Katharn (Lacye) Garner (1610 - 1636)

Born 1610 in Wales

Wife of Richard Garner — married 1633 in Shropshire , England

Died 1636 at about age 26 in Shropshire, England

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Biography

Katharn (Lacye) Garner was accused of witchcraft in England

Katharn Garner, the wife of Richard Garner, "... Welshwoman, found innocent of Witch Craft in Trial by Water. ("2 pounds for burial in Christian ground;") Shropshire, England, 1636. Katharn was “tried by ordeal” with the dunking stool, and that she was acquited because she obligingly died in witness to her innocence. Some kind of heresy or witchcraft was supposedly the charge. The following year, 1637, Richard Garner went with their four-year-old son to Farrar’s Island in Virginia.

Is sometimes listed as "Kathran" or "Katherine".

Very little is known about Katharn prior to her being accused of witchcraft. She was listed as being a "Welshwoman".

She was accused of witchcraft, and "tried by ordeal", which involved being bound, weighed down with heavy stones and thrown in a river. If she was a witch, and in league with the devil, he would free her bonds and she would be able to swim to the surface, in which case she would have been burned as a witch. However, she drowned, was declared innocent, and was given a proper Christian burial.

It is interesting to note that Katharn's sister-in-law, Mary Lacye Garner, was also accused of witchcraft, tried by ordeal, and was also drowned, only a year prior.

Sources

• http://www.geni.com/people/Katharn-Garner/6000000003382810423
• http://www.danel.us/family-history-and-genealogy/
• http://shrewsburyforum.co.uk/ar/t844.htm
• If the Legends Are True...: http://www.palmspringsbum.org/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I4166&tree=Legends
• The Witches of Shropshire - The Wives of Richard and Thomas Garner: http://danel.us/resources/The+Witches+of+Shropshire.pdf

Acknowledgements

WikiTree profile Lacye-6 created through the import of Freeman Family Tree.ged on Aug 9, 2012 by Emily Freeman.

WikiTree profile Lacye-7 created through the import of familytreex.ged on Jul 20, 2011 by Adri Oldershaw.