Witch trials and hangings back in the 1690s were indeed a sad time in the very early history of our country. When they have a bit of family history involved they become even more interesting and deplorable. For generations there had been a rumor in our family that one of our early ancestors, a Mary Parker of Andover, Mass., had been hanged as a witch in 1692. Was this true, or was there confusion with some other branch of the Parker family that was in Andover at that time? Thanks to a lot of family research by our cousin George Parker, who grew up in Vermont and now teaches at Southern Illinois University, more light has been shed on the question. George has been interested in family genealogy since his father was a history teacher in Vermont. Ruth Fear Williams of Portage County also has researched the question. Ruth’s father, Charles Fear, had married my aunt, Lucy Parker, who died of typhoid fever in 1932. He remarried and had a family of several children, including Ruth.