I agree with this reply completely. I'm descended from 2 witches that died in Salem, MA, and when in college I did a study about those who were called witches in colonial times. Turns out they were often women who talked back, who didn't conform, or had a fued with a neighbor. It was easy to accuse someone you didn't like, but hard to prove oneself innocent. Even men were dragged into the melee because a neighbor didn't like them or wanted their farm land. So being descended from "witches" might just mean you inherited their stubborn streak. One of my supposed witch ancestors was Giles Corey, who died after having a pile of rocks put on top of him one by one. With each rock they asked if he confessed, and he'd say "more rocks". And quite honestly, none of them actually practiced witchcraft at all. Another theory is that the wheat crops had a type of mold on them due to excess rains and the mold caused hallucinations, much like the "magic mushrooms" of the 1960's drug culture. Fortunately, North Carolina never had much of that nonsense happen, maybe we were more practical minded and more spread out with our larger farms and such, we were too busy. Maureen ----- Original Message ----- From: <Hdanw@aol.com> To: <rowanroots@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 7:30 PM Subject: Re: [ROWANROOTS] lost roots >I don't think *witchcraft* and similar acts are passed down from generation > to generation, except perhaps culturally!! > > There are always non-conformists among us, and from time to time, I am one > of those, in that I don't go along with the conventional wisdom!!! > Especially > in my family's politics and religions!!! When I worked in a big > bureaucracy, my supervisor would come back from a county meeting and say, > this is the > way we are going to do it!!! I would think about how that was going to > work > down to the lower levels of workers, and I would speak up, That is not > going to > work!!! Her eyebrows would go up, but from time to time, I believe she > concurred (but would not say so!!!). > > If you read about North Carolinians, you will find there were rebellious > groups from almost the beginning!!! Perhaps in New England, they would > have > been persecuted. In the south, most of the time, one could find a > kindred > spirit or two, and besides, there was plenty of room to move around!!! > > Think of how many different religions were tolerated in western North > Carolina. Church of England folk, those who came from England where they > were > educated in one of the big universities, were taken aback by the behavior > of some > of our folks. I think mine in Granville Co. built race tracks instead of > churches, in the beginning. > > That is my personal opinion! > > E.W.Wallace > > > > > **************Biggest Grammy Award surprises of all time on AOL Music. > (http://music.aol.com/grammys/pictures/never-won-a-grammy?NCID=aolcmp003000000025 > 48) > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > ROWANROOTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi I don't beleive the art of witch craft is inherited I wonder how much of the aditudes and ways are passed on through generations . Yes indeed my mother and her ancestors on fathers side were and are very different than other relatives My mom is extremely different. Much of it could probably be emiontal illness. But in the family treatment for illness is and has been shuned. My grandfathers parents did not have any thing to do with their family. Reclusive people as was my grandfather in latter years he did not get along with people very well My mom lives a reclusive life in a scarey old home with 12 rooms, several bath rooms two attics and two cellars a half dozen cats No one likes to visit her My grandfather and his parents drank a good deal to much. My mom does not drink My mom only remembers once seeing her grandparents standing on a porch looking down to her. She is not a warm cozy grandma and my grand father was not a warm cozy man My mom lived in same town walking distance from grand parents was not invited in to visit so I don't have any family lore of them My grandfather would not answer my questions about his family. My grandfather owned old Witch Craft books and would cast spells i seen a spell my grandmother find in a jar in the cellar with a peice of her hair and a paper with words on it When he was young he thought he had a healing power he used on his children called it pow wow my mom still beleives he had. She tells a story of him healing her The family often says they are Amercan Indian and that is why they are the way they are but in my research i have not found the Indian lines. I had a second cousin so sure of it he was buried in Indian looking clothes His mom my grandfathers sister My grandmother was sick of the witch craft and took his books and burned them in the 1960's This story I heard several times because the books would not burn They were old books As a child I remember my mom helping a neighbor cast a spell with a rose and a needle As a thing to do my mother and her siblings would sit around the table when I was a kid and play with the concepts of witch craft As kids my siblings and I would play the same games in closed rooms and my mom found us with a candle that catch some thing on fire in bed room We were scared I grew up scared of these things and avoid these things and often won't even talk of it or listen to stories But now my interest is peaked wondering how many generations before my grandfather may of had same ideas and ways My mothers oldest sister is in deep She told me storys of my grandmothers sister. I have tried to find source through genealogy of my mothers familys differences Thinking most of it is emiontal illness. My mom even wrote a few months ago and I never responded that maybe we have Witches in our ancestry. Then when I seen the name Bassett not once but twice of women executions it made me wonder? How much has been passed through family These people live in PA early roots New England Bassetts I only touched the iceburg with my telling of this. Jeanie --------------------------------- Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.