anniversary of her trial, Willard Homan related another of what he called the "impossible stories" that had come to be told of Sherwood's life:
Sobel observes that far from being remembered badly, as a witch, Sherwood in fact was "a fairly positive figure in Princess Anne County folklore", noting many of the things that the folkloric Sherwood was credited with: the ability to "sail to England in an eggshell", the ability to control animals (in particular the livestock of her enemies, spoiling the milk of their cows and causing the death of their swine), the ability to "bewitch cotton", the ability to inflame men's ardour, and the introduction of rosemary
to Virginia. Sobel observes that the folkloric Sherwood "seems to have mixed the tradition of English white and black witches", performing deeds both good and bad, and was considered "not particularly malevolent" by Virginians, the majority of whom were inclined to accept, or at least not condemn, her.
officially pardoned Sherwood on July 10, 2006, the 300th anniversary of her conviction. The pardon was the culmination of a campaign by Belinda Nash, a historical re-enactor who is part of a group that annually re-enacts Sherwood's trial by ordeal and also a volunteer at Ferry Plantation House
. It was Nash who petitioned the governor for a pardon. She also raised a third of the $92,000 spent on a statue of Sherwood in bronze (see lead image), commissioned from California sculptor Robert G. Cunningham, to stand in front of Sentara Bayside Hospital. The statue and the re-enactments are not the only commemorations of Sherwood in Virginia Beach. As well as thriving in folklore for three centuries she has also thrived in toponyms. Things named after the "Witch's Duck" by 2007 included Witchduck Road, the Witch Duck Point neighbourhood, Witch Duck Bay (on Lynnhaven River
), Sherwood Lane, and Witch Duck Bay Court. There is even bingo
at Witchduck Hall.
Annotated transcripts of Virginia public records
Folkloric Sherwood
Other
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1705–1706, in one of the most notable witch trials in the folklore of Virginia. She was also the subject of several fanciful oral and written stories surrounding the actual historical events.
Sherwood, was accused of witchcraft and eventually tried by means of "swimming"—one of several types of trial by water—an ordeal that she failed. She was not executed, but was instead imprisoned, and later released, living to be 80 years old. That she was jailed and released indicated a change, or at least a difference, in the attitudes of Virginians to alleged witchcraft as compared to cases elsewhere. Folklorist Thomas E. Barden, professor of English at the University of Toledo
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo is a public university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The Carnegie Foundation classified the university as "Doctoral/Research Extensive."-National recognition:...
, observes that in both the folk tales of Sherwood's story and the official accounts there is lacking "[t]he deep sense of malevolence and complicity with Satan that permeates the witch legends of New England, where a few years before Sherwood's trial nineteen women were hanged and one man was pressed to death" (see Salem witch trials
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
). Oliver Chitwood of Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
hypothesized that since official records of the proceedings against Sherwood stop after her ducking and (second) examination for marks of witchcraft, it is quite likely that the case against her was simply dropped by the Virginian authorities. Barden observes that the magistrates apparently "lost their taste for the whole business".
Evidence
Of the original documentary records on Grace Sherwood, very little survives. Even by 1914, the Princess Anne county records had deteriorated to such an extent that historian George Lincoln BurrGeorge Lincoln Burr
George Lincoln Burr was a U.S. historian, diplomat, author, and educator, best known as a Professor of History and Librarian at Cornell University, and as the closest collaborator of Andrew Dickson White, the first President of Cornell.Burr was born in Albany, New York and entered the in 1869,...
observed the bottom of one page of the records had crumbled away so that the lost text is now only available from transcripts made by previous historians. There are no contemporary images of her, a fact that has led to a confusion by historians over her race. Historian and biographer Edward W. James observed that one writer—attributed in the 1869 Putnam's Magazine as simply "A Virginian"—had taken the statement "two titts of a Black Coller" in the historical records of the trial (more on which below) and had inferred from that one thing that Sherwood "was at least a mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
of the despised 'free nigger' order, if not a negress". James called this (along with several other tales of Sherwood, more on which below) "fanciful". It has, nonetheless, led to comment by historian Michal Sobel (whose other analyses of the history are below) and by baptist minister, Dr. Madeline McClenney-Sadler, of the Exodus Foundation, who describes being female and black as "two traits considered characteristic of those familiar with witchcraft".
