Margaret Mattson was one of two women tried and acquitted in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

for

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

in 1683.''Witchcraft and Quakerism: A Study in Social History'' (Chapter IV, by Amelia Mott Gummere. Street Corner Society

Biography

Nils and Margaret Mattson arrived in the colony of

New Sweden New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...

in present-day southeastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

on May 22, 1654, on the ship Orn. They settled on land near Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Of Swedish-Finnish descent, Nils was a reputed healer working from Finnish tradition. In 1683, some of Margaret's neighbors claimed that she had bewitched cattle. Charges of practicing witchcraft were brought before the

Pennsylvania Provincial Council The Pennsylvania Provincial Council helped govern the Province of Pennsylvania from 1682 to 1776. The provincial council was based on the English parliamentary system and was analogous to the Upper House or House of Lords. From the Frame of Govern ...

on February 7, 1683 (under

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

)."The Fame Of A Witch" (''The Pennsylvania Lawyer''. Craig R. Shagin, Published by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, September–October 2016

/ref> This occurred nineteen years after the Swedish territory became a British

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

colony and subject to English

Witchcraft Act 1603 The Witchcraft Acts were a historical succession of governing laws in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and the British colonies on penalties for the practice, or—in later years—rather for pretending to practice witchcraft. Witchcraft Act ...

. Accused by several neighbors, as well as her own daughter in law, Mattson's alleged crimes included making threats against neighbors, causing cows to give little milk, bewitching and killing livestock and appearing to witnesses in spectral form. On February 27, 1683, charges against Mattson and a neighbor Gertro (a.k.a. Yeshro) Jacobsson, wife of Hendrick Jacobsson, were brought by the Attorney General before a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

of 21 men overseen by the colony's proprietor,

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

. The grand jury returned a true bill

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...

that afternoon, and the cases proceeded to trial. A

petit jury In common law, a petit jury (or trial jury; pronounced or , depending on the jurisdiction) hears the evidence in a trial as presented by both the plaintiff (petitioner) and the defendant (respondent). After hearing the evidence and often jury ins ...

of 12 men was selected by Penn and an interpreter was appointed for the Finnish women, who did not speak English. Penn barred the use of prosecution and defense lawyers, conducted the questioning himself, and permitted the introduction of unsubstantiated

hearsay Hearsay, in a legal forum, is an out-of-court statement which is being offered in court for the truth of what was asserted. In most courts, hearsay evidence is Inadmissible evidence, inadmissible (the "hearsay evidence rule") unless an exception ...

.Before Salem, a witch inquiry in Pennsylvania – The case offered William Penn a chance to show his tolerance
Joseph S. Kennedy, ''Philadelphia Inquirer'', August 1, 2004 Penn himself gave the closing charge and directions to the jury, but what he told them was not transcribed. According to the minutes of the Provincial Council, dated February 27, 1683, the jury returned with a verdict of "Guilty of having the Comon Fame of a Witch, but not Guilty in manner and Forme as Shee stands Endicted." Thus Mattson was found guilty of having the reputation of a witch, but not guilty of bewitching animals. Neither woman was convicted of witchcraft. "Hence the superstitious got enough to have their thinking affirmed. Those less superstitious, and justice minded, got what they wanted." The accused were released on their husbands posting recognizance bonds of 50 pounds and promising six months' good behavior. A popular legend tells of William Penn dismissing the charges against Mattson by affirming her legal right to fly on a broomstick, saying "Well, I know of no law against it." The record fails to show any such commentary, but the story probably reflects popular views of Penn's socially progressive

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

values.''Weird Pennsylvania.'' (by Matt Lake. New York: Sterling Publishers. 2005)

References

Other sources

*Jordan, John W. ''A History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania''. (Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York. 1914) *Benson, Adolph B. and Naboth Hedin, eds. ''Swedes in America, 1638–1938'' (The Swedish American Tercentenary Association. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 1938)

External links

Minutes of the Provincial Council of PennsylvaniaThe Fame Of A Witch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattson, Margaret Year of birth missing Year of death missing People from Eddystone, Pennsylvania 17th-century American women American people of Finnish descent American people of Swedish descent People of New Sweden Cunning folk 1680s in Pennsylvania People from colonial Pennsylvania People acquitted of witchcraft 1697 in Europe 1697 in law 17th-century trials