10/31/2021
🎃 Grace Sherwood “the Witch of Pungo” was the last person tried for witchcraft in Virginia in 1706, but her story begins long before that. Grace was born in 1660 in Pungo, which at that time was known as Lower Norfolk County before being incorporated as Princess Anne County in 1691. Today, in the spirit of Halloween, the present-day residents of Chesapeake, formerly Norfolk County, are claiming her as a part of our collective local history too!
Grace was the daughter of John White, a carpenter and farmer of Scottish descent—it is unclear if he was born in Scotland or Pungo. Grace’s mother Susan was born in England and emigrated to colonial America. Grace spent her childhood on the family’s small farm in Pungo where she learned the medicinal value of plants and cultivated her love of animals.
In 1680, Grace married John Sherwood, a local small farmer and landowner. Grace was said to be a beautiful bride as she walked down the aisle of the Lynnhaven Parish Church. John White gave the couple 50 acres of land in Pungo when they married and the remaining 145 acres of his land upon his death in 1681.
Grace and John had three sons: John, James and Richard. Besides being a farmer, Grace was also a midwife and was known as a healer due to her knowledge of the medicinal properties of native plants. It is said that all rosemary that grows in our local area is descended from one clipping Grace and her mother brought back with them from a trip to England.
As Grace tended the family farm, she is said to have worn trousers, very peculiar (albeit practical) for a woman in the 17th century. That wasn’t the only peculiarity noticed by her neighbors in Pungo. The fist case brought against her was in 1697. Two neighbors accused her of casting a spell on their bull, causing its subsequent death. Grace countered with a slander suit. The case was dismissed and the neighbors came to an agreement. A second accusation of witchcraft was made in 1698 when two neighbors blamed her for enchanting their hogs and ruining their cotton crops. Again, Grace countered with slander, but lost her case, leaving her husband to pay the court costs.
John Sherwood passed away in 1701, leaving Grace, a reportedly attractive widow, owning just over 200 acres. The combination of clothing and good looks was said to have attracted men and upset their local wives.
In 1706, Grace was physically assaulted by two neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Hill. After the incident, Elizabeth Hill miscarried an unborn child and the Hill’s response was to go to the Lynnhaven Courthouse and file witchcraft charges against Grace for turning herself into a cat and bewitching her neighbor, causing her to miscarry. At Grace’s trial, the court ordered that her guilt or innocence be proven by ducking her in water. If she sank, she was innocent. If she floated to the surface, she was guilty. On July 10, 1706, Grace Sherwood was tried or “ducked” by water in a branch of the Lynnhaven River where about 60 spectators had gathered. Of course, present day Witchduck Road commemorates her trial by water. Grace’s left thumb was bound to her right toe and her right thumb was bound to her left toe and she was placed in a burlap sack and thrown overboard. Grace floated to the top of the water, at which time a 13 pound Bible was tied to her neck, but she broke free and swam to shore. At that time a jury of learned women (including one of her accusers) examined her body for marks of the devil and found two black marks on her. Grace was sent to jail, pending another trial that never came to pass.
County records indicate that in 1714, Grace Sherwood petitioned the courts to have her land in Pungo reinstated to her after paying a debt. She lived on her farm off Muddy Creek Road until her death in 1740 at the age of 80. On July 10, 2006, the Mayor of Virginia Beach (formerly Princess Anne County), Meyera Obendorff, dedicated a statue of Grace Sherwood not far from the location where she was tried by water. The statue depicts Grace as a tall, attractive woman holding a basket of local flowers with a raccoon by her side. On that same day, exactly 300 years later, the Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, issued an honorary posthumous pardon to Grace Sherwood for her “crimes of witchcraft.” You can visit Grace’s statue just a little ways north of Pembroke Mall off Independence Blvd or take a drive down Muddy Creek Road in Pungo not too far past Blue Pete’s restaurant and let your imagination run wild. Keep your eyes open for re-enactments of Grace Sherwood’s trial at both the Lynnhaven House in Virginia Beach and sometimes in Colonial Williamsburg. In the 21st century, Grace’s trials are now interactive, allowing the audience to ask questions and be counted in the vote determining her innocence or guilt. An interactive trial for her several years ago at Lynnhaven House was a landslide victory for her innocence, but to all of us here in the Tidewater region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Grace will always be the Witch of Pungo. Happy Halloween!
