The Family Page of David and Rachel Traill:Information about Francis Norwood, Jr.
Francis Norwood, Jr. (b. October 09, 1666)
Notes for Francis Norwood, Jr.:
[Lur2.FTW]
BIOGRAPHY
Heyrman relates the following case from the local records:
"A single case of sorcery that points to a distinctive source of
communal anxiety was the possession of Mary Stevens in the Fall of
1692. Mary Stevens, the daughter of Deacon James Stevens of First
Church, was courted by Francis Norwood, Jr., the Quaker grandson of
Clement Coldom and an avowed Friend from a fairly affluent family.
Mary's brother, Lt. William Stevens, tried to dissuade his sister from
a disastrous alliance by declaring that she was bewitched. The
community already suspected who had bewitched his sister--her
prospective father-in-law, Francis Norwood, Sr., whom everyone in
Gloucester had long believed to be a wizard" (Heyrman, 1984).
In the case of Francis Norwood, Jr. and Mary Stevens, four of the
Salem girls, who were believed to be able to detect witches, were
called in to discern the source of Mary's bewitching. The girls did
not name the Norwoods, but instead named three women who were close
relatives of women already accused in Salem. William Stevens could not
attack the Norwoods themselves, but he could try to intimidate his
sister into rejecting a Quaker suitor by insisting that she was
possessed by the devil. In the end, Francis and Mary did marry (1693)
and raised a substantial family with many modern-day descendants.
More About Francis Norwood, Jr.:
Record Change: April 25, 199778