Mehitable Woodworth

1662 -

• Name	Mehitable Woodworth  [1, 2]
  	"Mehitabel is mentioned as having been "unfortunate as to her health." She was afflicted with some nervous disorder, which in those superstitious days was synonymous with being "possessed with the devil;" in other words, she was under the influence of witchcraft and Mary Ingham was charged with being the witch. On March 6, 1676, she was indicted in the following language: "Mary Ingham, thou art indicted by the name of Mary Ingham of the Town of Scituate, in the jurisdiction of New Plymouth, for that thou, having not the fear of God before thine eyes, hast by the help of the Devil in a witchcraft or sorcery, maliciously procured much hurt, mischief and pains unto the body of Mehitabel Woodworth, the daughter of Walter Woodworth, of Scituate aforesaid, and some others; particular causing her, the said Mehitabel to fall into violent fits, and causing great pains unto several parts of her body at several times so as she, the said Mehitabel Woodworth hath almost been bereft of her senses and hath greatly languished to her much suffering thereby and the procuring of great grief, sorrow and charge to her parents--all which thou hast procured and done against the law of God and to His great dishonor, and contrary to our Sovereign Lord the King, His crown and dignity." Mary was tried and acquitted and thus an end was put to the nonsense of witchcraft in the town of Scituate. see Witchcraft section, "History of Scituate" by Samuel Deane NOTE: It has since been proven that the mold on the rye bread was the cause of all the afflictions suffered by those like Mary and Mehitable and others that were charged with being a witch. The poor men and women accused of witchcraft suffered greatly both physically and mentally because of the poisoning of this mold to the mind and the body.
  Birth	15 Aug 1662	Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA   [2]
  Gender	Female
  Baptized (LDS)	28 Mar 1916
  Endowed (LDS)	13 Jun 1917
  Person ID	I913	Boyd/Mahler
  Last Modified	22 Oct 2023 | Edit

  
  

  Father	Walter Woodworth,   b. 1612   d. Abt 1685, Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA (Age 73 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Sealed P (LDS)	18 Dec 1946
  Family ID	F5950	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Father	Walter Woodworth,   b. Abt 1610, , England d. 1685, Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts (Age 75 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Mrs Woodworth,   b. of Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts
  Relationship	natural
  Sealed P (LDS)	18 Dec 1946
  Family ID	F414	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  !Little Compton Families;Benjamin Franklin Wilbour;Little Compton Historical Society;1967 !Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England;James Savage;Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc.;1977

  
  

• Sources

  [S195] "History of Scituate", by Samuel Deane. Mehitabel is mentioned as having been "unfortunate as to her health." She was afflicted with some nervous disorder, which in those superstitious days was synonymous with being "possessed with the devil;" in other words, she was under the influence of witchcraft and Mary Ingham was charged with being the witch. On March 6, 1676, she was indicted in the following language: "Mary Ingham, thou art indicted by the name of Mary Ingham of the Town of Scituate, in the jurisdiction of New Plymouth, for that thou, having not the fear of God before thine eyes, hast by the help of the Devil in a witchcraft or sorcery, maliciously procured much hurt, mischief and pains unto the body of Mehitabel Woodworth, the daughter of Walter Woodworth, of Scituate aforesaid, and some others; particular causing her, the said Mehitabel to fall into violent fits, and causing great pains unto several parts of her body at several times so as she, the said Mehitabel Woodworth hath almost been bereft of her senses and hath greatly languished to her much suffering thereby and the procuring of great grief, sorrow and charge to her parents--all which thou hast procured and done against the law of God and to His great dishonor, and contrary to our Sovereign Lord the King, His crown and dignity." Mary was tried and acquitted and thus an end was put to the nonsense of witchcraft in the town of Scituate. see Witchcraft section, "History of Scituate" by Samuel Deane NOTE: It has since been proven that the mold on the rye bread was the cause of all the afflictions suffered by those like Mary and Mehitable and others that were charged with being a witch. The poor men and women accused of witchcraft suffered greatly both physically and mentally because of the poisoning of this mold to the mind and the body. [S197] Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, Compiled Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1700-1850, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2018;), New England Historic Genealogical Society; Boston, Massachusetts; Vital Records of Scituate, Massachusetts to the Year 1850.