Ann Hibbins Faced Witchcraft Execution

In 1640, a woman named Ann Hibbins, wife of wealthy Boston merchant William Hibbins, sued carpenters who had overcharged her for work on her house and won. Church authorities considered her conduct abrasive, demanded an apology, and excommunicated her when she refused, accusing her of usurping her husband's authority. Within months of her husband's death in 1654, officials began witchcraft proceedings against Hibbins, eventually securing a conviction from the Massachusetts General Court. Authorities hanged her on Boston Common in 1656, making her the third person executed for witchcraft in Boston.

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