On November 5, 1766 - also known as Pope's Day - John Adams sat in the courtroom during the proceedings of Jenny Slew’s civil suit for freedom against her owner, John Whipple Jr. of Ipswich. His notes and diary entry were to make Slew vs Whipple one of the best-known Massachusetts freedom suits filed by enslaved individuals prior to the 1783 Elizabeth Freeman and Quock Walker cases that marked the ending of slavery in Massachusetts.
But who was Jenny Slew? Tracing the bits of evidence found in 1766 court records, Adams's notes and local genealogical records, Jeanne Pickering and Krystina Yeager, historians of 17th and 18th century New England, argue that Jenny Slew may have been a descendent of Dorcas Hoar, a notorious fortune-teller, petty thief and accused witch during the Salem witchcraft hysteria.
Dorcas Hoar's struggles with poverty brought her into clashes with her neighbors and with the religious and judicial authorities before, during and after the witch trials. Her descendants may have avoided legal clashes, but not poverty - and not the attempts of their neighbors to bring them to a level of acceptable behavior. In Jenny Slew's case, her color and partial-African descent provided an opportunity to permanently control the behavior of one of the last of this troublesome family.
Enslaved people of color and poor disreputable white families left few written traces of their lives, so their stories are often short and disjointed. The combined stories of Dorcas Hoar and Jenny Slew, separated by three-quarters of a century, reveal the long-lasting problems that poverty, class, race and a bad reputation brought to the lowest rung individuals, black and white, their descendants and the communities around them.
Jeanne Pickering and Krystina Yaeger's original research adds to our knowledge of the sociology of witchcraft - who's singled out as a victim, whose life makes them vulnerable. This is a close-up and personal look at the people at the heart of New England's witchcraft and enslavement stories.
This talk follows two online discussions, on September 8 and September 22, by renowned historian Emerson "Tad" Baker, with Stop Witch Hunts podcasters Sarah Hunt and Josh Hutchinson, on the wider issues of witchcraft in New England and beyond. Watch them here.
You can also watch Jeanne's brilliant presentation on freedom suits from earlier this year, here, when 21 enslaved people sued for liberty in late 18th century Essex county - and won.
Jeanne Pickering is a historian of slavery in 18th century Essex county, Massachusetts. She holds an MA in history from Salem State University, for which she wrote a thesis on the freedom suits filed by enslaved people in Essex county, Massachusetts, during the revolutionary period. Jeanne specializes in searching for enslaved people in local archives including court, probate, town and church records. She presents her research at public history venues and academic conferences. She also maintains several online databases of her research at her website: NorthShoreSlavery.org.
Krystina Yeager is a historian specializing in the early modern witch trials of England and New England, with a particular focus on the role of the witch’s familiar and countermagic practices. She has spoken nationally and internationally on the subject, shedding light on the intersections of folklore and religious belief in witchcraft accusations. As the rducation manager at Historic Beverly, she develops programs, field trips, and curriculum resources that engage audiences of all ages with the city’s rich and complex past, including interpreting difficult histories such as slavery in New England.
FIND OUT MORE
Historic Beverley has a powerful online exhibition, Set at Liberty, which you can view here.
National Park Service, African Americans in Essex County: An Annotated Guide
Salem Maritime National Historic Site, Slavery and Freedom