Elizabeth “Goody” Garlick

She was accused of being a witch and brought before the Magistrates of East Hampton, NY on May 5, 1658, and sent to Connecticut for trial. She was released but had to pay court costs.

"Goody" Garlick, wife of Joshua Garlick of Easthampton, Long Island was accused of being a witch and tried for the crime a generation before the famous Salem Witch Trials. The year was 1657/8 and Elizabeth was then a woman in her 50's. She and her husband had come to America with Lyon Gardner whose first place of settlement still bears his name Gardner's Island. They then were settlers of Easthampton along with he, and his family, and many other settlers. It was Lyon Gardner's own daughter, Elizabeth Gardner Howell, who on her deathbed made the final accusation against "Goody" Garlick. It was the hysteria, and local hearsay evidence, that surrounded her subsequent death which made the early townspeople believe Elizabeth Garlick to in fact be a witch. Some historians have said that Joshua and Elizabeth Blanchard Garlick were Huguenots, thus French speaking immigrants among mostly English settlers. Also, she had a vast knowledge of the use of herbs for medicine, making her a strong, older woman from a differing culture. The local magistrates held three weeks of hearings during which time they took thirteen depositions. They then sent "Goody" Garlick and the collected evidence to Hartford, Connecticut, under whose jurisdiction Easthampton then fell, for trial before Governor John Winthrop on her accused offenses. She was not convicted of the crime for lack of sufficient evidence to prove her guilt, but she was also not acquitted. Her husband had to post a bond to ensure his wife's good behavior. She was sent back to Easthampton and all townspeople were instructed to make amends and live together peacefully. The actual date of Elizabeth's death has not been found in the local records but she and her husband continued to live in Easthampton for the remainder of their lives. This was the local burial ground where other settlers of their same era lie buried, hence it is believed that they lie buried here.

Source of above paragraph: Find A Grave

References

• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=42307568
• http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nwa/garlick.html
• http://www.covenantofrhiannon.org/garlick.htm
• http://www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/LI/WitchesofLongIsland.html
• http://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2008/03/elizabeth-blanchard-garlick...
• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bhusler/Bill/Reunion/Web%2...
• https://newyorkhistoryblog.org/2018/11/witch-be-gone-a-witch-trial-...
• https://www.danspapers.com/2012/11/goody-garlick-the-true-story-of-...