Elizabeth Seager – Witch of Hartford, Connecticut
The chilling history of early colonial America is punctuated by episodes of intense fear and suspicion, most notably the witch hunts. While Salem, Massachusetts, often dominates the narrative, other communities also experienced periods of paranoia and accusations of witchcraft. One such instance occurred in Hartford, Connecticut, during the tumultuous year of 1662, when several individuals found themselves under the shadow of suspicion. Among them was Elizabeth Seager, a woman whose life became entangled in the web of accusations and trials that defined this dark chapter in Connecticut’s history. The story of Elizabeth Seager, the so-called "Witch of Hartford," offers a compelling glimpse into the societal anxieties and religious fervor that fueled these witch panics.
The Hartford Witch Panic, unfolding against the backdrop of the larger Connecticut Witch Hunt (1647-1697), saw neighbors turning against neighbors, fueled by fear and superstition. Into this fraught environment stepped Richard Seager (sometimes spelled Seger), his wife Elizabeth Seager, and their five young children, ranging in age from seven to twelve. The Seager family, like many others, had sought a new life in the burgeoning colony, but they were soon to find themselves at the center of a community gripped by fear.
Richard Seager’s journey to the New World began in Suffolk, England, where he was born in 1595. Drawn by the promise of religious freedom and economic opportunity, he immigrated to the United States during the early years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He became one of the first settlers of Hartford, Connecticut, contributing to the development of the nascent community. In 1649, Richard, then 54 years old, married Elizabeth Moody, a woman considerably younger than himself.
Elizabeth Moody, born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1628, was the daughter of Deacon John Moody and Sarah Cox Moody. At the age of 21, she entered into marriage with the much older Richard Seager. Over the next five years, she bore him five children, solidifying their place within the Hartford community.
By 1657, Richard Seager had established himself as a substantial property holder in Hartford, a testament to his hard work and entrepreneurial spirit. He was admitted as a Freeman of Connecticut in May of that year, signifying his full membership and participation in the colony’s civic life. The Seager family appeared to be thriving, yet their relative prosperity and integration into Hartford society would not shield them from the unfolding drama of the witch panic.
The catalyst for the accusations against Elizabeth Seager arrived in the form of Ann Cole, a young woman who, early in 1662, accused Rebecca Greensmith of witchcraft. During a special day of prayer held for Ann, the young woman, seemingly in a state of religious frenzy, also denounced Elizabeth Seager. Elizabeth, perhaps understandably, retorted that the accusation was a "hodgepodge," a dismissive term implying a confused or nonsensical jumble of ideas. However, in the climate of fear that permeated Hartford, such a response could be interpreted as defiance, further fueling suspicion.
Adding to the accusations was Goodwife Miggat, who claimed that Elizabeth Seager had appeared to her in the night, striking her in the face and preventing her from waking her husband before mysteriously flying away. Such spectral evidence, while lacking any physical proof, carried significant weight in the court of public opinion and within the legal proceedings of the time. The accusations against Elizabeth Seager began to mount, fueled by rumor, hearsay, and the anxieties of a community grappling with the perceived threat of witchcraft.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Greensmith was imprisoned on suspicion of witchcraft. Under interrogation, she confessed to cavorting with the devil in the woods, and she implicated several others, including Elizabeth Seager, Mary Barnes, Andrew and Mary Sanford, and William and Goody Ayres. Greensmith claimed that they had danced with the devil in the woods. Another man, Robert Sterne, further solidified the case against Elizabeth, testifying that he had witnessed her and two other women dancing in the woods with two black creatures, engaged in the creation of mysterious concoctions in black kettles. Such lurid descriptions played into the prevailing fears and prejudices surrounding witchcraft, further damaging Elizabeth’s reputation.
As gossip spread and rumors intensified, more people came forward with accusations. On January 6, 1663, Elizabeth was formally indicted for witchcraft, a charge that carried the ultimate penalty. Mary Barnes was also indicted on the same date, underscoring the breadth of the witch panic that had gripped Hartford.
Although Elizabeth Seager was acquitted in her first trial, the shadow of suspicion lingered. Rebecca and Nathaniel Greensmith, along with Mary Barnes, were found guilty and met their fate on Gallows Hill in Hartford on January 25, 1663, hanged for the crime of witchcraft. Their deaths served as a grim reminder of the consequences of being accused and convicted during this era of fear.
For Elizabeth Seager, the acquittal offered little solace. The whispers and suspicions persisted, and she found herself indicted again on July 2, 1663. The indictment leveled against her was damning: "Elizabeth Seager, thou art here indicted by the name of Elizabeth Seager, the wife of Richard Seager, for not having the fear of God before thine eyes thou hast entertained familiarity with Satan, the grand enemy of God and mankind, and by his help hast acted things in a preternatural way beyond the ordinary course of nature, as also for that thou hast committed adultery, and hast spoken blasphemy against God, contrary to the laws of God, and the established laws of this corporation for all or any of which crimes by the said laws thou deservest to die."
She pled not guilty, and the case went to trial once more. This time, while she was not convicted of witchcraft, she was found guilty of adultery. At that time, adultery was a capital offense, punishable by death. However, for reasons that remain unclear, she was spared execution.
The accusations against Elizabeth Seager did not cease with the adultery conviction. In 1665, she was accused again and found guilty on July 16, 1665, of "familiarity with Satan."
Seager was imprisoned, but Governor John Winthrop, Jr., who had not participated in the trial, refused to carry out the sentence. He deferred the case to the newly appointed Court of Assistants, which met on May 18, 1666, and rendered the following verdict: "Respecting Elizabeth Seager, this court considers the Verdict of ye Jury, and finding that it doth not legally answer the indictment, does therefore discharge and set her free from further suffering or imprisonment."
In a remarkable turn of events, Elizabeth Seager became the first convicted witch in Connecticut to be spared execution. This decision, driven by Winthrop’s skepticism and legal maneuvering, marked a departure from the prevailing trend of harsh punishment for those accused of witchcraft.
Some years after her release from prison, her son, Ebenezer, drowned in 1669, a tragedy that undoubtedly compounded the family’s suffering. Shortly afterward, the family relocated to Rhode Island, seeking a fresh start away from the lingering stigma of the Hartford accusations. Richard Seager died in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1682 at the age of 87. The place and time of Elizabeth’s death remain unknown. The life of Elizabeth Seager, forever marked by the accusations and trials of the Hartford Witch Panic, serves as a poignant reminder of the fragility of reputation and the dangers of mass hysteria in early colonial America.