{"id":104753,"date":"2025-10-17T09:16:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T13:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/?p=104753"},"modified":"2025-10-23T11:12:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T15:12:52","slug":"the-witches-of-dogtown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/the-witches-of-dogtown.html","title":{"rendered":"The Witches of Dogtown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, as Halloween approaches, Melissa Davenport Berry describes some of the witches who lived in the mysterious, now-abandoned village of Dogtown on Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com<\/a>, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Inland among the lonely cedar dells
\nOf Old Cape Ann \u2013 near Gloucester by the sea,
\nStill live the dead \u2013 in homes that used to be.
\nAll day in dreamy spells
\nThey tattle low with tongues of tinkling cattle bells,
\nOr spirit tappings of some hollow tree,
\nAnd there, all night \u2013 all night out of the dark \u2013 they bark \u2013 and bark.<\/p>\n

— Dogtown Common<\/em><\/a> by Percy MacKaye<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The myth, magic, and mystery of Dogtown, an abandoned village in Gloucester on Cape Ann in Massachusetts, has captivated generations of locals and sightseers.<\/p>\n

Long after the 1692 Salem witch hysteria, a group of women who resided in Dogtown were thought to be witches. According to local legend, their spirits are believed to continue haunting the area, and each year, numerous individuals trot along the trails in hopes of encountering these bewitched supernatural figures.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:
Illustration: \u201cThe Witches of Dogtown\u201d by Louise Welch, using a blend of photography and art. Credit: Louise Welch; Our Town Gloucester \u2013 Photo Art.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among these ghostly notables are Tammy Younger, \u201cLuce\u201d George, Molly Jacobs, Granny Rich, Easter Clark, Judy Rhines, and Old Ruth, a.k.a. John Woodman.<\/p>\n

Their residences can be found on the map featured below, from Charles E. Mann\u2019s book In the Heart of Cape Ann \u2013 The Story of Dogtown<\/em><\/a>, published in 1896 and drawn in the author\u2019s own hand.<\/p>\n

\"Map:
Map: Dogtown, Massachusetts. Credit: Charles E. Mann, \u201cIn the Heart of Cape Ann \u2013 The Story of Dogtown.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tammy Younger & Aunt Luce George<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of these,
\nLast of the witches, pinched with spirit-hunger,
\nWas Tammy Younger.<\/p>\n

Long after Salem days she cherished the lore
\nOld Cotton Mather cursed. She knew the clink
\nOf sieve and shears, and how to brew dire drink
\nOf foxberry leaves with gore
\nOf new-stuck swine. Full many a godless grudge she bore
\nTo make in church a deacon gape or blink,
\nWhile she at home would scratch his puppet with bristles
\nOf prickly thistles.<\/p>\n

— Dogtown Common<\/em><\/a> by Percy MacKaye<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tammy Younger<\/a> aka \u201cQueen of the Witches,\u201d who supposedly had the power of sheer will to control and get people and animals to do her bidding, resided with her aunt Luce George. It was claimed the two women bewitched oxen pulling wagons and wouldn\u2019t release them from their spell until their drivers paid tribute from the load they were carrying.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:
Illustration: Tammy Younger. Credit: Louise Welch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tammy was born to William and Lucy (Foster) Young and married James McCormic on 23 August 1775<\/a>. It is purported he died at sea. She later lived with her aunt Luce George.<\/p>\n

Here are a few tidbits reported on the Dogtown witches.<\/p>\n

\"An
Beaumont Enterprise (Beaumont, Texas), 14 January 1912, page 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article reports:<\/p>\n

The House of the Witch<\/p>\n

Yet there is food for emotion in the Deserted Village. The very first spot in it, on Fox Hill, after one crosses tiny, brawling, brown tinted Alewife Brook, is Tammy Younger\u2019s cellar. Now Tammy Younger (short for Thomasine) was a witch, and so was her aunt, Luce George. As the spectator [reporter] stood on the brink of the ruined cellar, filled thick with muddy sumac, which is all that remains of the domicile of \u201cthe Queen of the Witches,\u201d he could see the bridge over the brook, where the laden oxen used to be halted by her black art, with their tongues hanging helplessly out of their mouths, until their owners ran up the hill and brought tribute from the loads. Luce George had the unique power of bewitching a load of wood so that it would not stay on the cart unless a portion was duly unloaded at the door.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Below is a sketch showing Tammy Younger practicing her toll spells.<\/p>\n

\"An
Boston Herald (Boston, Massachusetts), 18 July 1926, page 66<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The caption reads:<\/p>\n

The oxen would remain transfixed until the old witch collected her toll, then she would break the spell.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Judy Rhine<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another lady of the (witch)craft was Judy Rhines, who lived on Commons Road, now beneath the Goose Cove Reservoir. According to an account published in Harper\u2019s Weekly<\/em>, Judy was targeted by local lads:<\/p>\n

Like several others of these dames, she [Judy] picked up a meager living by fortune-telling. It is said that once upon a time two boys, knowing that the chattels of a witch were ever public property, determined to prove themselves public-spirited by carrying off two of Judy\u2019s geese. Judy\u2019s tall, gaunt figure was seen in a moment, as she came shrieking and brandishing a hoe; but the retort of a goose flung full in her face so prostrated her that the boys were able to make off with their prey.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Judy also picked berries and cleaned houses for a living, but the big scandal on Judy shows up in a poem. This side dish is mentioned in the New York Herald\u2019s<\/em> review of the poem Dogtown Common<\/em><\/a> by Percy MacKaye. According to MacKaye, Rhines cast a spell on the minister.<\/p>\n

\"An
New York Herald (New York, New York), 23 October 1921, page 88<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article reports:<\/p>\n

A weird legend of Cape Ann forms the basis of Percy MacKaye\u2019s saga of witchcraft colored with the half tints of modern psychic phenomena. Judy Rhines, the daughter of the witch who abides on Dogtown Common, whence the men go to the fishing and seldom come back, casts her very human spell upon John Wharf, the minister.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, an even hotter tip on Judy comes from Thomas Dresser, who claims Judy had been known to work the streets, along with two other sorceresses: Molly Jacobs and Liz Tucker.<\/p>\n

Dresser notes:<\/p>\n

\u201cThese three unfortunates comprised Dogtown\u2019s red-light district.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Create a free account<\/a> at GenealogyBank for 7 days to start your journey and discover the stories your ancestors left behind.<\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> close-up of Tammy Younger. Credit: Louise Welch.<\/p>\n

Related Articles:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n