Joan Wright

In 1626, the Allington family refused to have Wright as their midwife because she was left-handed.^[9] The mother fell ill with a breast infection and the newborn baby died shortly after it was born. Quickly, the family and neighbors began to accuse Wright of the infant's demise.^[10]

On September 11, 1626, Wright was called before the General Court of Virginia in Jamestown, Virginia on the charge of witchcraft.^[11][12] The presiding judge of her hearing was Sir George Yeardley, the Colonial Governor of Virginia.^[13] The formal accusation and investigatory hearing of Wright is the earliest witchcraft allegation on record against an English settler in any British North American colony.^[14]

The court heard extensive testimony during the inquiry. Her accusers claimed that she had cursed their local livestock and crops, caused a heavy rainfall, bewitched their butter churns, accurately predicted the deaths of several of her neighbors, and cast a spell that caused the death of a newborn baby.^[15] During the inquiry, Wright did nothing to dispute the charges of witchcraft, and, in some instances, subtly encouraged this belief.^[3]

It is believed that Wright was acquitted despite her admission that she did possess basic knowledge of witchcraft practices.^[16][13] In her response to her charges, she remarked, "God forgive them."^[17] Available court records do not describe how the hearing ended, and there is no surviving record of a sentence.^[18]

A Virginia witch trial loosely based on the story of Joan Wright is featured in a 2017 episode of the British drama television series Jamestown.^[19]

In 2019, an original play, "Season of the Witch" premiered at the Jamestown Settlement. The play is a dramatic retelling of the witch trials in Virginia, with a focus on the story of Wright.^[20]