James asserts, however, that Grace Sherwood was "the daughter of a substantial mechanic and small land owner". Author and local historian, Amy Waters Yarsinske, a past president of the Norfolk Historical Society and the Norfolk Historical Foundation, who, like James observed that much of what is written about Grace Sherwood is "fiction based little on truth", states that Grace was the daughter of a Pungo
Pungo, Virginia
Pungo is a rural community located in the southern portion of the independent city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA and was one of the seven original boroughs when the City of Virginia Beach was created in 1963. The area derives its name from a local Indian tribe, the Machipungo, a branch of the...
landowner and carpenter John White, who married James Sherwood and bore him three sons: John, James, and Richard. Both she and James link Grace Sherwood to James White through the record of a deed of land that he made in 1680 to his son-in-law, Grace's husband, of a parcel of 50 acre (0.202343 km²) at Bansnett's Creek.
What illustrations there are of Sherwood and the events and places surrounding her date from more than a century later. Shaw's No. 12: Witch Duck Creek (at left) dates from the early 19th century. Bill Ballard, 20th century painter and an illustrator for the Raleigh News & Observer, provided the illustration of Sherwood's trial by water for Frank Roy Johnson's Witches and Demons in American folklore which a reviewer in the Journal of American Folklore thought to be "a rather merry portrayal".
Trial
Sherwood's trial in 1706 followed a suit that Sherwood had herself brought, in the preceding year, against Luke Hill. She sued Hill on December 7, 1705 for trespass, assault and battery (a suit that she won, being awarded 20 shillingShilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s in damages), and in turn Hill then brought proceedings against her for witchcraft.
Initially, in February 1706, Sherwood was ordered, by the court, to present herself in person for examination by a jury of women. The verdict returned by that jury, on March 7, was "Wee of þe Jury have Serchth Grace Sherwood & have found Two things like titts with several Spotts." The "titts" and "spotts" being searched for were so-called witch's marks, physical blemishes that were supposed to be indications of a witch. Hill, in light of this verdict, then petitioned that Sherwood be prosecuted before the General Court. However, this petition was rejected by the attorney general, who referred the case back to Princess Anne County court on the grounds that the charge lacked both the grounds and the specificity for prosecution before the General Court. He directed that the case be re-examined before it could be presented to the General Court, which would also require an indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
by a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
.
Once again, in the Princes Anne County court, a jury of women was summoned, for a second physical examination of Sherwood to be made. However, this time there was some trouble in obtaining women to serve upon such a jury. So the court presented Sherwood with the option of trial by water instead, which on July 5 she agreed to undergo. The actual ordeal took place on July 10, with the county sheriff taking her to a point in the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
in Lynnhaven
Lynnhaven
Lynnhaven is the name commonly given to a strip of land in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Lynnhaven area of Virginia Beach is recognized as starting off the Lesner Bridge....
—a point that is now, because of this, known as Witchduck Point
Witchduck Point
Witchduck Point is the name of the location where suspected witch Grace Sherwood was subjected to trial by water July 10, 1706. It is located within the neighborhood of Witchduck in Virginia Beach, Virginia....
—and throwing her into the water. Ironically, the sheriff had been ordered by the court to be careful about the process, to ensure that there was good weather on the day so that Sherwood didn't catch cold and to make sure that her life was not endangered. Sherwood "swam", an indication of guilt in such a test. She was also physically examined for witch's marks by another jury of women when she came out of the water, whose verdict was (as that of the earlier jury had been) a positive one.
As a result, the county sheriff had to jail Sherwood. However, as noted, there are no surviving official records beyond this point, so it's not known in detail what then happened to her. Since it is known from other records that when she died she left her son a 145 acre (0.5867947 km²) estate, a house, some cattle, and some ancillary possessions, it is possible to infer that she was released from jail to live freely once more at some point. There is also a record, dated June 16, 1714, of a land grant to Sherwood of 144 acre (0.58274784 km²) by Alexander Spotswood
Alexander Spotswood
Alexander Spotswood was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army and a noted Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He is noted in Virginia and American history for a number of his projects as Governor, including his exploring beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, his establishing what was perhaps the first...
.
How the history reflects views of witchcraft in Virginia
Mechal Sobel, professor of history at the University of HaifaUniversity of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
, contends that the events surrounding Sherwood's trial are a reflection of contemporary attitudes towards witches and witchcraft in Virginia, which were markedly different to the attitudes evident elsewhere. She bases this thesis on three things: the inferred attitude of the judges of Princess Anne County court, the events of earlier and related trials, and the inferred attitude of the jury of women charged with the examination for witch's marks.
