After 300 Years The Witch Of Pungo Given A Pardon
After 300 years, the Witch of Pungo is no longer a witch.
Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine gave an informal pardon on Monday to Grace Sherwood, who became Virginia’s only person convicted as a witch tried by water.
Kaine said in a letter, “I am pleased to officially restore the good name of Grace Sherwood. With 300 years of hindsight, we all certainly can agree that trial by water is an injustice. We also can celebrate the fact that a woman’s equality is constitutionally protected today, and women have the freedom to pursue their hopes and dreams.”
Sherwood, a midwife who at times wore men’s clothing, lived in what today is the rural Pungo neighborhood.
Her neighbors thought she was a witch who ruined crops, killed livestock and conjured storms, and she went to court a dozen times, either to fight witchcraft charges or to sue her accusers for slander.
On July 10, 1706, she was dropped into the Lynnhaven River and floated, which was considered proof that she was guilty.
According to the belief system of the time, she would have sunk if she were innocent.
She was in jail until about 1714 before being let out. She then lived a quiet life until her death at 80.
Monday’s ceremony also included a reenactment of Sherwood’s dunking into the river.