Grace Sherwood, the Witch of Pungo
You don’t have to go far in Virginia Beach to see reminders of Grace Sherwood, our own cultural icon. This is particularly true in the neighborhoods surrounding Old Donation Episcopal Church. After all, the “witch” in Witchduck Road, where our church was built, refers to Grace. The link between Grace Sherwood and today’s Old Donation Episcopal Church may be indirect, but it does exist.
Nicknamed the Witch of Pungo, Grace Sherwood lived from about 1660 to 1740 in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach near the North Carolina state line. Accused of witchcraft by a variety of neighbors, Grace, and her husband, James, spent much time and money in defense of those and other assorted charges. Over a period of six years the Sherwoods were in court multiple times both as defendants and plaintiffs. James died in 1701 leaving Grace to face these challenges as a widow. She never remarried.
Besides being a member of Lynnhaven parish, as all Princess Anne County citizens were required to be, Grace had a special connection with the land where Old Donation now sits. In the early 18th century, when Grace was in and out of court with her neighbors, the courthouse where her cases were heard stood on the exact location of our current church. There’s no record telling us how many times Grace was present for those proceedings, but there’s little doubt she once walked the grounds around our church. Today, it’s easy to picture Grace, and her husband, James, nervously pacing the footpaths under a canopy of old trees waiting to be called back into the courthouse for a verdict.
Grace’s legal troubles culminated on July 10, 1706 when the Princess Anne County court order her to be tested for witchcraft. The test required Grace to be bound hand to foot and “ducked” meaning dunked in the Lynnhaven River. Ducking was the old English practice of tying an accused witch hand to foot and tossing her into a body of water. Sinking to the bottom meant the accused was not a witch, while floating indicated she was a witch. The logic was that water, being a pure element, would reject the devil’s servant and so a true witch would float. There was no intent to drown the subject. As a matter of fact, the court specifically ordered that Grace be protected from drowning writing “always having Care of her life to preserve her from Drowning.”
Neither the Lynnhaven Parish Vestry nor it’s clergy played a role in Grace’s court cases or testing. It is true that some vestry members served simultaneously as court justices, but by law those roles were kept separate. While it’s natural to assume that a justice’s decisions were influenced by his religious beliefs, it’s important to stress that Grace’s judicial outcomes and eventual testing were the result of civil, not ecclesiastical, action.
In 2014, in response to an appeal from a group of parishioners, Old Donation placed a large stone on church property as a memorial to Grace. The inscription engraved on the stone reads:
In memory of
Grace White Sherwood
1660 – 1740
healer of sick with herbs
convicted as a witch
she survived Virginia’s only
trial by ducking in the
Lynnhaven River
July 10 1706
Name cleared by governor
300 years later.
Grace Sherwood is not buried in Old Donation’s cemetery, nor anywhere on the church property. She died in 1740 and is believed to be buried near her home in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach. The exact location of her grave has been lost, but some locals claim there was a thick grove a trees and brush near Muddy Creek in Pungo long believed to be Grace’s resting place. The stories of Grace as an herbalist and healer are part of the colorful folklore surrounding her life and are an important part of Virginia Beach’s local culture.
Even though Grace failed her test for witchcraft no court convicted Grace of any crime. While often perceived as a pardon, Governor Tim Kaine’s letter dated July 10 2006 explicitly restored Grace’s good name. The governor never used the word “pardon.”