That Old Black Magic

      

     In the spirit of the season, I return to the matriarch of my family "witches", Mary Williams King Hale.  Mary was born in England around the year 1606, as her deposition taken in a Boston deed transfer in 1656 states, she was "aged about 50 yeares".  In that deposition "Mary Hayle" at least three times referred to Hugh Williams as her brother.  Mary may have been born in or near London; in another Boston deed her brother Hugh Williams, (called a feltmaker in this deed and a hatter in another), sold property in Boston to his brother, John Williams, also a feltmaker, of Barnaby Street in London, England.  Nathaniel Williams of Boston may have been another brother of Mary's, but that has yet to be proven.  

     Further evidence of Hugh Williams being Mary's brother comes from two sources; one was a 1654 meeting of Boston's selectmen during which they agreed to allow Mary, widowed by this time, to reside there on security provided by Hugh Williams. The other is Hugh's will made on 1 October 1674 and probated on 12 October 1674 in which he left two thirds of his estate to his "sister Haile and her children".  The other third was left to his "brother Hilton's children at Charlestown".  During probate, "Mary Hale of Boston", was appointed co-executor of Hugh's will by the court.  I've found no records for a Hilton Williams. 

     Mary was twice married but the identities of her husbands remain elusive.  As she was using the name Hale by 1654, it can reasonably be assumed she was the widow of a man by that name.  Her first husband's surname can be inferred from the name of her daughter Winifred King, the notorious Witch of Wallingford.  From reading Hugh's will we know Mary had at least one more child in addition to Winifred.

     The relationship between Mary Hale and Winifred King is established by Winifred's deposition given in the same case her mother Mary Hale was deposed for.  In it, Winifred calls Hugh Williams her uncle.  The connection between Mary and Winifred is further strengthened by surviving depositions from a witchcraft case against Mary Hale in 1680, that mention her "granddaughter" Joanna Benham, who was the child of Winifred King and Joseph Benham.

     Mary Hale was not a reserved sort of woman who hesitated to speak her mind, a trait that landed her in hot water even before 1680.  A neighbor sued her twice in 1677, once for assaulting his wife and again for defaming both him and his wife; she lost on both counts.  Mary operated a boarding house in Boston and was learned in herbal medicine, indeed, she often took in sick people to care for them.  Here we have a quarrelsome, elderly widow with a knowledge of herbs, all the ingredients for suspicions of witchcraft; so when a young mariner named Michael Smith fell ill Mary became the prime suspect.

     Michael Smith boarded at Mary's establishment and the widow took a liking to him, so much so that she encouraged a match between him and her granddaughter Joanna Benham.  Although Michael was willing, Joanna refused to consider the match and eventually Michael found a new love interest, Margaret Ellis, and left Mary's roof.  Reportedly, Mary Hale was not pleased the romance had ended.  Witnesses reported her stalking Michael and slandering Margaret Ellis.

     Not long after, Michael stopped by Mary's house to see two friends lodging there, during that visit he consumed a drink made by Mary.  Before long, Michael was taken violently ill and insisted Mary Hale had poisoned him.  Though he recovered, he blamed Mary for his illness.  Before long, Michael was ill again, more seriously than the first time.  Joanna Benham visited him, bringing along a warm drink Mary Hale had prepared for him but Michael dared not drink it.   That evening however, Margaret Ellis brought Michael the drink claiming she had made it for him.  Within hours Michael was on his deathbed.

     To those gathered around him he again accused Mary Hale and wove a fantastic tale of being transported by her to a house in a nearby town where he saw a coven of twenty witches drinking wine. He called for authorities to arrest Mary and bring her blood to him, believing it would cure his bewitchment.  Raving and railing against her, Michael Smith died.

     Mary was brought up on charges of witchcraft following Michael's death and a number of witnesses testified against her.  One who spoke on her behalf was Joanna Benham who provided a deposition to the court that gave her relationship to Mary Hale as granddaughter, to wit, "Margaret Ellis told me that I and my grandmother Hale was the cause of his death and she hoped in the Lord to see my Grandmother Hale burned before she went out of the country".  That did not happen, Mary was acquitted and faded from the pages of Boston records.  Nothing more is presently known of Mary's life after her trial, she was in her mid-seventies at that time and probably did not live many years longer.  We do know history repeated itself when in 1692 her daughter Winifred Benham was charged with witchcraft for the first time.  In 1693 she was again investigated for witchcraft, and in 1697 Winifred and her daughter Winifred Jr. were both charged.  The elder Winifred was searched for incriminating marks and underwent the water test, eventually being released along with her daughter.  After this ordeal they left Connecticut, fleeing to Staten Island in New York State where Winifred had a married daughter residing.

     Hugh William's will can be found at Ancestry.com.  The land transaction and depositions, along with many other records from early Massachusetts, are available at the UMassAmherst website--  https://guides.library.umass.edu/c.php?g=672399&p=4737789    

     Never stop research with just the sources on Ancestry, there are many, many records online that are not available there.  County and state sites, Google Books, library sites, and Family Search are some of my favorites.