09/07/2026
For colonial Connecticut families, local folk practices and Puritan religious authority often collided inside the courtroom, with devastating consequences.
In Wethersfield, this tension came to a head during the 1669 witchcraft trial of Katherine Harrison.
When Harrison was accused, the court formally consulted a group of local ministers about her well-known ability to tell the future. The clergymen returned a damning opinion, writing that any knowledge that could not be attained by "human skill" or "divine revelation" must "needs be known (if at all) by information from the Devil".
This official stance transformed Harrison's practice of local folk divination into a prime legal indicator of "familiarity" with Satan.
Connecticut Witch Trials in depth, including dialog on Governor John Winthrop Jr,, alchemy, and specific accused witches:
Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack present Dr. Scott Culpepper. He is a historian, storyteller, author and Professor of History at Dordt University in Sioux Center, IA. We discuss the Connecticut Witch Trials in depth, including dialog on Governor John Winthrop Jr,, alchemy, and specific accused witch...
