New England’s Other Witch Hunt:

John Winthrop, Jr. and the Hartford Witch Panic of the 1660s

October 19, 7 PM – 8:30 PM

Decades before Salem’s witch trials, Connecticut put seven people to death for witchcraft including Alse Young and Lydia Gilbert of Windsor. This talk at Windsor Historical Society, by Connecticut’s state historian Walter Woodward, focuses on Connecticut Governor John Winthrop, Jr. and the Hartford Witch hunt of the 1660s. Taken from Woodward’s new book, Prospero’s America: John Winthrop Jr., Alchemy and the Creation of New England Culture  it shows how this colonial alchemist, physician, political leader, and authority on the occult intervened to transform Connecticut from New England’s fiercest witch hunter into a colony that ended witchcraft executions permanently a generation before Salem. COST: $6 adults, $5 seniors and students, $4 members. 860-688-3813 or www.windsorhistoricalsociety for more information.