Blood Witch - The Salem Story and More Ancestry

Blood Witch - The Realization

Not long ago, I realized that my spiritual bond to witch-hood was stronger than normal. I have heightened sense of sight. Which is weird, considering I wear glasses for nearsightedness. I have a tetrachromatic sense of sight. Tetrachromatic sight is when the eyes develop four types cone cells. The cone cells can each perceive 100 different colors. Normal human beings have three types of cone cells. So if we do the math:

100^3 or 100 X 100 X 100 = 1 million colors

Neato! That means you, my friend, can see 1 million different colors. Now I don't mean to dim your spirits by out doing you, but I can see 100 million colors. Check my math:

100^4 or 100 X 100 X 100 X 100 = 100 million colors

Science says tetrachromatic sight most likely occurs in women who have a male relative who is color blind (usually a son or father). Why women? Well it has to do with genes and X chromosomes, and a bunch of sciencey stuff that I'm not going to get into. You can read more of it in this Huffington Post. Needless to say, my tetrachromatic sight can only be a gift from the Goddess; a gift passed from one woman to another (wonder if that means the God is color blind??). But why would such a wonderful gift be passed to ordinary me?

Well, it triggered some exploration into my ancestry. I know I have Native Cherokee blood in me on my maternal side, due to my ancestors adopting Mary Ann Sparkman (formerly Hicks), a full blood Cherokee, somewhere in the 1820s. I'm guessing she's the great, great, great, great, great, (recounting to make sure I got them all...missed one) great grandmother, that my grandfather always told me about. I also saw a Sparkman cemetery, nestled in the hills of Tennessee, not far from the Trail of Tears crossing. I hope one day to get back there and wander around.

Anyways...

I also knew I had Italian blood in me, it was the main part of me that I knew. My paternal grandmother was half Italian, making me one sixth Italian. But I also knew there was more to me than that. My paternal grandfather's side was never really talked about. All I really know is that when that side of the family came to America, the last name was changed from Goodale to Goodall. That's the only lead I had.

A quick search on "Goodale ancestry" brought up some promising results, all of which I would have to hand over my credit card information for (thank you Ancestry, Census Diggins, Roots Web, Genealogy, and you other not so free sites). But then I found the name "Sarah Goodale," and a bell went off in my head. Where the bloody hell had I heard that name before?

Sarah Goodale... Sarah Goodell... Sarah Goodall... Sarah... Sarah Good?

AHA! That's it! Sarah Good! One of the original three women charged with witchcraft in Salem Massachusetts during the famous Witch Trials! She Married William Good, who was the descendant of William Goodale. William Goodale was born to Robert Goodale and Joan Artys.

The Parish Records of Dennington, Suffolk County, England reads as follows:

Marriage: 1590, 12 June, Robert Goodale and Joan Artys

Baptisms: 1601, 15 August, Robert, son of Robert and Joan Goodale

Other children of this couple whose baptisms are recorded also: Mary, 1591; Margaret, 1593; William, 1596; Anne, 1599; Edward, 1603, Elizabeth, 1607, and Thomas, 1610.

So wait...rewind...I'm related to a Salem Witch?? Yes.

Of course, I wanted to know more! So I kept digging around on the inter webs. I found a lovely website after searching "Goodale Salem" that gave me more insight to my ancient and famous ancestors. In fact, there was more to the story than I thought. 

Before I begin my Salem story, I must explain that the spelling of "Goodale" changes a bit. Census' can be found dating back to the 1700s in England. More than six generations of Goodales lived there. The spelling of the last name changed between "Goodale" and "Goodell," sometimes within the same household. It wasn't until sometime after the Goodale family moved to America that the spelling variation of "Goodall" was picked up, and was also shortened to "Good."

Robert Goodale

I must start with Robert Goodale, since he was the one who originally immigrated to America. He and his first wife, Catherine Killiam. Robert was from Dennington, Suffolk County, England. I talked briefly above about a clip from a local parish record. Our Robert Goodale is the son of the Robert Goodale and Joan Artys, mentioned above.

