Tales of witches and magic in early Connecticut

Patrick L. Sullivan

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Peter Vermilyea talked about Litchfield County’s witches at a combined gathering of the Exchange Club and Salisbury Rotary Club at Geer Village on Tuesday, Jan. 16. <em>Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan</em></p>

Peter Vermilyea talked about Litchfield County’s witches at a combined gathering of the Exchange Club and Salisbury Rotary Club at Geer Village on Tuesday, Jan. 16. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

NORTH CANAAN — Women who did not conform to contemporary gender roles were likely to be considered witches in Colonial New England, according to Peter Vermilyea. The author of “Wicked Litchfield” and a teacher at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, he spoke to the Exchange Club and Salisbury Rotary Club at Geer Village on Tuesday evening, Jan. 16.

Vermilyea said there are four documented cases of “witches” in Litchfield County in the mid 18th century.

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