Windham County Genealogy Interest Group HALLOWEEN Meeting
Windham County Genealogy Interest Group HALLOWEEN Meeting
Tracing Ancestors in the Salem Witch Trials & Spiritualism in Brattleboro, 1886-1889:
One Man’s Contact with the Afterlife through Letters
10:30 AM to 12:30PM, Saturday, October 31 ,2026
Zoom & In-Person at Rockingham Public Library, Bellows Falls, Vt.
The next hybrid In-Person and Zoom meeting of the Windham County Genealogy Interest Group will focus on “Spiritualism in Brattleboro, 1886-1889: One Man’s Contact with the Afterlife through Letters” &
“Tracing Ancestors in the Salem Witch Trials\\on Saturday, October 31, 2026, from 10:30 AM to 12:30PM, Zoom and at Rockingham Public Library. In case of inclement weather, it will be Zoom only.
Free and open to all. Please register at this link: https://bit.ly/WCGIG-2026
A Zoom link will be sent before the meeting the week preceding the meeting
“Tracing Ancestors in the Salem Witch Trials” with Wayne Blanchard”
For those who have ancestors in Essex County Massachusetts, it may be possible to identify the family connections to the Salem witch trials—whether through the accused, accusers, witnesses or jurors. We will explore the use of colonial records, court documents, and genealogical tools to uncover ties to one of New England’s most pivotal events. Because court documents in particular sometimes have testimony by ancestors in their own words, it can give a picture of their life that goes beyond the vital statistics. Although the events happened 334 years ago, much is still written today about the people involved. The extensive historical research that has been done help to give important context about their lives.
Using real-world examples written by or about Vermonters, we’ll examine resources for reading old (or poor) handwriting, transcription tips and techniques, using context to decode content, short-and long-term publication decision-making, and using additional resources to add depth to your final result.
“Spiritualism in Brattleboro, 1886-1889: One Man’s Contact with the Afterlife through Letters with Jerry Carbone”
Jerry Carbone will discuss the research for his essay published in the Winter/Spring 2018 issue of Vermont History on Edwards Edwards, a carriage maker who owned a business in Keene and later in Brattleboro. Between 1886 and November 1889, during the final years of his life, Edwards was visited by three trance mediums at his home on Prospect Street in Brattleboro. The mediums channeled twenty-four handwritten letters, purportedly authored by the spirits of his two deceased wives, brothers, sisters, a niece, and his mother. Carbone will discuss his genealogical research into the family of Edwards and attempt to identify the mediums.
The letters are part of the Edward Edwards collection at the Brattleboro Historical Society.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Wayne Blanchard & Jerry Carbone
Windham County Genealogy Interest Group
windhamcountygig@gmail.com