Alyssa G. A. Conary
In Distemper She Died: The Victims of Boston’s Witch Trials
Massachusetts Bay began executing people for witchcraft in Boston almost fifty years before the Salem Witch Trials. These executions are much lesser-known, totaling fewer than half the number that took place in Salem in one year alone, but the stories behind them deserve to be told. Join Conary for an introduction to the women convicted and executed for witchcraft in seventeenth-century Boston. Learn their names and their stories, and how one case may have been a precursor to the events of 1692.
[Recorded August 12, 2023]
Alyssa G. A. Conary, MA, is a freelance historian, writer, and museum professional. She completed a master’s degree in history at Salem State University in 2020 after working in interpretation, administration, and development in Salem’s heritage industry for several years. Her specific areas of historical interest include witchcraft and magic, the early modern Atlantic World, and seventeenth-century architecture. Alyssa lives in southern New Hampshire with her husband Ryan, their son and daughter William and Isabelle, and their two cats Jonah and Henry.
