Walter W. WoodwardOAH Magazine of History, Volume 17, Issue 4, July 2003

The 1669 trial of Katherine Harrison of Wethersfield, Connecticut marked a critical moment in the history of witchcraft in New England. Because of the multiple types of witchcraft attributed to her (murder by magic, shape-shifting and spectral appearances, and foretelling the future through diabolical astrology), the sympathetic magistrates trying her case were compelled to define the legal definitions of diabolical witchcraft. This need was compounded by the fact that Connecticut's chief magistrate, John Winthrop Jr., was a dedicated alchemist and student of natural magic himself. This case provides an important alternate perspective to the Salem witchcraft trials because the magistrates remained skeptical of the charges against Harrison, though her neighbors were fully convinced of her malice. Their actions ultimately saved Harrison's life, allowing her to leave Connecticut and move to New York rather than face the gallows. Because of the new legal definitions of witchcraft produced in this case, Connecticut, which had previously been New England's most aggressive witch executioner, became the most tolerant. That colony never executed another witch and had no witch trials for a generation.

 The Hartford Witch Panic – Hartford through Time (scholarscollaborative.org) 

Rebecca Mcloughin is 13th direct decendent of Katherine Harrison.