Yesterday as I was watching "The Kelly Clarkson Show" there was an interview with two high school girls and their teacher who undertook a class project in Civics to have one of the last accused people of the 1692 Salem Witchcraft Trials exonerated.
It seems that Elizabeth was accused but escaped execution after she pleaded guilty and helped to accuse others, including family members. Somehow (see below for theories) she got forgotten when the Mass. legislature exonerated most of the others that were accused.....
I then decided to research this woman and I found a very close family connection to her.
Read on for the tale of my 1st Cousin Elizabeth (Betty) Johnson Jr.
Elizabeth (Betty) Johnson Jr
(1670-1732)
My First Cousin Nine Times Removed
More than 300 years ago, Elizabeth Johnson Jr. of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony’s Andover settlement (in what is now North Andover) was accused
of witchcraft.
Now, state Sen. Diana DiZoglio, D-Methuen, is hoping to officially clear
Johnson’s name.
A 1711 law reversed convictions from the 1692 witchcraft trials,
specifically naming 22 individuals. Lawmakers over the years have
cleared the names of several others accused of witchcraft, and a bill
before the Judiciary Committee would do the same for Elizabeth Johnson
Jr. [Courtesy/Library of Congress]
The Massachusetts Legislature has taken steps to make amends for the
1692 witch trials and executions. Nineteen years after the trials, the
colonial Legislature passed an act reversing the convictions of several
who were executed.
And in 1957 the Legislature passed a resolution acknowledging the
tragedy as "shocking, and the result of a wave of popular hysterical
fear of the Devil in the community."
In 2001, Gov. Jane Swift signed a bill adding more names to those to be
exonerated. ....
A Woman accused but not executed but not exonerated....
But one name was not on the list yet.
Elizabeth Johnson Jr., born in 1670 to Steven and Elizabeth Dane
Johnson, was accused of witchcraft — the first in her family — in August
1692 by members of the Carrier family.
Her mother would be arrested on similar accusations a few days later,
and several more Johnson family members would follow.
It’s believed the Johnson family was targeted because Rev. Francis Dane,
Elizabeth’s grandfather, was a longtime skeptic of witchcraft and
opposed the witch trials.
After days of imprisonment and interrogation, Elizabeth Johnson Jr.
eventually confessed and testified against others, including her own
son.
She was sentenced to death, but was spared execution by order of Gov.
William Phips.
Now, DiZoglio wants to give Elizabeth Johnson Jr. the closure she’s had
waiting for three centuries.
The Women responsible for clearing Elizabeth's name
(These women were on the Kelly Clarkson Show yesterday....)
Inspired by North Andover Middle School teacher Carrie LaPierre’s class,
which researched the trials and exonerations, DiZoglio has filed a
resolution to add Johnson’s name to the exoneration list, saying it’s
likely that never happened because Johnson "was neither a wife or a
mother, she was not considered worthy of having her name cleared."
Because Elizabeth was not hanged for her alleged crime, she was
overlooked. Because she never had children, there is no group of
descendants acting on her behalf," DiZoglio said in her testimony to the
Legislature. "It's very important that we correct history and give the
families of victims like Elizabeth closure.”
The 1692 witch trails are largely associated with Salem, but more people
were actually accused in Andover than in Salem.
My Family Connection to Elizabeth
(1st cousins 9 times removed)
Elizabeth Johnson's Grandparent's John Johnson and Susan Tanner are John Repinski's 9th Great Grandparents
Elizabeth descends from their son Stephen Johnson and I and my siblings descend from their son William Johnson (Stephen's brother)
Elizabeth and John are first cousins 9 times removed
Elizabeth Johnson (1670-1716) and John Repinski are both descendants of Suzan (Unknown) Johnson (1611-1683).
1.
Elizabeth is the
daughter of
Stephen Johnson (1636-1690)
2.
Stephen is the
son of
Suzan (Unknown) Johnson (1611-1683)
This makes
Suzan the grandmother of Elizabeth.
2. Marlene is the daughter of Raymond Harold Dietz (1912-1973)
3. Raymond is the son of Grace Elizabeth Mabel (Pope) Dietz (1891-1963)
4. Grace is the daughter of Henry Allen Pope (1862-1927)
5. Henry is the son of Thomas Paschal Pope (1838-1906)
6. Thomas is the son of Eliza Ann (Converse) Pope (abt.1819-1891)
7. Eliza is the daughter of Mary (Bugbee) Converse (1793-1880)
8. Mary is the daughter of Sarah (Johnson) Bugbee (1729-1815)
9. Sarah is the daughter of Caleb Johnson (1694-1760)
10. Caleb is the son of William Johnson (abt.1655-1727)
11. William is the son of Suzan (Unknown) Johnson (1611-1683)
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