Robert and Catherine sailed from Ipswich England to New England via the "Elizabeth," and landed in America in 1634 (fourteen years after the Mayflower). They settled in Salem, where they had their children, Mary, Abraham, Isaacke, Sarah (not Sarah Good, she comes later), Zachariah, Jacob, and Hannah. Shortly after their last child was born, Catherine died. Robert then married Margaret Lazenby, and together, they had one child; Elizabeth.

Robert claimed a massive thousand (plus) acres of town. Here he created a family settlement, and devoted his life to his children's benefit. He was a well educated man, but took no part in government affairs. He died in June of 1683, leaving his estate to his daughter Elizabeth and his grandson John Smith (yes, that's his real name).

Below is a picture, portraying Robert Goodale and his family, followed by a map of Robert's land in Salem:

Below is an article from the book "The ancestry of Lydia Harmon, 1755-1836: wife of Joseph Waterhouse of Standish, Maine:"

Jacob Goodale

So the next part to my Salem story lies with Jacob Goodale. Firstly, Jacob was the son of Robert Goodale and his first wife, Catherine Killiam. He was baptized in Salem on January 9th, 1640. He then died in 1675.

So what happened? Well it's about to get juicy...

Jacob apparently had some kind of mental problem, and was probably labeled "retarded." There was one instance when he was arrested, and his father had to pay 5 shillings to get him back. Because of his mental problems, he couldn't do much. However he did work as an indentured farm worker to Giles Corey.

In 1675, Jacob was allegedly caught stealing apples from Giles Corey's brother-in-law. Giles Corey picked up a stick (records say the stick was about 1 inch in diameter), and beat Jacob. He "unreasonably" beat Jacob, in front of Elisha Kebee (possibly another farm worker? I don't know, I couldn't find any information on him other than who he married). After ten days, Giles called Jacob's brother Zachariah, and told him that Jacob had fallen and possibly broke his arm. When Zachariah arrived at Giles' home, he noticed that Jacob looked very ill. He asked his brother if anything other than his arm hurt, but Jacob gave no reply. Zachariah wanted to take Jacob to the town doctor (one record calls her Mrs. Moles, but I couldn't find anything else on the doctor), and wanted someone to go with them. Giles refused, making up some excuse about his horse. Goody Corey went with Zachariah and Jacob. A few days later, Jacob died. The coroner's report stated that Jacob died due to blood clots around his heart, clots that directly resulted from Giles' beating.

Because corporal punishment was allowed to be used on indentured servants, Giles was exempted of murder charges, and was instead charged with "unreasonable force." He was only ordered to pay a fine, despite numerous eyewitness statements against him.

But Jacob's story did not end there.

Fifteen years later, Giles and his second wife Martha were both accused of witchcraft. Martha was hanged illegally because of the accusations, and her son from a former marriage, Thomas, collected funds for "loss and damages," totaling £50. Margaret Goodale, Jacob's step mother since he was a child, was one of the women who appeared afflicted at Martha Corey's trial. It is said that the ghost of Jacob's mother, Catherine, came to the afflicted girls during the witch trials, and made accusations against Giles and Martha.

Below is an illustration depicting the Trial of Giles Corey:

Giles on the other hand, refused to plead guilty or innocent. The law, at the time, stated that a person who did no plead could not be tried. The courts efforts to force Giles to plead were via pressing. Giles was stripped naked, and a heavy board was placed over him. Large boulders were then piled on top of the board, crushing him. He continued to refuse to plead. At one point, records claim that Giles' tongue was pressed out of his mouth, and the sheriff used his cane to push it back in. Giles was fed three mouthfuls of bread and water during his pressing. After two days, he was asked three times which way he would plead. Each time he refused, saying only "more weight!" He ended up being pressed to death, managing to mumble a curse on the sheriff and the entire town of Salem before he breathed his last.

Below is an illustration depicting Giles Corey being pressed to death:

Supposedly the ghost of Jacob Goodale could be seen, hanging around Giles while he was being pressed, chanting:

"Look! Look! It is the ghost of Jacob Goodale

Whom fifteen years ago this man did murder,

By stomping on his body! In his shroud

He comes here to bear witness to this crime."

Below is an illustration depicting Mary Warren, claiming to see the ghost of Jacob Goodale sitting next to Giles during his trial. This illustration is from Henry Wardsworth's play "Giles Corey of Salem Farms:"

Sarah Good

Lastly, Sarah Good, and the most famous part of my Salem story. She was identified along with Sarah Osbourne and Tituba as being witches and possessing the girls Abigail Williams and Betty Parris. The girls claimed the three women would abuse them, and when the judge asked "who torments you" during their public fits of "possession," they called out the three women.

Sarah, pregnant at the time with Mercy Good, was arrested. While in jail, awaiting trial, she gave birth. Mercy died a few days later due to malnutrition and unclean surroundings.

During the trial on March 25th, 1692, Sarah was accused of witchcraft. She was accused of rejecting "puritanical expectations of self-control" when scolding children. Townsfolk claimed to see Sarah flying through the sky on a stick, and ordering cats and birds to attack them (specifically Elizabeth Hubbard). Tituba testified that Sarah had signed her name in a book the Devil carried, and that Sarah forced Tituba to sign the book as well. 

Sarah's own husband, William, testified against her, saying she had a "devil's mark" below her shoulder. 

Sarah's four year old daughter, Dorothy Good (also known as Dorcas Good due to a misspelling on her arresting warrant), was also accused of witchcraft. Townsfolk claimed that Dorothy would have fits and repeatedly bite them. She was arrested and turned five while in jail. The child admitted to practicing witchcraft, and was then forced to testify against her own mother, saying that she had seen her mother talking to the devil, and that Sarah gave her a talking, bloodsucking snake. After being in custody for nine months, Dorothy was released on bond on December 10th, 1692. Her imprisionment led her to insanity.

Sarah, however, was not so lucky. She was sentenced to hang to death. As she stood at the gallows with four other convicted women, Sarah continued to proclaim her innocence. When the judges and Reverend Nicholas Noyes proclaimed her guilty, she spat in their faces and cried out:

"I'm no more a witch than you are a wizard, 

take my life and God will give you blood to drink!"

She died on July 29th, 1692.

Below is a photograph of a memorial to Sarah Good at the Salem Witch Trials Memorial site, close to Old Burying Point Cemetery:

More Awesome Goodale History

There are two theories as to the origination of the family name, "Goodale," "Goodell," "Goodall." One is reported by a research bureau in Washington, D.C. and supported by Dr. Robert L. Goodale of Ipswich, Massachusetts.

The name is of Norse origin. There was a Goodel de Brixi who came from Normandy with Edward the Confessor before 1066. The Goodalls were a very early family in the British Isles, stemming from members living in Goldale, now Gowdall, a town in the parish of Snaith, Yorkshire. They were of the landed gentry and yeomanry.

Among the earliest definite records are those of Villa de Goldale, Johannes or John Godhale, Recardus or Richard de Goldall, and Johannes or John Godhall of Yorkshire, in the year 1379. In the class of 1470 at Oxford was a Richard Goodale (recorded in the library of Merton College). Listed at the head of his class, the name was "Godyle."

It is true that in early times very little attention was given to the spelling of names, and during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, there was no fixed authority for the spelling of either proper names or surnames.

The other theory is advanced by Professor Isaac Goodell of Ft. Worth, Texas, after much study:

Robert Goodell is claimed to be of French Hugenot descent. "Goodelle" is the French origin of the family name and this spelling is yet found in Paris and a number of smaller towns in France. Later, one of the ancestors immigrated to Scotland, and about 1580, as tradition goes, a Goodelle family (Robert's grandfather) moved from Scotland to London. The name of Goodelle was Anglicized to Goodell, then Goodale and later Goodall in the coastal counties of Suffolk and Norfolk, England. Baptiste Goodell, supposed to be a son of that family and uncle to Robert, made his first appearance as an actor with William Shakespeare in Henry VI before Queen Elizabeth in 1589.

