A Lesson in History and Government - Interview with Debra and Addie Avery
By Christopher Blackwell

Imagine attending a history lecture on your state's history and a discussion on early Witchcraft trials and hearing an ancestor's name as one of the convicted witches.

Debra Avery and her daughter Addie had exactly that experience and it led to researching history, drafting a resolution to the State Senate, taking part in a Hartford production about the Connecticut Witch trials called “The Witching Hour”, and being interviewed for a documentary, “The Devil Among Us”. I asked to interview this mother and daughter and they graciously agreed.

Christopher: Tell us about yourselves.

Debra: We descend from a long line of ancestors who emigrated here from England in the 1600s directly to Connecticut. Our roots are here. I’ve taught my children a spiritual blend of our pre-Christian European roots and the beliefs of this, our adopted land’s, Native Americans beliefs. We find many similarities between the Goddess tradition and Native American beliefs. We celebrate the sabbats and pray on the Medicine Wheel as well.

Addie: We’re pretty much just your basic family

Christopher: You attended a lecture, near Halloween of 2005, by state historian and University of Connecticut professor Walter Woodward on the Hartford witch hunt of the 1660s. What did you learn and how did you feel about it?

Debra: Prof. Woodward’s lecture was very informative about the CT witch hunts, particularly the Hartford scare of 1662-63 when our Great Grandmother Mary was hanged. The most interesting fact about that time was that Governor Winthrop, who was an alchemist, had stopped most of the hangings prior to 1662. But, he had left for England to secure a new charter from the King to unite Hartford and New Haven colonies into one CT colony. It was during the time he was gone that the convictions and hangings took place.

Addie: To be honest I think we were all pretty much taken by surprise to find out that our grandmother, Mary, played such a large role in the Connecticut Witch Hunts. I remember driving back from the lecture and my family was excited and just all talking at once about what we learned from the lecture.

Christopher: Was that the first time you learned your ancestor had been tried for Witchcraft? Did you get to ask any questions?

Debra: We knew before the lecture about our grandmother as my first cousin and family genealogist, Bill Warnock, had mentioned it about a year before. We were actually having an amusing conversation about us being Pagan when he said “Well, we have an ancestor who was hanged in Hartford as a witch.” We didn’t look into it more until we saw the lecture coming up. That was when I emailed Bill and asked specifically how we were related to the accused witch. He sent us a lineage chart and we were amazed to find out that Mary was a direct great grandmother eight to nine generations ago. That was an important moment for me when I grasped the concept that “This was my grandmother!”

Christopher: What you do after the lecture? Did you try to find out more?

Addie: Originally after the lecture my mom decided she wanted to get to know more about Mary as a person and what her life was like during that period. We bought a couple different books and asked our cousin for more information, if he had any, about Mary. From there everything just kind of took off.

Christopher: Addie, history in school is often just facts and figures. What was it like to trace a history that included one of your own ancestors?

Addie: It was definitely a very different experience than I think most people get to have. When you can learn about something on a personal level the impact of what you’re really learning sinks in so much deeper. I mean it’s like you’re watching the events unfold in your head and it gives you so much more realistic of a view.

Christopher: When did this become a home school history project? What was it like learning about the period your ancestor lived in?

Addie: My mom came up with the idea of turning it into a history project about a couple months after we first learned about Mary. I think researching her time period really got me fascinated with history in general. Learning about the ideas and the way people thought at different times in our human history is just amazing.

Christopher: What did you learn and what did you feel about it?

Debra: For me, I did a lot of thinking and still do about what it could have been like to have five children, ages 5 to 19, and going through a trial where you pretty much know what the end result will be. My three children are in the forefront of my life and probably will even be so after they are all adults. As a mother I can’t imagine for a minute how I would be able to cope with the idea that I would not be there for my children.

Addie: I think taking everything I learned on different levels and just letting it sink in was overwhelming at first, but after I began to really understand the injustices that happened and the harsh reality that my great-grandmother faced I began to find an intense passion for it. It made me want to fight for her because she wasn’t able to fight for herself.

Christopher: When did it become more than just a study of history and when did it become a project to exonerate your ancestor?

Debra: The question of exoneration actually came up during the question and answer period at the lecture. My girlfriend sitting next to me knew already about the exonerations of the Salem witches so she encouraged me to ask Prof. Woodward if there had been an effort for the CT witches. When we found out that it hadn’t ever been proposed, the idea just slowly morphed into the project for Addie. What better way to learn history and government than through studying your own family’s path and then finding out just how slow the wheels of justice do grind!

Christoph er: So where did you start? Did you contact anyone in the state government?

Addie: After the initial research we began to send out letters to several different state representatives in hopes of gaining their support and luckily we received answers almost right away.

Christopher: What did you learn? Who has the power to do that, exonerate victims of a Witch hunt back in the 1600s?

