Contagious Genealogy: A Pandemic

Though the most famous account of witch trials in colonial America lay with the village of Salem (now called Danvers) between 1692 and 1693, witchcraft hysteria spread throughout many other towns in Massachusetts and in colonies beyond, even starting several decades earlier. One of which was Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts. Lynn is two towns south of Danvers (formerly Salem Village), where the famous witch accusations were made, and shares its northern border with the town of Salem, where the actual trials were held. Salem was the county seat in Essex, so all judicial matters were held there for all of the surrounding villages like Lynn. All accused criminal offenders from Ipswich, Andover, Beverly, etc. would have been jailed and brought to court in Salem. Lynn had its first “witch scare” in 1669 when a woman in the Quaker faith was brought up on charges. Her name was Ann (Holland) Bassett Burt and she presented herself as a healer. Ann’s good skills in healing the sick were unfortu...

  OCTOBER 31, 2021 In January of 1920, the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution went into effect. It established the era of Prohibition, which had been spurred on by the temperance movement; the thought being, that decreasing the sale of liquor would, in turn, decrease nationwide poverty. While the actual act of drinking was not illegal, store and bar owners were no longer allowed to sell and distribute liquor, wine, spirits, or beer. This change definitely impacted local businesses that had previously made a portion of their profits from the sale of alcohol. Making up for that potential lost income could result in other nefarious activities. Week 38: Fun and Games John C. Eggenberger photo, undated. My great grandfather, John C. Eggenberger, ran a small grocery and confection shop during this time in Ottawa, Kansas. And it would appear he took it upon himself to dabble in this type of illegal behavior. John C. Eggenberger in grocery store, Boone, Iowa, ca. 1905. It’s u...

  FEBRUARY 10, 2021 This week’s post took a surprising turn! Initially, I had planned to completely scrap the idea of the traditional blog about Valentine’s Day, and instead write about a very young bride in my dad’s family tree. However, in the spur of the moment, I pulled a 180 and decided to go on a hunt through my family photo albums for an old valentine card. Week 6: Valentine I only had to open 2 albums before I spotted what I thought had to be a collection of valentine greeting cards. Photos of greeting cards, 2021, in personal possession of Kira D. Foltz. With all those hearts, you’d think so, anyway! But no. Turns out they were all cards written to my grandparents from my sister and me, most addressed on Grandparents’ Day and Mother’s Day. I almost moved on, still in search for a valentine. But the nostalgic part of me needed to see what the cards contained, as I’d probably eventually toss them out. Perhaps it was destiny or maybe just a coincidence, but when I opened up t...