The Witch of Esperance New York

We recently took a trip that brought us through some of the beautiful country roads of upper New York.  We were in an area that was loaded with blue signs referencing historic places in the towns that we were passing through.  As we came to a small town I noticed a red sign….it was the first red sign that I had seen on our journey.

The sign was part of the Legends & Lore signs that this area has in addition to the historical markers.  I love that they keep track of these sites as well.  I managed to make out the word witch and quickly went to search witch with the town that we were in, Esperance to see what came up. 

I actually managed to find an old newspaper article published in the Cambridge Sentinal on September 21, 1912.  Esperance was one of the oldest towns in this area of New York and the name of the town meant hope.  The legend says that a French soldier was looking for a place for his wife and his two children to live.  They found a small house in Esperance and settled down to make a life for themselves.  Unfortunately, the man died shortly after they arrived there. 

She lived a simple life with her children there on the outskirts of town tending to her gardens and raising chickens to support her family.  His wife spoke little to no English and this got the townspeople talking about her.  You will often find that people fear what they don’t understand. It didn’t take long before someone decided to accuse her of being a witch as was not uncommon to do during these times. Legends say that they saw several things that helped to confirm that she was a witch.  One story spoke of her taking off her apron and using it to pole across the Schoharie Creek.  As if this wouldn’t be hard enough they then claimed that the apron was completely dry on the other side and that she would then put it back on.  They also like to blame problems with crops, dying cattle, and anything else that was unexplained on her until the people of the town got their way. They voted on her being a witch at a local church and when the vote was passed a sentence was laid down on her life.  They made silver bullets out of teaspoons and shot her one day as she tended to her kitchen in her children.  They buried her on the other side of the creek so that she couldn’t return to the town.  It’s really a tragic story.  An evergreen tree was planted where her grave was. 

The sign that I showed you above was dedicated on October 28, 2017, by the New York Folklore Society.  While I was honestly hoping for a story of someone who was truly a witch I can’t say that I’m surprised to have found that it was just someone who was accused of it for the gain of others.  I find it interesting that the man that crafted the silver bullet responsible for her death was the one who made sure her story was always told.  People would come from out of town to talk to him about it.   It’s an interesting story. I always like investigating the stories that I find.

I hope that you have the most magickal day!

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong