pulling at the roots: three plays about northampton history
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Circling Suspicion
by Talya Kingston |
Rose
by Jasmine Rochelle Goodspeed |
The Optimist's Razor
by Patrick Gabridge |
Pulling at the Roots is a series of three site-specific plays that
move the audience through three centuries of Northampton history.
move the audience through three centuries of Northampton history.
Staged in the historic Shepherd Barn and on the grounds of Historic Northampton
at 46-66 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060
Commissioned by Historic Northampton, the plays are produced by Plays In Place,
a Florence, Massachusetts theatre company that brings historic stories to life with site-specific plays.
a Florence, Massachusetts theatre company that brings historic stories to life with site-specific plays.
Circling Suspicion
by Talya Kingston
Set in 1678
by Talya Kingston
Set in 1678
Circling Suspicion brings us into the home and mind of Mary Bliss Parsons
as she struggles with accusations of witchcraft.
as she struggles with accusations of witchcraft.
Mary Bliss Parsons (1628-1712) was born in England and grew up in Hartford, Connecticut. She moved with her family to Springfield where she married Joseph Parsons and moved again with him and their three young children to settle Northampton in 1654. Rumors of her being a witch started while she was living in Springfield, due to her fits and night walks, and were exacerbated by the fact that another woman there, who was also called Mary Parsons, was convicted of witchcraft. In 1675, Mary Bliss Parsons was indicted for witchcraft and imprisoned for ten weeks in Boston to await her trial. She spoke in her own defense at this trial and was found innocent, although the rumors back in Northampton still continued to plague her.
Cornet Joseph Parsons (1620-1683), Mary’s husband, was a successful merchant and one of the wealthiest men in Northampton. As a young man, he witnessed the Springfield Indian deed and traded with local Native tribes throughout his life. He earned his title as a color-bearer in the Hampshire Troop of Horses and from 1675-78 fought in the King Philip’s War against the Wampanoags and other Indigenous people of the area. His eldest son Ebenezer was killed in the fighting.
Sarah Lyman Bridgman (1629-1668) was a neighbor of the Parsons both in Springfield and then in Northampton. After her infant son died in 1656, Sarah began to spread rumors of Mary being a witch. In 1661 she was charged with slander by Joseph Parsons and spent time in jail in Boston. The court ruled against her and her family was given the choice of paying a fine or making a public apology. They paid a fine. Her family and others in town continued to suspect Mary of witchcraft.
Want to Know more?
Click below to learn about the path that historical residents of Northampton took through the events depicted.
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Further Reading
- “Hard Thoughts and Jealousies” by John Putnam Demos is a chapter in the book Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England (New York, 1982). The chapter was reprinted in the book A Place Called Paradise: Culture & Community in Northampton, Massachusetts, 1654-2004, edited by Kerry W. Buckley, (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2004).
