Katharn Lacye "Witch Trial"

Katharn Lacye, also called Katharn Garner in the supplied family notes, was the wife of Richard Garner. Family tradition places her in Shropshire, England, and says that she died after being accused of witchcraft and subjected to a water ordeal. Her reported date of death is uncertain: the profile gives 24 October 1635, while the narrative account places the trial and death in 1636.

Katharn Lacye, identified in the supplied notes as Katharn Garner after her marriage to Richard Garner, is described as a Welshwoman living in Shropshire, England. Her birth is estimated in the profile as about 1609, though no supporting record is provided.

According to the family account, Katharn was accused of witchcraft or heresy and was “tried by ordeal” in Shropshire. The account says that she underwent a water trial involving a dunking stool, was found innocent because she died during the ordeal, and received “2 pounds for burial in Christian ground.” These details are presented as family tradition in the supplied material and have not been independently documented here.

The supplied notes give conflicting dates for her death. The profile lists 24 October 1635, while the narrative says that her water trial and death occurred in 1636. The same narrative states that Richard Garner left for Virginia in 1637 with their four-year-old son, John, after Katharn’s death.

Historical context

The supplied family narrative describes a water ordeal in which an accused person was subjected to immersion as a test of witchcraft. It further states that death during the ordeal was treated as evidence of innocence and followed by burial in Christian ground. These descriptions, as well as the reported payment for burial, should be treated as unverified claims from the family account unless supported by contemporary Shropshire records.

Sources & research

Family Tree Maker notes supplied for Katharn Lacye “Witch Trial,” stated to be from ancestry.com.
Ancestry.com, cited in the supplied notes as “from ancestry.com.”
Shrewsbury Forum: http://shrewsburyforum.co.uk/ar/t844.htm
Early Virginia Families along the James River, Foley, Vol. 1, p. 6.
Henrico County Order Book, 1643–1644, p. 23, cited in the supplied notes as “Hen. C.O.B. 1643-1644, page 23.”
The Lion Hotel Shrewsbury: http://www.thelionhotelshrewsbury.co.uk