Witch of Pungo Exonerated

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As a Virginia native and having grown up near Va Beach, I was familiar with the folk tales surrounding the “Witch of Pungo.” Grace Sherwood may have been a pain in the neck to her neighbors, and she probably had way too many cats, but she was not a witch.

And where some people see a tragic miscarriage of justice, I see a very funny story on why it is important to not pester your neighbors and to keep a good lawyer on retainer.

From the AP here:

Va. governor exonerates convicted witch

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Witch of Pungo is no longer a witch. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine on Monday exonerated Grace Sherwood, who 300 years ago became Virginia’s only woman convicted as a witch tried by water.

“With 300 years of hindsight, we all certainly can agree that trial by water is an injustice,” Kaine wrote.

Sherwood, a midwife who at times wore men’s clothes, lived in what today is the rural Pungo neighborhood, and later became known as “The Witch of Pungo.” Her neighbors thought she was a witch who ruined crops, killed livestock and conjured storms, and she went to court a dozen times, either to fight witchcraft charges or to sue her accusers for slander.

She was 46 when she was accused in her final case of using her powers to cause a neighbor to miscarry.

On July 10, 1706, Sherwood was tied cross-bound, her thumbs to her toes and dropped into the Lynnhaven River and floated proof she was guilty because the pure water cast out her evil spirit, according to the belief system of the time. The theory behind the test was that if she sank, she was innocent, although she would also drown.

Sherwood may have been jailed until 1714, when records show she paid back taxes and with the help of then-Gov. Alexander Spotswood she was able to reclaim her property. She then lived quietly until her death at 80.

It should be noted that after her stint in jail, Sherwood never again shrilly yelled at the neighbors or tried to sue anyone. It was nice to see that the Governor back then knew it was a bogus charge and let her get her huge tract of land back.

And honestly, what judge, even in the early 1700’s, would allow such a stupid stunt such as trial by water? Maybe one that wanted to teach a nagging shrewish woman some manners? Grace Sherwood needed a better lawyer.