Historic Northampton

History websites with primary source documents
Witchcraft Daley & Halligan Northampton Association
The Goody Parsons Witchcraft Case
The Trial of
Daley & Halligan
The Northampton Association

The Goody Parsons Witchcraft Case: A Journey to the 17th Century
The Goody Parsons Witchcraft Case

Mary Bliss Parsons (circa 1628-1711/12) of Northampton was the subject of accusations and charges of witchcraft resulting in at least two legal trials. In 1656, her husband sued a neighboring family for slander to quell rumors of witchcraft. In 1674-75, she was formally accused of witchcraft and stood trial in Boston. The website presents facsimiles and transcripts of court documents, maps and related documents. The online exhibit and educational website with school curricula were created by the Center for Computer Based Technology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Northampton area teachers. Enter The Goody Parsons Witchcraft Case website

The Daley & Halligan Bicentennial Commemoration, 1806-2006
Report of the Trail of Dominic Daley and James Halligan

In 1805, Dominic Daley and James Halligan were accused of the murder of Marcus Lyon in Wilbraham. A trial held in Northampton in April 1806 resulted in a guilty verdict. Daley and Halligan were executed in Northampton on June 5, 1806. By today's standards the Commonwealth of Massachusetts would not have secured an indictment, let alone a conviction, with the evidence presented. In 2006, Northampton citizens organized a year-long commemoration. Original court documents, the trial report, related manuscripts and secondary source articles were compiled online to allow the historical record to be reconstructed with original sources.
Enter The Daley and Halligan Bicentennial Commemoration website

The Northampton Association of Education & Industry, 1842-1846
Northampton Association - constitution

In 1842, a group of silk manufacturers, farmers and abolitionists established a community in Broughton's Meadow (now Florence, Massachusetts) called the Northampton Association of Education and Industry. The association aimed to communally raise silkworms and produce raw silk based on principles of equality. Those who were drawn to this community sought to challenge the "existing social arrangements" of their day. Funded by a Teaching American History grant, the Collaborative for Educational Services and other partners developed this website using The Stetson Family letters in the collection of Historic Northampton and other primary source documents. Enter the website Radical Equality: The Northampton Association of Education and Industry (1842-1846)