The judges' attitude toward Sherwood can be inferred from their inaction and reluctance. This is inferrable from several parts of the recorded history. When the first jury of women returned a positive verdict, the judges apparently did nothing, and it was the plaintiff, Hill, who had to spur further action by petitioning the Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
General Court (only then to have Virginia Attorney General Stevens Thompson refer the case back for not having charged Sherwood "with any particular act"). Similarly, when the judges ruled, with Sherwood's agreement, that she undergo trial by water, they took the (extraordinary for such things in general) step of explicitly charging the sheriff and his men with keeping Sherwood alive and in good health. "The weather being very rainy & bad so þt. possibly it might endanger her health it is therefore ordr.", wrote the judges, that the trial be postponed to a better day and that "boats & men" be on hand "alwayes having care of her life to pe.serve her from drowning". A final item of evidence for this inference is the fact that, although Sherwood "floated", although the second physical examination by "five antient women" found "two things like titts on her private parts of a Black Coller", and although those women declared Sherwood to be "not like them: nor noe any other woman that they knew of", the judges simply jailed her until a "future tryall" rather than (as would ordinarily be the case in general) condemning and executing her based upon that trial and examination verdict.
There were several trials related to accusations of witchcraft in Virginia, and their natures also shed light on the attitude of Virginians toward witches. There were no actual witch hunts, and of the eight people who, between 1626 and 1705, were actually charged with witchcraft, only one, William Harding, was actually convicted and punished. In contrast, there were ten cases where people who were accused of witchcraft, by their neighbours, brought suit for slander. Grace Sherwood had in fact been one of the people who had brought such a case. When her husband, James Sherwood, was alive, the twain had actually brought three such actions for slander, against people who had called Grace a witch. They sued Richard Capps; John and Jane Gisburn, for saying that Sherwood had "bewitched their piggs to Death and bewitched their Cotton"; and Anthony and Elizabeth Barnes, for saying that Sherwood "came to her [Elizabeth] one night and rid [rode] her and went out of the key hole or crack of the door like a black Catt".
Although Virginians were reluctant to convict of witchcraft—three of the aforementioned eight trials resulting in wholesale exoneration of the accused—they were also reluctant to find in favour of the Sherwoods for slander. The case against Capps was settled out of court, and in the other two cases the finding was in favour of the defendants—this despite the fact that nine witnesses for the plaintiff were brought to court to testify as to what the defendants had said. Virginians believed that witches and sorcerers existed and were abroad and active. The prosecution for witchcraft brought by Hill was, as noted before, a retaliation for Sherwood suing Hill, and his wife Elizabeth, as well. By that time, Sherwood was a widow, and by the records of history not a particularly well-off one. Sobel observes that "[i]n the short inventory of her goods that is recorded, virtually everything was labelled 'old'", including an "old bed", "a few old blankets", "Seven old Cheres", and "one old poore mangy Scabby horse". Despite this, and the lack of a husband to stand with her this time, Sherwood went to court accusing the Hills of having "Assaulted Brused Maimed & Barbarously Beaten" her, and won; only to be prosecuted for witchcraft in turn.
The possibility of retaliation also extends to the final supporting item for Sobel's thesis: the inferred attitude of the juries of women called to perform physical examinations of Sherwood. The forewoman of the first jury was one Eliza Barnes, whom Sobel suggests might well have been the same Elizabeth Barnes whom the Sherwoods had brought action for slander against, eight years before. But when the Princess Anne Court called for a second jury, women were reluctant to serve. The womenfolk were threatened with contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
and "the utmost severity of the law", but in the end the judges observed that it was "doubtfull that they should not get" anyone to serve, leading them to switch to trial by ordeal as an alternate mode of trial. Solbel advances two hypotheses for this reluctance: either the women were afraid of Sherwood's power as a witch, or they simply didn't actually want Sherwood to be convicted of witchcraft and executed, witch or not.
