Mary Webster, the Half-Hanged Witch of Hadley

Here's something interesting I just learned: Margaret Atwood was inspired by to write her famous novel The Handmaid's Tale by the story of a 17th century Massachusetts woman accused of witchcraft. That woman was Mary Webster.

Mary Webster lived in Hadley, Massachusetts. Like many women accused of witchcraft, Mary was older, poor, and cantankerous. Her neighbors in Hadley blamed her for many of their misfortunes. For example, they believed that she caused animals to misbehave when they passed by her house:

Teams passing to and from the meadow went by her door, and she so bewitched some cattle and horses that they stopped, and ran back, and could not be driven by her house. In such cases, the teamsters used to go into the house and whip or threaten her, and she would then let the teams pass. She once turned over a load of hay near her house, and the driver went in and was about to chastise her, when she turned the load back again. (Sylvester Judd, History of Hadley, 1863)

People also said she caused weird phenomena to occur inside their homes:

She entered a house, and had such influence upon an infant on the bed or in the cradle, that it was raised to the chamber floor and fell back again, three times, and no visible hand touched it. There is a story that at another house, a hen came down chimney and got scalded in a pot, and it was soon found that Mary Webster was suffering from a scald. (Sylvester Judd, History of Hadley, 1863)

You'll note that her neighbors in Hadley felt empowered to inflict violence on her when their animals misbehaved. They acted as vigilantes, but in 1683 Mary was formally accused of witchcraft and sent to Boston for a legal trial. Witnesses testified that she had "familiarity with the Devil," who came to her in the shape of a large black cat. They also testified that she suckled imps with her blood so they would do her bidding. The Boston magistrates did not find the evidence convincing and acquitted her. Mary Webster was freed and sent back to Hadley.

Italian woodcut from 1520.

The next year, in 1684, one of Hadley's most prominent citizens became gravely ill. Philip Smith was a church deacon, a lieutenant in the militia, and a representative to the Massachusetts General Court, the colony's legislative body. Philip's body was wracked with great pain, like he was being stabbed with hundreds of pins, and as a a pious man he at first  endured his illness as divine suffering inflicted from God. As the pain worsened he grew delirious, though, and eventually claimed that Mary Webster was bewitching him. He had been one of the officials responsible for sending her to Boston and they had exchange angry words upon her return to Hadley. 

Philip Smith's family began to notice strange things in their home after he named Mary as his tormentor. The house was often filled with an unnatural musky smell, as if a large unseen animal was hiding inside. Perhaps the smell came from the invisible creature, roughly the size of a cat, that could be seen roaming underneath Philip Smith's bedcovers while he tried to sleep. Or perhaps the odor was sent by Mary Webster herself - Philip said he could see her specter hovering by his bedside. 

A group of young men decided to take matters into their own hands (once again). But this time they did more than whip Mary. On a cold snowy night they dragged her from her house and hanged her from a tree. Eventually they cut her down. Miraculously she was still alive, so the vigilantes buried her body in the snow and fled. 

Mary Webster survived her hanging and being left for dead in the snow. She lived until 1696 and died at the age of seventy. Philip Smith succumbed to his illness shortly after Mary's hanging. The vigilantes apparently escaped punishment. 

It's a grim story about mob violence being inflicted on a social outcast. Now let's jump ahead three centuries. Canadian author Margaret Atwood was researching her ancestry when she learned about Mary Webster. Atwood at first planned to write a novel about Mary's life but eventually changed her plans. Instead she wrote The Handmaid's Tale (1985), which is dedicated to Mary Webster. You can certainly see how the violence, religious persecution, and misogyny that Mary experienced informed Atwood's novel and the ensuing TV show. 

It would be nice if Atwood eventually wrote a novel set in 17th century Massachusetts about Mary Webster, although I realize the research could be daunting. Still, it might just be too grim for me to read.

Fighting Joe Hooker and His Women

Lots of interesting and historic things have their origin in Massachusetts. For example, the first public library in America was the Boston Public Library, and the first American college was Harvard.

But perhaps some less savory things have their origin here as well. For example, does the word "hooker" have its origin in the Bay State?

Prostitution is often referred to as the world's oldest profession, and has a very long history. There were prostitutes long before Massachusetts was ever founded, and there still will be when this Commonwealth is gone and forgotten. However, I'm concerned not with the origin of the practice, but rather with the origin of the word hooker to describe its practitioners.

One popular story claims the term originated with General Joseph Hooker. Hooker was born in Hadley, Massachusetts in the year 1814. Hooker came from a prominent family and entered the United States Military Academy in 1837. After graduating Hooker had a distinguished career, fighting against the Seminoles in Florida and receiving several promotions during the Mexican-American War.

After these initial successes it seemed like Hooker's career might be short-lived, though. He retired in 1858 after testifying against his former commanding officer during a trial. Many of his former colleagues resented his testimony, and after leaving the Army he worked as a farmer in California, a career at which he was only modestly successful. He seemed to be more successful at picking up bad habits. During the Mexican-American War he had developed a reputation as a lady's man, and now as a farmer he also spent much of his time drinking and gambling.

General Joseph Hooker (b.1814, d.1879)

When the Civil War broke out Hooker asked to re-enlist. He was refused at first, but the Union Army finally relented and assigned him the rank of brigadier general. Overall Hooker acquitted himself honorably, winning some key battles and losing others. During the war he also got the nickname "Fighting Joe Hooker," although not necessarily for his prowess on the battlefield. He got the nickname when a newspaper omitted a dash in their headline. The headline should have read "Fighting - Joe Hooker Attacks Rebels" but was mistakenly published as "Fighting Joe Hooker Attacks Rebels."

Despite the belligerent nickname and a string of battlefield successes, Hooker still maintained a reputation for heavy drinking, gambling, and womanizing. Was it all just bad PR? Maybe, but there may have been truth behind it as well.

Which brings me back to the question of whether the word "hooker" is derived from General Hooker.  The theory is that Hooker and his soldiers liked to frequent prostitutes, and even encouraged them to set up shop near their encampment.

This story appears in quite a few places, including Bruce Gellerman and Erik Sherman's 2010 book Boston Curiosities, which mentions it when describing a statue of Hooker that stands in front of the State House. It's even said that an area in Washington D.C. known during the Civil War for its prostitutes earned the nickname Hooker's Division because Fighting Joe spent so much time there.

It's a great story and I wish it were true, but unfortunately it isn't. Although Americans usually use the word hooker as a term for a prostitute, it actually has a very long history as a word used to describe criminals. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it was first used in 1567 to describe a thief who snatched bags using a hook. How literal!

These hookers or anglers be most perilous knaves! Caveat for Common Cursetors (1567)

Hooker later was used to describe any thief, but particularly one who stole watches. One theory is that since hooker was used to describe thieves it gradually became attached to prostitutes, who engage in a different form of criminal activity. It may also describe their ability to hook or entice clients.

Another theory traces the term's origin to Corlear's Hook, a section of New York City that had a lot of brothels, but I don't think linguists put much stock in that one.

Regardless of which of these two theories is the right one, unfortunately for Massachusetts this is one thing that didn't start here. Fighting Joe Hooker's unsavory reputation didn't give rise to the term hooker. The word hooker has been used to describe prostitutes since at least 1845, long before Hooker came to national prominence. We lost this one, but I guess we'll just have to find solace in the Boston Public Library and Harvard!