Wow. Lauren. I have an ache in my throat and my chest right now after reading this. I lived in Salem for a time, and often thought of the people who were so cruelly eliminated in that place, but reading this made it so real. I've been thinking so much about what happens when we assume that the "other" is evil, or lost, or soiled and soul-less. Fear grips the heart, and violence often follows, as you write about so eloquently here. Oof, I'll be thinking about this for awhile. 💔
It's easy to feel like we're highly evolved, thoroughly modern, and immune to the pitfalls in this story. But that's simply not true. There are still voices trying to convince us that the "other" is to blame for our broken plows and sick kids. And because of that, brutal and dehumanizing treatment of the "other" is the best policy.
Talk about divine timing.. I’m reading your words while watching Agatha All Along, about coven-less witches and reflecting on my own mother’s fascination with Wicca and empowering the divine feminine.
I experienced rage while reading your piece, it’s so hard to accept the facts feeling so helpless here today.
These stories are so important to share so that history does NOT repeat itself.
Thank you so much for taking us behind the scenes with your family history. I’m lighting a candle for Grandma Margaret and every Great leading to yourself today. 🕯️🙏
Thank you so much, K. 🧡 Rage and frustration and despair definitely welled up inside me as I tried to dig up Margaret’s story. There are so many points in the story when someone could’ve stopped it all. And I also keep thinking about all the hundreds people who were killed after receiving similar accusations that we will never even know about. They’re lost, and that’s nauseating.
As an evangelical-christianity-survivor, with Calvinisitic ideology that has taken me decades to root out, I found your account gripping, very well written, thought-provoking, and a bit scary because it's so 'always-just-under-the-surface' - people who 'know what's what' - the most dangerous people in the world, especially in a religious guise.
Your post has gone into my treasured file entitled "Best Substack Posts".
I totally get it, Joshua. When we're kids these witchy stories are scary. It's only when we grow up that we realize, yes, they are scary but for entirely different reasons.
We wonder why we're taught to fear the witch and not the one who hunts her.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this lengthy piece and for your kind words! They mean so much to me. 🧡
Thank you for replying, Lauren. "We wonder why we're taught to fear the witch and not the one who hunts her." Indeed, the Abrahamic religions, and their fall-out imposed on the human race, is one of my bête-noires. Witch-hunts is just one of many unacceptable 'sins' the church has comitted. I've written some fairly hefty poetry about it too, as a way of working it through - (poetry is my mode of 'journaling'). All the best, Josh.
I post one poem per fortnight on Substack. I joined last December. So far I've posted two types of poems, either on the 'inner journey', or on 'The System'. I haven't posted any of my more heavy-duty religion-surviving ones.
But you can find the first poem I posted on Substack (Dec, 2023) here:
I'm honoured you would consider digging further. I have just seen from your profile that you say about yourself "... writing my way through despair towards a better way." Very much my journey too. Regarding despair as a companion in life, you might like to check out a post I did in January: https://joshuabondpoetry.substack.com/p/the-despair-chronicles-nr01-sat-13th
Wow wow wow. What a beautifully told story. Something tells me that Grandma Margaret was simply a badass. When I taught high school we read The Crucible (so in my case, I’ve read it many, many times). I still think about Giles Corey and all the upstanding, smart, beautiful women, and men, who lost their lives to this societal sickness. And I definitely think about how closely this sickness is still lurking around. But Grandma Margaret, I would definitely lean in to those genes. Despite her tragic ending, I imagine she understood this life more than most.
Yes! You get it, you understand how (and why) this story continues to haunt us to this day. I wish we could get just ten minutes to talk to Margaret and the other victims. I wonder what they'd say.
I'm 76 and my Grandmother had a great love of story. She was born in 1904 and her father-in-law ran in the 1889 Oklahoma land rush. During the depression people were hired to record stories of First Nation people and pioneers. Stored in Oklahoma University a gold mine of amazing narrative. But as I was reading your story, I was wondering what it would feel like to know a Great Great was part of one of the most famous American stories. She was so desperate. How heartbreaking to be accused in a crazed community. You treat her with kindness in your writing. Thanks be to God.
Thank you, Ginger. I had never heard of that treasure trove of stories before now! I'd love to visit one day and dig into all those rescued stories.
