Ann Glover
Encyclopedia
Goodwife "Goody" Glover was the last person to be hanged in Boston as a witch.
as a Roman Catholic. Oliver Cromwell
sold her into slavery and sent her off to Barbados
in the 1650s. Her husband was killed in Barbados
because he would not renounce his Catholic faith.
By 1680 Ann and her daughter were living in Boston, Massachusetts
where they worked as housekeepers for John Goodwin. In the summer of 1688 four or five of the Goodwin children became ill after an argument with Glover's daughter and the doctor that was called suggested it was caused by witchcraft
. Martha Goodwin, who was thirteen, claimed she became ill after discovering Glover's daughter stealing some laundry.
Glover was arrested and tried for witchcraft
. She refused to speak English
on the stand as she could scarely speak it. She spoke her native Irish (Gaelic), instead. Reverend Cotton Mather
wrote that Glover was "a scandalous old Irishwoman, very poor, a Roman Catholic and obstinate in idolatry." At trial it was demanded of her to say the Lord's Prayer, she recited it in English and broken Latin, but since she had never learned it in English, she could not say it in English.
On November 16, 1688, Annie Glover was hanged in Boston amidst mocking shouts from the crowd. A Boston merchant who knew her, Robert Calef, said that "Goody Glover was a despised, crazy, poor old woman, an Irish Catholic who was tried for afflicting the Goodwin children. Her behaviour at her trial was like that of one distracted. They did her cruel. The proof against her was wholly deficient. The jury brought her guilty. She was hung. She died a Catholic." One contemporary writer recorded that, "There was a great concourse of people to see if the Papist would relent, her one cat was there, fearsome to see. They would to destroy the cat, but Mr. Calef would not permit it. Before her executioners she was bold and impudent, making to forgive her accusers and those who put her off. She predicted that her death would not relieve the children saying that it was not she that afflicted them." She didn't renounce her Catholic faith, and her prediction that her death would not relieve the Goodwin children was true.
Three hundred years later in 1988, the Boston City Council decided that this conviction was not just and proclaimed November 16 Goody Glover Day.
Background
Ann Glover was born in IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
as a Roman Catholic. Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
sold her into slavery and sent her off to Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
in the 1650s. Her husband was killed in Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
because he would not renounce his Catholic faith.
By 1680 Ann and her daughter were living in Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
where they worked as housekeepers for John Goodwin. In the summer of 1688 four or five of the Goodwin children became ill after an argument with Glover's daughter and the doctor that was called suggested it was caused by witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. Martha Goodwin, who was thirteen, claimed she became ill after discovering Glover's daughter stealing some laundry.
Glover was arrested and tried for witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. She refused to speak English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
on the stand as she could scarely speak it. She spoke her native Irish (Gaelic), instead. Reverend Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather, FRS was a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author and pamphleteer; he is often remembered for his role in the Salem witch trials...
wrote that Glover was "a scandalous old Irishwoman, very poor, a Roman Catholic and obstinate in idolatry." At trial it was demanded of her to say the Lord's Prayer, she recited it in English and broken Latin, but since she had never learned it in English, she could not say it in English.
On November 16, 1688, Annie Glover was hanged in Boston amidst mocking shouts from the crowd. A Boston merchant who knew her, Robert Calef, said that "Goody Glover was a despised, crazy, poor old woman, an Irish Catholic who was tried for afflicting the Goodwin children. Her behaviour at her trial was like that of one distracted. They did her cruel. The proof against her was wholly deficient. The jury brought her guilty. She was hung. She died a Catholic." One contemporary writer recorded that, "There was a great concourse of people to see if the Papist would relent, her one cat was there, fearsome to see. They would to destroy the cat, but Mr. Calef would not permit it. Before her executioners she was bold and impudent, making to forgive her accusers and those who put her off. She predicted that her death would not relieve the children saying that it was not she that afflicted them." She didn't renounce her Catholic faith, and her prediction that her death would not relieve the Goodwin children was true.
Three hundred years later in 1988, the Boston City Council decided that this conviction was not just and proclaimed November 16 Goody Glover Day.