CHICAGO You may see lots of people wearing pointy black witch's hats this Halloween weekend, but not many of them can claim a connection to someone actually suspected of practicing black magic.
Dr. Kimberly Nagy of Downers Grove, Ill., can trace her family roots to an accused 17th-century witch.
While researching her genealogical lineage, Nagy discovered she is the 9th great-granddaughter of Mary Bliss Parsons, a woman tried for witchcraft in 1674 in Northampton, Mass.
Nagy, a trauma surgeon at Cook County Hospital, said that after she told family and friends about her bewitching ancestor, she became the target of silly jokes.
"They were like yeah, I always knew she was a witch," said Nagy with a sweet laugh. (No sign of a cackle.)
"It was actually fascinating. It led me to read more about the witchcraft trials," she said. "They were really just normal people. They weren't witches. They weren't really casting spells. ... These people were really just misunderstood."
Nagy, 50, is an officer of the Associated Daughters of Early American Witches, a society of women with ancestors accused or convicted of witchcraft. The California-based organization, founded in 1987, seeks to preserve the names of accused witches and locate their living female descendants. Currently, the society has 345 members.
As registrar for the group, Nagy verifies lineage of prospective applicants and also speaks about the more than 300 people in the American colonies who were accused of witchcraft.
According to historical documents, Mary Bliss and her husband Joseph Parsons were one of the wealthiest families in the early colonies. Rumors circulated that her wealth and success was due to witchcraft and her dealings with the devil. In 1674, Mary was placed on trial for witchcraft and found innocent.
"I feel bad for Mary that she had to go through all that and prove that she wasn't a witch when she was just a normal person," Nagy said.
She feels too much sympathy for these falsely accused women to dress up as a witch for Halloween, but she does plan to wear a pointy black hat to pass out candy.
(c) 2009, Chicago Tribune.
Dr. Kimberly Nagy of Downers Grove, Ill., can trace her family roots to an accused 17th-century witch.
While researching her genealogical lineage, Nagy discovered she is the 9th great-granddaughter of Mary Bliss Parsons, a woman tried for witchcraft in 1674 in Northampton, Mass.
Nagy, a trauma surgeon at Cook County Hospital, said that after she told family and friends about her bewitching ancestor, she became the target of silly jokes.
"They were like yeah, I always knew she was a witch," said Nagy with a sweet laugh. (No sign of a cackle.)
"It was actually fascinating. It led me to read more about the witchcraft trials," she said. "They were really just normal people. They weren't witches. They weren't really casting spells. ... These people were really just misunderstood."
Nagy, 50, is an officer of the Associated Daughters of Early American Witches, a society of women with ancestors accused or convicted of witchcraft. The California-based organization, founded in 1987, seeks to preserve the names of accused witches and locate their living female descendants. Currently, the society has 345 members.
As registrar for the group, Nagy verifies lineage of prospective applicants and also speaks about the more than 300 people in the American colonies who were accused of witchcraft.
According to historical documents, Mary Bliss and her husband Joseph Parsons were one of the wealthiest families in the early colonies. Rumors circulated that her wealth and success was due to witchcraft and her dealings with the devil. In 1674, Mary was placed on trial for witchcraft and found innocent.
"I feel bad for Mary that she had to go through all that and prove that she wasn't a witch when she was just a normal person," Nagy said.
She feels too much sympathy for these falsely accused women to dress up as a witch for Halloween, but she does plan to wear a pointy black hat to pass out candy.
(c) 2009, Chicago Tribune.
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