Occurring over 40 years before the infamous Salem witch trials, Windsor has the unfortunate distinction of being the first town in Connecticut to execute a woman accused of witchcraft. Almost 400 years later, Windsor’s two 17th-century witch trial victims, Alice Young and Lydia Gilbert, finally received a measure of justice when the state officially exonerated them.
Join Connecticut author Beth M. Caruso as she discusses the witch trials in colonial Connecticut. Her well-researched novel, One of Windsor: The Untold Story of America’s First Witch Hanging, is based on the life of [...]
For students of Windsor’s early history, there are few figures more important than Matthew Grant. It is thanks in large part to his careful record keeping during his years as town clerk that we are able to piece together much of our information about Windsor’s beginnings.
Bray Rossiter (1610-1672) was born to a family of wealth and power. They were Puritans, but were also loyal to the royal family. Bray was well-educated and likely received some medical training before coming to New England aboard the Mary and John in 1630, along with his father Edward, an influential Assistant of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and eleven other family members and servants.