Margaret Matson

Margaret Matson was accused of witchcraft in colonial Pennsylvania.

Matson was a reputed healer working from Finnish tradition. After the colony (New Sweden) was taken over by the British, some of her English neighbours claimed that she had bewitched cattle.

According to an article by J. M. Buckley from the December 1891 issue of The Century Magazine:

In 1684 Margaret Matson was tried in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, before William Penn. Philadelphia was then only three years old. The court brought in the verdict that she was " guilty of having the common fame of a witch, but not guilty in manner and form as she stands indicted." Tradition says that Penn said to her "Art thou a witch?" and " Hast thou ridden through the air on a broomstick?" When she answered yes, he said that she had a right to ride on a broomstick, that he knew no law against it, and thereupon ordered her discharge. [1]