The name is significant of family occupation as may be inferred from the coat-of-arms of the Scottish families, described as follows:

Arms: On 3 caps and in the middle fesse point as 

many ears of barley, two in saltire, and one in pale of the last.

Crest: A silver cup PPR, motto Good God increase

This was also true in early America. The record of Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolution gives no less than 16 different spellings of the name Goodale, many times with reference to the same man in the same document.

Thomas Goodale and the Family Crest

Thomas "the Elder" Goodale and his wife Elizabeth were probably parents of Robert who married Joan Artys and was father of Robert (the one I go into detail about, who lived in Salem). Robert was "a small landed proprietor and cultivator, employing his capital and labor in various modes which grew out of the occupation of lands."

On March 1, 1612, arms were granted to Thomas Goodall of Earle-Stoneham, as follows:

Arms: Gules, an eagle displayed Argent, beaked and 

membered Or, on a canton of the last a Chaplet Gramine Vert.

Crest: On a wreath an eagle displayed Argent beaked and 

membered Or and gorged with a chaplet Gramine Vert.

The Boston Transcript No. 9830 states that Robert brought to America the arms granted Thomas Goodall of Earle-Stoneham.

Below is an image of the arms and crest of the Goodale, Goodall, Goodell, etc. family:

King James had succeeded Queen Elizabeth in 1603, followed by King Charles in l625. One of the first acts of King Charles on his ascension to the throne, that caused a storm of indignation throughout the country was the imposition of a forced loan without the grant of Parliament. The imposition of ship money was the final measure that drove thousands, including the Goodales, to America.

Isaac (Issacke) Goodale

Now enters Isaac Goodale. Isaac was Robert's oldest son, and came to America when he was six months old. He, along with the rest of his family, grew up in Salem Massachusetts. When he was 35 years old, he married Patience Cook in 1668. Patience's parents, John and Mary Roote Cook, gave the married couple a tract of land. Together, Isaac and Patience had three children: Isaac, Zachariah, and John. They also had 15 grandchildren; 8 from Zachariah and 7 from John (who married 3 times).

Their house, originally built by Isaac's father, Robert, was located in Salem Massachusetts, in 1668. It was later deconstructed and moved to Ipswich Massachusetts, in 1928. The house was restored by Dr. Robert L. Goodale, and now sits at 141 Argilla Rd. Ipswich Massachusetts. It is currently on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Below are photographs of Isaac and Patience Goodale's house:

Below are some photographs of the interior of Isaac and Patience Goodale's house, after the restoration:

The Continuation of the Goodale Bloodline:

Isaac and Patience's son, Isaac (I'm referring to him as Isaac Jr. for sanity's sake) Jr., married Mary Abbe, and together they had eleven children: Isaac (the third), Jacob, Samuel, Hester, Ezekiel, Jonathan, Sarah, Abigail, Enos, Jacob (another one??), and Mary.

Isaac Jr. and Mary's son, Enos, married Mary Anglers, and together they had eight children: Sarah, Ebenezer, Mary, Ezekiel, Enos (referring to him as Enos Jr.), Miriam, Persis, and Elijah. In 1735, Isaac Jr., Mary, and their children moved out of Salem. At this point, the Goodale family had resided in Salem Massachusetts for over 100 years. The family first moved to Marlborough, then to Shrewsbury in 1743, and then to Jeffrey/Temple New Hampshire in 1750.

Enos and Mary's sons Ezekiel and Enos Jr. were part of the group that marched to Cambridge on April 19th, 1775. Enos Jr. also participated in the march to Saratoga, in 1777. Ezekiel also marched to Valley Forge and Monmouth Courthouse, and petitioned for compensation at Ticonderoga.

Their son Elijah, married Elizabeth Stickney, on August 10th, 1779, and had one child together: Elijah (referring to him as Elijah Jr.) Jr. Elijah Jr. married Sally Davis, on September 20th, 1802.

Elijah was part of the Training Band of Jeffrey, New Hampshire, in 1784. He was a soldier. Unfortunately, when Elijah died, no officer could validate his wartime roll status, so Elizabeth could not collect his pension.

