‘At a Court held ye 10th July 1706.
| Present | { | Colo Moseley | Capt. Moseley | } | Justices. | |
| Capt Woodhouse | Jno. Cormick | |||||
| Capt. Chapman | Capt. Wm Smyth | |||||
| Richason—come late. | ||||||
Grace Sherwood to be Ducked.
‘Whereas Grace Sherwood being Suspected of Witchcraft—have a long time waited for a fit opportunity for a further Examination—and by her Consent, & Approbation of ye Court, it is ordered yt ye Sherr take all such Convenient assistance of boats and men, as shall be by him thought fit to meet & at John Harper’s plantation, in order to take ye said Grace Sherwood forthwith, & put her into water above man’s Debth & try her how she swims. Therein always having Care of her life to preserve her from Drowning & as soon as she comes Out yt he request as many Ancient and Knowing women as possible to come to Serch her Carefully for teat spotts and marks about her body not usual on Others & yt as they find ye same to make report on Oath To ye truth ther of to the Court; and, further, it is ordered yt Four women be requested to Shift and Serch her before she goo into ye water yt she carry nothing about her to cause any further Suspicion.
Order XX.
Grace Sherwood Ducked, etc.
‘Whereas on Complaint of Luke Hill in behalf of her Majesty yt now is agt Grace Sherwood for a person Suspected of Witch craft & having had Sundry Evidences sworn agt her, proving many Circumstances to which She could not make any Excuse, Little or Nothing to say in her own behalf, only Seamed to Rely on wt ye Court should doo, and there upon Consented to be tryed in ye Water, & Like-wise to be Serched again Bodily. Experiment being tried, She swiming wen therein, and bound Contrary to Custom & ye judgt of all ye Spectators, & afterward, being Serched, & five Ancient weomen who have all Declared on Oath yt she is not like yem nor noo Other women yt they know of ... all wch Circumstances ye Court weighing in their Consideration, Doo there fore ordr yt ye Sherr take ye sd Grace Into his custody, and to commt her body to ye Common Gaol of this County, there to secure her by irons or other Wise, there to Remain till Such time as shall be otherwise Directed in order for her comming to ye Common Gaol of ye County, to be brought to a future tryall there.
‘Edwd Moseley &
‘Jno Richason.’
As nothing more can be found respecting her, she was probably let go.
As a justice of the peace, William Penn had to sit in judgment upon two Swedish women who were indicted as witches, and true bills were found against them; but they got off, owing to some flaw in the indictment. And this, as far as I know, is the sole instance of a trial for witchcraft in Pennsylvania.
Drake, in ‘Annals of Witchcraft,’ p. 215, says: ‘About this period [1712], in the Colony of South Carolina, some suspected of witchcraft were seized upon by a sort of ruffianly Vigilance Committee, and condemned to be burnt, and were actually roasted by fire, although we do not learn that the injuries thus inflicted proved fatal. The parties so tortured, or their friends, brought action in the regular courts, for the recovery of damages; but the jury gave them nothing.’