🎃 Grace Sherwood “the Witch of Pungo” was the last person tried for witchcraft in Virginia in 1706, but her story begins long before that. Grace was born in 1660 in Pungo, which at that time was known as Lower Norfolk County before being incorporated as Princess Anne County in 1691. Today, in the spirit of Halloween, the present-day residents of Chesapeake, formerly Norfolk County, are claiming her as a part of our collective local history too!
Grace was the daughter of John White, a carpenter and farmer of Scottish descent—it is unclear if he was born in Scotland or Pungo. Grace’s mother Susan was born in England and emigrated to colonial America. Grace spent her childhood on the family’s small farm in Pungo where she learned the medicinal value of plants and cultivated her love of animals.
In 1680, Grace married John Sherwood, a local small farmer and landowner. Grace was said to be a beautiful bride as she walked down the aisle of the Lynnhaven Parish Church. John White gave the couple 50 acres of land in Pungo when they married and the remaining 145 acres of his land upon his death in 1681.
Grace and John had three sons: John, James and Richard. Besides being a farmer, Grace was also a midwife and was known as a healer due to her knowledge of the medicinal properties of native plants. It is said that all rosemary that grows in our local area is descended from one clipping Grace and her mother brought back with them from a trip to England.
As Grace tended the family farm, she is said to have worn trousers, very peculiar (albeit practical) for a woman in the 17th century. That wasn’t the only peculiarity noticed by her neighbors in Pungo. The fist case brought against her was in 1697. Two neighbors accused her of casting a spell on their bull, causing its subsequent death. Grace countered with a slander suit. The case was dismissed and the neighbors came to an agreement. A second accusation of witchcraft was made in 1698 when two neighbors blamed her for enchanting their hogs and ruining their cotton crops. Again, Grace countered with slander, but lost her case, leaving her husband to pay the court costs.
John Sherwood passed away in 1701, leaving Grace, a reportedly attractive widow, owning just over 200 acres. The combination of clothing and good looks was said to have attracted men and upset their local wives.
In 1706, Grace was physically assaulted by two neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Hill. After the incident, Elizabeth Hill miscarried an unborn child and the Hill’s response was to go to the Lynnhaven Courthouse and file witchcraft charges against Grace for turning herself into a cat and bewitching her neighbor, causing her to miscarry. At Grace’s trial, the court ordered that her guilt or innocence be proven by ducking her in water. If she sank, she was innocent. If she floated to the surface, she was guilty. On July 10, 1706, Grace Sherwood was tried or “ducked” by water in a branch of the Lynnhaven River where about 60 spectators had gathered. Of course, present day Witchduck Road commemorates her trial by water. Grace’s left thumb was bound to her right toe and her right thumb was bound to her left toe and she was placed in a burlap sack and thrown overboard. Grace floated to the top of the water, at which time a 13 pound Bible was tied to her neck, but she broke free and swam to shore. At that time a jury of learned women (including one of her accusers) examined her body for marks of the devil and found two black marks on her. Grace was sent to jail, pending another trial that never came to pass.
County records indicate that in 1714, Grace Sherwood petitioned the courts to have her land in Pungo reinstated to her after paying a debt. She lived on her farm off Muddy Creek Road until her death in 1740 at the age of 80. On July 10, 2006, the Mayor of Virginia Beach (formerly Princess Anne County), Meyera Obendorff, dedicated a statue of Grace Sherwood not far from the location where she was tried by water. The statue depicts Grace as a tall, attractive woman holding a basket of local flowers with a raccoon by her side. On that same day, exactly 300 years later, the Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, issued an honorary posthumous pardon to Grace Sherwood for her “crimes of witchcraft.” You can visit Grace’s statue just a little ways north of Pembroke Mall off Independence Blvd or take a drive down Muddy Creek Road in Pungo not too far past Blue Pete’s restaurant and let your imagination run wild. Keep your eyes open for re-enactments of Grace Sherwood’s trial at both the Lynnhaven House in Virginia Beach and sometimes in Colonial Williamsburg. In the 21st century, Grace’s trials are now interactive, allowing the audience to ask questions and be counted in the vote determining her innocence or guilt. An interactive trial for her several years ago at Lynnhaven House was a landslide victory for her innocence, but to all of us here in the Tidewater region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Grace will always be the Witch of Pungo. Happy Halloween!