Below is a list of names of those who were enlisted in the training band:

Elijah's brother, Ezekiel, married Elenor Gill. He served as a lieutenant in June 1777 in Captain Isaac Frey's Company, and  Colonial Seamon's New Hampshire Line. He was discharged a year later at Valley Forge. Then, he served as a private in Colonial Benjamin Tupper's regiment in Massachussetts, in 1782.

Below is a letter from officials at Temple, New Hampshire, requesting that Ezekiel be made an officer in the Militia of New Hampshire, followed by a list of Revolutionary War rolls, naming Ezekiel as a Captain:

Ezekiel died on July 10th, 1827, from illness. His obituary reads: 

"At Ellisburg, July 10, 1827, after a short illness, Ezekiel Goodale, for several years a Captain in the Revolutionary War, in the 84th year of his age, he was possessed of extraordinary powers of mind and a vigorous constitution.  His faith in the universal benevolence of his Saviour, continued unshaken to his last.  By this afflicting dispensation of Providence an aged wife and numerous descendants even to the fourth generation have been bereft of a worth friend and relative." 

Below is a list of war heroes of 1776, collected from a monument in Temple, New Hampshire:

* Silas Angier        * Ens.Benjamin Cutter * Peter Felt
* Timothy Avery       * Arch.Cummings       * Samuel " "
* Jona.   " "         * Eben. Cobb          * Joseph " "
* Wm.Andrews          * Stephen " "         * Joshua Foster
* Jere. " "           * Seth " "            * Joshua " "
* Jacob Annis         * Capt. Gershom       * Jacob " "
* Samuel Burnap       * William " "         * James " "
* John " "            * Daniel " "          * Daniel Fuller
* Gen Francis Blood   * Zedk. " "           * Amos " "
* John Ball           * Eben. " "           * Ezra " "
* Caleb Bancroft      * John " "            * Capt Robert Fletcher
* Eph. Brown          * David " "           * Ens. Peter " "
* Peter " "           * Needham " "         * Samuel Griffin
* John Boynton        * Zebh. Dinsmore      * Enos    Goodale
* Samuel Bredeen      * Abram. " "          * Lieut Ezek. " "
* Lieut Benj. Byham   * Henry Davis         * Abijah Gould
* Ens. Francis Cragin * Peter " "           * Major Eph. Heald
* Lieut. Benj. " "    * Phil. Ducet         * Peter " "
* John " "            * Capt Eben.Edwards   * Joseph " "
* John " " ,jr        * John Everett        * Oliver " "
* Simeon " "          * Zech. Emery         * Daniel " "
* Elias Colburn       * Aaron Felt          * John Hillsgrove

Elijah and Elizabeth Goodale's son, Elijah Jr., married Sally Davis, on September 20th, 1802. Together they had four children: Eliza, Charles, Harry, and Sally. When Elijah Jr. died, he was just over 100 years old.

Below is a map, showing the movements of the entire Goodale family between the years 1600 and 1830:

Goodale Cemetery, Danvers Massachussetts

The Goodale Cemetery is on Andover Street off of I-95 in Danvers MA. See map below:

Even though this is called the “Goodale Cemetery, only two Goodales are can be found. Major William Goodale (1781-1849) who was present in the war of 1812, and Hattie Goodale. The other graves are of Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers.

Below are some photos of the cemetery:

Moral of the Story:

So the moral of the story is that I have an awesome family tree. I have bloodline ties to the Salem Witch trials, and come from a line of war heroes. Granted, I only told you part of the story; only 230 years. There's still a lot more to my ancestry than I know. I hope I get to have the chance to discover more about my ancestors, and visit the Goodale Cemetery and Isaac's house. That would be great! Those are two things that are definitely going on my bucket list.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my Salem story, and the history of my ancestors as much as I have. I've been going at this discovery for hours upon hours now. I guess that's part of who I am though, always discovering new things, and always wanting to learn!

For more information, and the source to most of mine, check out this website about the Goodale Ancestry.

*Note: None of the pictures used in this blog post are mine. All rights belong to their original owners.