Never Too Late To Pardon a Witch
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia — It took 300 years, but Virginia’s only convicted witch has finally been pardoned.
Governor Kaine was asked to exonerate Grace Sherwood, who was tried by water and accused of using her powers to cause a woman to miscarry.Yesterday, the 300th anniversary of Sherwood’s “ducking” trial, Mr. Kaine obliged.
“I am pleased to officially restore the good name of Grace Sherwood,” Mr. Kaine said in a letter that was read aloud by Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf before a local re-enactment of the ducking.
“With 300 years of hindsight, we all certainly can agree that trial by water is an injustice,” Mr. Kaine wrote.
On July 10, 1706, Sherwood’s thumbs were tied to her toes and she was dropped into a river. She floated, proof that she was guilty because the pure water cast out her evil spirit, according to the belief system of the time. Each year, a small group remembers Sherwood with a re-enactment. Yesterday’s re-enactment took place on land — in front of the Ferry Plantation House, a historic home.
Sherwood lived in what today is the rural Pungo neighborhood and she is known as “The Witch of Pungo.” She went to court a dozen times, either to fight witchcraft charges or to sue her accusers for slander. In her final case, she was tried for using witchcraft to cause a woman to miscarry.
