In this bonus episode, we explore how English and colonial courts transformed fear into legal action.

Learn how the Witchcraft Act of 1604, coverture laws, and colonial legal codes shaped witchcraft trials across Virginia, Maryland, and New England.

We also examine shipboard justice and why captains held the power to condemn women at sea. Witchcraft wasn’t about magic - it was about power, patriarchy, and control.

Sources:

• Statutes of the Realm: James I Witchcraft Act (1604).
• Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.
• Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England. W.W. Norton & Company, 1987.
• Thomas, Keith. Religion and the Decline of Magic. Oxford University Press, 1971.
• Hall, David D. Witch-Hunting in Seventeenth-Century New England: A Documentary History. Duke University Press, 1991.

Why were certain women accused of witchcraft in the 1600s?

This mini-"between the seasons"- episode of Legacy Lore explores how fear, gender, religion, and social control shaped witchcraft accusations across Colonial America and England.

Learn how coverture laws, the domestic sphere, and community suspicion made widows, midwives, healers, and outspoken women vulnerable during the witch trials. Witchcraft wasn’t about magic. It was about power and patriarchy.

Sources:

• Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England. Norton, 1987.

• Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.

• Willis, Deborah Malevolent Nurture: Witch-Hunting and Maternal Power in Early Modern England, 1995.

• Roper, Lyndal Witch Craze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque Germany 2004.

• Gibson, Marion Reading Witchcraft: Stories of Early English Witches 1999

• Cott, Nancy F. The Bonds of Womanhood: “Woman’s Sphere” in New England, 1780–1835

• Erickson, Amy Louis Women and Property in Early Modern England 1991

• Rediker, Marcus Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Merchant Seamen, Pirates, and the Anglo-American Maritime World 1987

In this special interview episode, I sit down with Jen, also known as The Formidable Genealogist, to talk about the behind-the-scenes process of building accurate family trees and uncovering the truth behind historical records.

Jen shares strategies for verifying sources, navigating conflicting records, and breaking through research roadblocks.

We also talk about her widely-used PDF research guides that help researchers master platforms like FamilySearch, Ancestry, Newspapers.com, and Find a Grave, along with advice for anyone beginning their family history journey.

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