Yes, it's more than terrifying to slip into Margaret's skin and imagine *we* are the accused in a community intent on our destruction. To be on the business end of out-of-control group think.
My Great Grandmother Ellen Slaght was interviewed in 1937, she was born in 1884.
"My father died when we ohildren were quite small; my mother had the "true pioneer Spirit and she sold her plaoe in Iowa and taking her five children, came on the train to Kingfisher. She bought a relinqulshment on a claim and built a small house of two rooms and moved her ohildren to the plaoe. After we had been on the claim two years my mother, decided to visit the old home, and loading us four childrem in a oovered wagon, (my oldest brother Sam was at that time in Iowa) we started to drive back. There was no brake on the wagon and every time we came to a hill we had to get out and wrap a log chain around the wheel to hold the wagon back, otherwise, it would have rundown over the horses. It took us more than a month to make the trip. We came back to Oklahoma the same way but Sam came with us. We had no overjets on the wagon and all slept in the wagon box except Sam and he' slept on the ground."
There are some fascinating stories that would make fantastic movie scripts. There are 80,000 interviews. My great grandfather has a long record. Google search Henry Slaght Indian and Pioneer Papers. He mentions his father ran for a claim. The thing that's fascinating about that event is it wasn't recognized as a big deal and mentions by the people who lived it. But it was one of the major events in American history. Wiki Land rush of 1889.
This is FASCINATING. It's haunting how much of our ancestors' "normal" is lost to us. These stories are lifelines that link us back to the people who made us. Thank you so much, Ginger!
Wow. Lauren. I have an ache in my throat and my chest right now after reading this. I lived in Salem for a time, and often thought of the people who were so cruelly eliminated in that place, but reading this made it so real. I've been thinking so much about what happens when we assume that the "other" is evil, or lost, or soiled and soul-less. Fear grips the heart, and violence often follows, as you write about so eloquently here. Oof, I'll be thinking about this for awhile. 💔
Yesyesyes, you're right on the money.
It's easy to feel like we're highly evolved, thoroughly modern, and immune to the pitfalls in this story. But that's simply not true. There are still voices trying to convince us that the "other" is to blame for our broken plows and sick kids. And because of that, brutal and dehumanizing treatment of the "other" is the best policy.
This wasn't true at Salem, and it isn't true now.
You are so right. and now more than ever in history, people can keep their hands clean while inflicting untold violence and harm on the other.
Damn, that's a whole word. How many keyboard warriors out there are waging fullscale witch hunts from the safe, soft glow of their monitors?
Chills. SO. MANY. KEYBOARD. WITCH HUNTERS. 😮💨
Great 💎 Must Read 💎💎
Thank you, Ibrahim 🧡
Agreed!!
Talk about divine timing.. I’m reading your words while watching Agatha All Along, about coven-less witches and reflecting on my own mother’s fascination with Wicca and empowering the divine feminine.
I experienced rage while reading your piece, it’s so hard to accept the facts feeling so helpless here today.
These stories are so important to share so that history does NOT repeat itself.
Thank you so much for taking us behind the scenes with your family history. I’m lighting a candle for Grandma Margaret and every Great leading to yourself today. 🕯️🙏
Thank you so much, K. 🧡 Rage and frustration and despair definitely welled up inside me as I tried to dig up Margaret’s story. There are so many points in the story when someone could’ve stopped it all. And I also keep thinking about all the hundreds people who were killed after receiving similar accusations that we will never even know about. They’re lost, and that’s nauseating.
As an evangelical-christianity-survivor, with Calvinisitic ideology that has taken me decades to root out, I found your account gripping, very well written, thought-provoking, and a bit scary because it's so 'always-just-under-the-surface' - people who 'know what's what' - the most dangerous people in the world, especially in a religious guise.
Your post has gone into my treasured file entitled "Best Substack Posts".
I totally get it, Joshua. When we're kids these witchy stories are scary. It's only when we grow up that we realize, yes, they are scary but for entirely different reasons.
We wonder why we're taught to fear the witch and not the one who hunts her.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this lengthy piece and for your kind words! They mean so much to me. 🧡
Thank you for replying, Lauren. "We wonder why we're taught to fear the witch and not the one who hunts her." Indeed, the Abrahamic religions, and their fall-out imposed on the human race, is one of my bête-noires. Witch-hunts is just one of many unacceptable 'sins' the church has comitted. I've written some fairly hefty poetry about it too, as a way of working it through - (poetry is my mode of 'journaling'). All the best, Josh.
