Moll Pitcher
Encyclopedia
Moll Pitcher, born Mary Diamond (ca. 1736, probably Marblehead
, Massachusetts
– April 9, 1813) was a clairvoyant and fortune-teller from Lynn, Massachusetts
.
in Lynn. He and Lydia Silsbee were married in 1735. There were no public schools for girls at the time of her youth, but Moll Pitcher seems to have received some education. On October 2, 1760 she married Robert Pitcher, probably an apprentice of her father. The couple continued to live with the Diamonds and had four children, John, Rebecca, Ruth and Lydia. Her parents and brother died about 1788, and Moll Pitcher inherited the family property.
, with a clientele that continued to increase in importance for the next 50 years that she lived. Her fame reached throughout New England
, and her successful predictions astounded the educated and the uneducated alike. She was consulted by all classes, including visiting noblemen from Europe. Her predictions concerned "love affairs, legacies, discovery of crime, successful lottery tickets, and the more common contingencies of life." But her most important predictions involved the outcome of voyages. Crews were said to refuse to sail on voyages she predicted would be disastrous, and shipowners to refuse to risk their ships.
Treasure-seekers also consulted her, but she was said to have little patience with them, sometimes responding "Fools, if I knew where money was buried, do you think I would part with the secret?" Eccentric (and successful) businessman "Lord" Timothy Dexter
was said to place implicit confidence in her predictions.
(1807-92), also a native of Massachusetts, wrote a 900-line poem about her entitled simply Moll Pitcher. It was Whittier's second published work. The poem is not complimentary, describing her as a witch engaged in sinful work:
Contemporaries, however, describe her as plain: not beautiful, but not a hag; ordinary in appearance. Later in life, Whittier grew to dislike the poem.
Massachusetts playwright J.S. Jones
(1811-87) wrote Moll Pitcher, Or the Fortune Teller of Lynn.
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...
, 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...
– April 9, 1813) was a clairvoyant and fortune-teller from Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 89,050 at the 2000 census. An old industrial center, Lynn is home to Lynn Beach and Lynn Heritage State Park and is about north of downtown Boston.-17th century:...
.
Background
Moll Pitcher was said to have descended from a long line of "wizards." Her father, Aholiab Diamond, was a cordwainerCordwainer
A cordwainer is a shoemaker/cobbler who makes fine soft leather shoes and other luxury footwear articles. The word is derived from "cordwain", or "cordovan", the leather produced in Córdoba, Spain. The term cordwainer was used as early as 1100 in England...
in Lynn. He and Lydia Silsbee were married in 1735. There were no public schools for girls at the time of her youth, but Moll Pitcher seems to have received some education. On October 2, 1760 she married Robert Pitcher, probably an apprentice of her father. The couple continued to live with the Diamonds and had four children, John, Rebecca, Ruth and Lydia. Her parents and brother died about 1788, and Moll Pitcher inherited the family property.
Predictions and popularity
It is said that soon after her marriage she was known as a fortune-teller, a reader of tea leavesTasseography
Tasseography is a divination or fortune-telling method that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments....
, with a clientele that continued to increase in importance for the next 50 years that she lived. Her fame reached throughout New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, and her successful predictions astounded the educated and the uneducated alike. She was consulted by all classes, including visiting noblemen from Europe. Her predictions concerned "love affairs, legacies, discovery of crime, successful lottery tickets, and the more common contingencies of life." But her most important predictions involved the outcome of voyages. Crews were said to refuse to sail on voyages she predicted would be disastrous, and shipowners to refuse to risk their ships.
Treasure-seekers also consulted her, but she was said to have little patience with them, sometimes responding "Fools, if I knew where money was buried, do you think I would part with the secret?" Eccentric (and successful) businessman "Lord" Timothy Dexter
Timothy Dexter (businessman)
"Lord" Timothy Dexter , as he was sometimes termed by admiring contemporaries, was an eccentric American businessman noted for a series of lucky transactions and his writing.-Biography:...
was said to place implicit confidence in her predictions.
In literature
John Greenleaf WhittierJohn Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...
(1807-92), also a native of Massachusetts, wrote a 900-line poem about her entitled simply Moll Pitcher. It was Whittier's second published work. The poem is not complimentary, describing her as a witch engaged in sinful work:
She stood upon a bare tall craig
Which overlooked her rugged cot -
A wasted, gray, and meagre hag,
In featured evil as her lot.
She had the crooked nose of a witch,
And a crooked back and chin;
And in her gait she had a hitch,
And in her hand she carried a switch,
To aid her work of sin, -
Contemporaries, however, describe her as plain: not beautiful, but not a hag; ordinary in appearance. Later in life, Whittier grew to dislike the poem.
Massachusetts playwright J.S. Jones
Joseph Stevens Jones
Joseph Stevens Jones was a Boston actor, playwright and theater manager....
(1811-87) wrote Moll Pitcher, Or the Fortune Teller of Lynn.
Death
Pitcher died in 1813 and was buried in the West Lynn Burial Ground. Her grave was unmarked until 1887, when a tombstone with the following epitaph (from Whittier's poem) was erected in her memory:Even she, our own weird heroine,
Sole Pythoness of ancient Lynn,
Sleeps calmly where the living laid her;
And the wide realm of sorcery,
Left, by its latest mistress, free,
Hath found no gray and skilled invader.