Addie: It was very confusing at first to try and figure out where exactly the power to exonerate those accused of witchcraft lay, because the subject had never been approached before in the state of Connecticut. Eventually though we settled on a resolution as the best possible route to exoneration.

Christopher. So it goes from a lesson in history to a lesson in government?

Addie: Yes; over the course of this whole experience I’ve learned about so many different things and on so many different levels. I definitely feel like I’ve come so far from where I started. I’ve learned about history, government, social justice, my family and myself.

Christopher: Tell us about the resolution and speaking at the State Capitol. What happened?

Debra: Addie submitted a draft to Senator Roraback and Representative Lawlor and then with their research staff they finalized the resolution. At first we were a little surprised that the names of the convicted were not in the resolution, but then we realized it was probably better as research can turn up more cases. It is highly suspected by historians that there were probably more cases than are known because records were purged after the fact.

For the actual testimony we were allowed only three minutes, which we divided among three of us. Laurie Cayer, who is the descendant of another victim, Lydia Gilbert, testified with us. BUT the interesting thing was that after we made our statements the Judiciary Committee proceeded to ask questions and speak with us for almost an hour. This was much unexpected, but we welcomed the apparent genuine interest in this piece of CT history. Also, the committee members spoke of the idea that witch hunts are still happening today in different ways maybe, but nonetheless still happening.

Christopher: Where does the resolution go from here?

Addie: Well, since our resolution didn’t get a chance to get out of committee this year the only thing we can do is wait until next year to reintroduce it. Thankfully next year is a long session which means there’s more of a chance it’ll have time to get passed.

Christopher: Not many young ladies speak in the Connecticut Capitol building, What was the media and public reaction to all of this?

Addie: The media was incredible, I had no idea it would get as much publicity as it did. The public I think for the most part had a good reaction to it, but there’s always going to be people who are critical no matter what the subject matter is.

Christopher: But it didn't end there did it? What was your involvement with the documentary, “The Devil Among Us”?

Debra: There was a lot of media coverage of the exoneration effort so we ended up hearing from other descendants as well as Pagans and just people interested in social justice. Andy Blood found us just like you did…and asked if we’d be interviewed for the documentary. I think the fact that we are coincidently Pagan and have an ancestor convicted of witchcraft is intriguing to people. Not to mention the HUGE misconception in the world of Paganism in general. A friend of ours filmed our May Pole a couple of years ago and Andy used that footage in the documentary as well.

Addie: The documentary looks like it’s going to be absolutely amazing. I think my mom and I were both very flattered when they asked us to be a part in it.

Christopher: What about the play The Witching Hour?

Addie: The Witching Hour is one of the most moving pieces I’ve ever seen. It uses song and dance as tools to portray the women’s lifestyle in the 1600s, but it honestly goes so much deeper than that. It gives you such a clear glimpse of these women as actual living, breathing and feeling human beings. I was lucky enough to actually play myself in it and throughout the piece I’m researching the witch trials.

Christopher: What is different between the 1600s and now for a woman? And what is similar?

Debra: I think the major difference is the physical lives of the woman then and now. Survival was an all day thing. The sheer amount of work to just eat is mindboggling. But, to be honest…I don’t think the role and position of women has really changed all that much. We may have new opportunities now which I am grateful for, but I really don’t think that attitudes about women have changed much. I’m not just speaking about men’s attitudes towards women either; I believe women’s attitudes towards themselves are what need to change. Women need to embrace their masculine side and men need to embrace their feminine side in order for the world to achieve balance. Things are WAY out of whack at the moment. One thing that really makes no sense to me is women who are teaching their children the same spiritual path they were taught as children even though they admit they don’t believe it. I’ve been told, “Well, at least it’s something or better than nothing.” If mothers and fathers actually put an effort into their own spiritual path then what they teach their children will have true meaning, not just “something” for lack of anything else to teach.

Addie: I think in many ways women have come incredibly far since the days of the witch hunts. However when comparing the two different lifestyle situations it’s obvious that in general women still face harsher odds than men. Which I think is something that we can’t give up on trying to change because that simply is just not right.

Christopher: Are we safely beyond Witch hunts in the 21st Century?

Debra: Absolutely not. Look what is happening to the children of Nigeria. The parents are blaming the very young children for misfortunes in the family and the Christian leaders are making a fortune performing “exorcisms.” Their orphanages are overflowing because the families cast their very young children out. Some believe that part of it is economics—one less mouth to feed.

Christopher: What have you learned from this experience?

Debra: That human nature hasn’t changed much and that I need to pray for that!

Addie: I think one of the most significant things I’ve realized is that passion and determination will get you anywhere you want to go in life and that when you see something that’s wrong, no matter who did it, it is your responsibility to see it made right.

Christopher: Any else you would like to say?

Debra: I do believe that balance is emerging on Earth, perhaps just not fast enough for me.