This Halloween, Remember Irish Woman Goodwife Ann Glover, Hung in Boston in 1688 by Crazed Puritans

Halloween may be the holiday of ghosts and goblins, witches and wizards, but back in the 17th century, being called a witch had severely negative connotations, as an Irish immigrant woman named Goodwife Ann Glover learned the hard way.

Goodwife Glover, as she was known, was falsely accused of being a witch. According to 18th century accounts, Glover was an Irish indentured servant who had been sent to Barbados in the 1650s after the Cromwell invasion of Ireland. Her husband went with her, and when he died on the island, Ann and her daughter came to Boston where she worked in the Goodwin household as a servant.

The Goodwins 13-year-old daughter Martha swore she got sick shortly after discovering Goody stealing laundry. Based on that flimsy charge and plenty of innuendo, Goody was charged with witchcraft by a handful of self-righteous Puritan ministers and was ordered to stand trial.

In the courtroom, there was confusion over Glover's testimony, since she refused to speak English, despite knowing the language, and only spoke in her native Irish tongue. This prompted Rev. Cotton Mather to call her "obstinate in idolatry." According to Mather, "the court could have no answers from her, but in the Irish, which was her native language." The judge and ministers decided Goody must be hung.

James B. Cullen, author of The Story of the Irish in Boston (1889) picks up the story from here. "She was drawn in a cart, a hated and dreaded figure, chief in importance, stared at and mocked at, through the principal streets from her prison to the gallows," he wrote. "The people crowded to see the end, as always; and when it was over they quietly dispersed, leaving the worn-out body hanging as a terror to evil-doers."

On the 300th anniversary of the hanging, on November 16, 1988, Boston City Council proclaimed Goody Glover Day, and that same year a plaque was placed at Our Lady of Victories Church in Boston's South End/Bay Village neighborhood. It has since been moved to St. Stephen's Catholic Church on Hanover Street in Boston's North End, where Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was baptized in 1890.

Learn more about Boston's Irish history on the IrishHeritageTrail.

Comments

The Boston Celtics : The Story Behind Their Irish Green Theme

Bill Russell played for the Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1959 (This story was updated in March 2024) Many people wonder why the Boston Celtics wear shamrocks on their green uniforms and have a giant leprechaun smoking a cigar as their team logo. And why is the team mascot a guy named Lucky who looks like he stepped out of a box of Lucky Charms? According to the Boston Celtic’s official web site, the name came about in 1946 when owner Walter Brown started the team. He and his public relations guy, Howie McHugh, were throwing out potential nicknames, including the Whirlwinds, Unicorns and Olympics. It was Brown who had the epiphany, saying, “Wait, I’ve got it – the Celtics. The name has a great basketball tradition from the old Original Celtics in New York (1920s). And Boston is full of Irishman. We’ll put them in green uniforms and call them the Boston Celtics.” Red Auerbach , the now legendary coach of the early Celtics, then commissioned his brother Zang, a graphic designer i

Boston Mayors of Irish Descent, 1885-2021

(Originally published in 2013, this post was updated in 2021) Here are the Mayors of Boston Claiming Irish Heritage: Hugh O’Brien 1885–88 Patrick Collins 1902–05 John F. Fitzgerald 1906–07, 1910–13 James M. Curley 1914–17, 1922–25, 1930–33, 1946–49 Frederick W. Mansfield 1934–37 Maurice Tobin 1938–41, 1941-44 John Kerrigan 1945 John B. Hynes 1950–59 John Collins 1960–68 Kevin H. White 1968–83 Raymond L. Flynn 1984–93 Martin J. Walsh 2014- 2021 The lineage of Boston mayors with Irish ancestry dates back to 1885, when Irish immigrant Hugh O'Brien of County Cork assumed office and became the first Irish-born mayor elected in Boston, serving four one-year terms (1885-88). O'Brien was followed by Irish-born Patrick Collins (1902-05), also of County Cork, who died in office in 1905. He was replaced by John F. Fitzgerald, who became the first American-born mayor of Irish descent, serving two terms. A noteworthy mayor was James

Visit these Public Memorials to John Boyle O'Reilly throughout Massachusetts

Born 180 years ago on June 28, 1844, John Boyle O’Reilly helped shape the history or Ireland and America in the late 19th century in powerful ways. Today, O'Reilly’s stature as a seminal figure in Irish and Irish-American history is particularly evident in his beloved birthplace of Dowth, County Meath; in Freemantle, Australia where he was imprisoned; and indeed, throughout the Irish Diaspora. O'REILLY LANDMARKS IN MASSACHUSETTS O’Reilly remains popular in Boston, New Bedford, Hull and Springfield where there is a selection of memorials and plaques, parks and city squares, library collections and Irish organizations honoring O’Reilly’s memory. In Boston, the John Boyle O’Reilly Memorial at the corner of Boylston Street and The Fens, not far from Fenway Park, was unveiled in 1896 by famed Concord sculptor Daniel French. The Memorial is part of Boston’s Irish Heritage Trail. In Charlestown, O’Reilly lived at 34 Winthrop Street, where there is a plaque in his honor. In 1988 th

Irish Boston History & Heritage

Search This Blog