Professor David F. Condon, emeritus professor of law and legal history at George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
, agrees with this view of 17th and 18th century Virginian attitudes, saying: "I submit the indications are that those to whom was entrusted the governance of Virginia already were forecasting the enlightenment that would in a very few generations be exemplified by Washington, Jefferson, Mason, and Madison.". He concludes on the basis of the Sherwood case and others, including those of William Harding (convicted of sorcery in 1655, lashed, and banished) and captain Bennett (who had Katherine Brady hanged at sea), that whilst "small freeholders […] still held and persisted in their beliefs […] their superstitions led mainly to no-value defamation actions, and not to the acceptance of such charges by their leaders", as had happened elsewhere.
Folkloric Sherwood
Historian and columnist for The Virginian-PilotThe Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot is a daily newspaper based in Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, southeastern Virginia, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The flagship property of Landmark Media Enterprises, The Pilot is Virginia's largest daily...
George Holbert Tucker observed that "[a]s anyone who has ever investigated the subject knows, there are really two Grace Sherwoods". The first is the historical one, outlined above. But in the centuries since, a folkloric one has grown up, from folk tales told and re-enactments made of her and her trial. James observed in the 19th century that "[a] great many fanciful things have been written […] by ingenious authors, who, instead of searching the records for facts, have tortured their imaginations for theories". Nearly a century later, and citing James, Condon characterized these "far-fetched tales" as the products of "[h]istorians as novelists, or those revising to match their own views of the evils of the past".
Incorporation into folklore
Many folk tales, both oral and written, have grown up surrounding the story of Grace Sherwood. Barden observes that the character of the written tales—the "smell of the writer's lamp" as he calls it—in such as the following is readily apparent from their syntax, vocabulary, and simple difficulty with which they could be related in spoken fashion:Several of the folklore accounts have somewhat fanciful versions of events. Barden reports that of the accounts he has reviewed, some versions have Sherwood escaping her ordeal by vanishing into the air, or disappearing into the water in an eggshell. In a syndicated newspaper article for the 200th anniversary of her trial, Willard Homan related another of what he called the "impossible stories" that had come to be told of Sherwood's life:
Sobel observes that far from being remembered badly, as a witch, Sherwood in fact was "a fairly positive figure in Princess Anne County folklore", noting many of the things that the folkloric Sherwood was credited with: the ability to "sail to England in an eggshell", the ability to control animals (in particular the livestock of her enemies, spoiling the milk of their cows and causing the death of their swine), the ability to "bewitch cotton", the ability to inflame men's ardour, and the introduction of rosemary
Rosemary
Rosemary, , is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs, and is one of two species in the genus Rosmarinus...
to Virginia. Sobel observes that the folkloric Sherwood "seems to have mixed the tradition of English white and black witches", performing deeds both good and bad, and was considered "not particularly malevolent" by Virginians, the majority of whom were inclined to accept, or at least not condemn, her.
Posthumous pardon and memorialization
Virginia Governor Timothy KaineTim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011...
officially pardoned Sherwood on July 10, 2006, the 300th anniversary of her conviction. The pardon was the culmination of a campaign by Belinda Nash, a historical re-enactor who is part of a group that annually re-enacts Sherwood's trial by ordeal and also a volunteer at Ferry Plantation House
Ferry Plantation House
-External links:* - official site****...
. It was Nash who petitioned the governor for a pardon. She also raised a third of the $92,000 spent on a statue of Sherwood in bronze (see lead image), commissioned from California sculptor Robert G. Cunningham, to stand in front of Sentara Bayside Hospital. The statue and the re-enactments are not the only commemorations of Sherwood in Virginia Beach. As well as thriving in folklore for three centuries she has also thrived in toponyms. Things named after the "Witch's Duck" by 2007 included Witchduck Road, the Witch Duck Point neighbourhood, Witch Duck Bay (on Lynnhaven River
Lynnhaven River
The Lynnhaven River is a tidal estuary located in the independent city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, in the United States, and flows into the Chesapeake Bay west of Cape Henry at Lynnhaven Inlet, beyond which is Lynnhaven Roads. It has a small, developed watershed covering , terminating at Lynnhaven...
), Sherwood Lane, and Witch Duck Bay Court. There is even bingo
Bingo (card game)
Bingo is a card game named by analogy to the game bingo. The game is played with a bridge deck of 52 cards. The dealer gives each player X cards, which are held in the hand or placed face-down in front of the player. The dealer places Y cards face down in the center of the table...
at Witchduck Hall.
Further reading
FictionalizationsAnnotated transcripts of Virginia public records
Folkloric Sherwood
Other
External links
- "Grace Sherwood - The Witch of Pungo", CarolsHouse.com