I absolutely will!
I would love to read those works! Are they public? Feel free to drop a link!
I post one poem per fortnight on Substack. I joined last December. So far I've posted two types of poems, either on the 'inner journey', or on 'The System'. I haven't posted any of my more heavy-duty religion-surviving ones.
But you can find the first poem I posted on Substack (Dec, 2023) here:
https://joshuabondpoetry.substack.com/p/a-choice-of-three-autobiographies
And my most recent poem (29th Sep 2024) here:
https://joshuabondpoetry.substack.com/p/rune-visit
and I also did an interview with 'Unbekoming' which you can find here:
https://unbekoming.substack.com/p/the-journey
Thanks Josh, I’m excited to dig in!
I'm honoured you would consider digging further. I have just seen from your profile that you say about yourself "... writing my way through despair towards a better way." Very much my journey too. Regarding despair as a companion in life, you might like to check out a post I did in January: https://joshuabondpoetry.substack.com/p/the-despair-chronicles-nr01-sat-13th
Wow wow wow. What a beautifully told story. Something tells me that Grandma Margaret was simply a badass. When I taught high school we read The Crucible (so in my case, I’ve read it many, many times). I still think about Giles Corey and all the upstanding, smart, beautiful women, and men, who lost their lives to this societal sickness. And I definitely think about how closely this sickness is still lurking around. But Grandma Margaret, I would definitely lean in to those genes. Despite her tragic ending, I imagine she understood this life more than most.
Yes! You get it, you understand how (and why) this story continues to haunt us to this day. I wish we could get just ten minutes to talk to Margaret and the other victims. I wonder what they'd say.
Thank you for sharing! Very interesting story, brought forty by a great-great+++ granddaughter! She'd be proud to read it herself!
Aw, thank you Rhonda. 🧡
Thank you for sharing her story and keeping these memories alive. So much has changed, and so much has not changed at all.
Thank you so much for reading, Liz. 🧡 Yes, both those things are bafflingly, disorientingly, paradoxically true.
I'm 76 and my Grandmother had a great love of story. She was born in 1904 and her father-in-law ran in the 1889 Oklahoma land rush. During the depression people were hired to record stories of First Nation people and pioneers. Stored in Oklahoma University a gold mine of amazing narrative. But as I was reading your story, I was wondering what it would feel like to know a Great Great was part of one of the most famous American stories. She was so desperate. How heartbreaking to be accused in a crazed community. You treat her with kindness in your writing. Thanks be to God.
Thank you, Ginger. I had never heard of that treasure trove of stories before now! I'd love to visit one day and dig into all those rescued stories.
Yes, it's more than terrifying to slip into Margaret's skin and imagine *we* are the accused in a community intent on our destruction. To be on the business end of out-of-control group think.
Google search "Indian and Pioneer Papers".
My Great Grandmother Ellen Slaght was interviewed in 1937, she was born in 1884.
"My father died when we ohildren were quite small; my mother had the "true pioneer Spirit and she sold her plaoe in Iowa and taking her five children, came on the train to Kingfisher. She bought a relinqulshment on a claim and built a small house of two rooms and moved her ohildren to the plaoe. After we had been on the claim two years my mother, decided to visit the old home, and loading us four childrem in a oovered wagon, (my oldest brother Sam was at that time in Iowa) we started to drive back. There was no brake on the wagon and every time we came to a hill we had to get out and wrap a log chain around the wheel to hold the wagon back, otherwise, it would have rundown over the horses. It took us more than a month to make the trip. We came back to Oklahoma the same way but Sam came with us. We had no overjets on the wagon and all slept in the wagon box except Sam and he' slept on the ground."
There are some fascinating stories that would make fantastic movie scripts. There are 80,000 interviews. My great grandfather has a long record. Google search Henry Slaght Indian and Pioneer Papers. He mentions his father ran for a claim. The thing that's fascinating about that event is it wasn't recognized as a big deal and mentions by the people who lived it. But it was one of the major events in American history. Wiki Land rush of 1889.
This is FASCINATING. It's haunting how much of our ancestors' "normal" is lost to us. These stories are lifelines that link us back to the people who made us. Thank you so much, Ginger!