Council Resolution Clears Names of Windsor Women Hanged for Witchcraft

WINDSOR, CT — Reversing an injustice, at least officially, from nearly four centuries ago resulted in a historic resolution being unanimously passed last week by the Windsor Town Council.

The resolution pardons two Windsor women who were hanged in the mid-1600s for supposed participation in witchcraft, according to the Hartford Courant.

A web site dedicated to the subject, www.witchcraftandwitches.com, says in May 1647, Windsor resident Alse Young (a.k.a. Alice Young or Achsah Young) was the first recorded person executed for witchcraft in the 13 American colonies. The hanging came less than 15 years after the town was first settled, and 45 years prior to the infamous Salem witch trials.

In 1654, another woman from Windsor, Lydia Gilbert, was similarly executed.

With the passing of the resolution, the names of Young and Gilbert have been officially cleared.

Read more at www.courant.com.

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