Captain Thomas Allyn House, Windsor, Connecticut:
In 1651, an English settler named Thomas Allyn accidentally shot his neighbor, Henry Stiles, to death. Allyn was indicted for and found guilty of homicide by misadventure. The court ordered Allyn to pay a fine of £310 for his “sinful neglect and careless carriages in the premises,” and he was sentenced to be “bound to his good behavior for a twelve-month period and that he shall not bear arms for the same term.” Thomas Allyn’s father, Matthew, paid £310 and Thomas was remanded into his father’s custody for the year’s probationary period.
Mr. Stiles was a boarder in the house of Thomas and Lydia Gilbert, and he was 58 years old at the time of his death. Three years later, with no explanation, the Connecticut court refunded Thomas Allyn’s fine and charged Lydia Gilbert with the death of Stiles by witchcraft. The jury found her guilty and the official record on November 28, 1654 states:
Lydia Gilbert thou art hereby indicted by that name Lydia Gilbert and not having the fear of God before thy eyes thou hast of late years or still dost give entertainment to Satan the great enemy of God and mankind and by his help hast killed the body of Henry Stiles besides other witchcrafts for which according to the law of God and established law of this commonwealth thou deserves to die.”
Lydia Gilbert was the fifth “witch” hanged by the Connecticut Colony.
Source: https://connecticuthistory.org/accidental-shooting-leads-to-witchcraft-conviction-today-in-history/
View on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvxuAPKPzPv
