{"id":104865,"date":"2025-10-23T11:16:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T15:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/?p=104865"},"modified":"2025-10-29T08:19:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T12:19:10","slug":"the-witches-of-dogtown-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/the-witches-of-dogtown-part-2.html","title":{"rendered":"The Witches of Dogtown (part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, as Halloween draws near, Melissa Davenport Berry describes another one 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

There was a witch known as Old Meg,
\nShe hobbled around with only one leg.
\nShe\u2019d limp into Gloucester a shilling to beg,
\nAnd kept all her money nailed up in a keg.
\nPity Old Meg \u2013 pity Old Meg,
\nKept all her money nailed up in a keg.<\/p>\n

Oh, pity the witch known as Old Meg,
\nAway she\u2019d hitch on her hickory leg,
\nThey say she needed a rudder and skag
\nSo she could steer better on her wooden peg.
\nPity Old Meg \u2013 pity Old Meg,
\nHitching along on her hickory leg.<\/p>\n

–from the album Early New England Ballads Collected and Sung by John Allison<\/em><\/a><\/p>\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. 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: \u201cDogtown, Where the Witches Roam.\u201d Credit: from Sarah Comstock\u2019s \u201cThe Broomstick Trail,\u201d an article published in Harper\u2019s Monthly in December 1919.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To recap: My last story \u201cThe Witches of Dogtown<\/a>\u201d covered notorious witches Judy Rhines, Tammy Younger, and Luce George. Below is a photo of actresses portraying these three women in the play Dogtown Common: Never Try, Never Win<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: actresses portraying Dogtown witches Judith, Tammy, and Luce in the play \u201cDogtown Common: Never Try, Never Win.\u201d Credit: North Shore Folklore Theatre Company.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In today\u2019s article, I\u2019m going to focus on another notorious Dogtown witch: Margaret (Peg\/Meg) Wesson, or \u201cOld Meg\u201d or \u201cOld Shag,\u201d as some called her.<\/p>\n

The Old Shag Goody Wesson<\/strong><\/p>\n

They say Margaret Wesson lived in the old Garrison house in Dogtown and was the only Cape Ann crone noted to have ridden a broomstick.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:
Illustration: a house in Dogtown. Credit: from Sarah Comstock\u2019s \u201cThe Broomstick Trail,\u201d an article published in Harper\u2019s Monthly in December 1919.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She was among the group of sorceresses who could supposedly read fortunes, shapeshift, and perform hexes. According to a Boston Herald<\/em> Halloween article titled \u201cSpooky Heritage Haunting Us,\u201d Old Shag holds a spot among the famous spooky women in Massachusetts history.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Boston Herald (Boston, Massachusetts), 30 October 1977, page 47<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to most accounts of the Old Shag story, in 1745 Gloucester provided a company of 45 strapping men led by Captain Charles Byles for service in King George\u2019s War. Prior to their departure for Cape Breton, three of them visited Margaret Wesson to inquire about their future.<\/p>\n

This article reports:<\/p>\n

Old Meg Wesson, who dressed in a bonnet laced with withered poppies and necklaces of eels, lived on Cape Ann with a black raven that had a peculiar, jagged mark of white under one wing.<\/p>\n

Because of Meg\u2019s curses, hens didn\u2019t lay eggs, fish escaped nets, and pigs devoured their young.<\/p>\n

On the eve of Sir William Pepperell<\/a>\u2019s military expedition<\/a> against the French fortress of Louisburg on Cape Breton in 1745, the troops gathered at a local tavern for a final celebration.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, Old Meg appeared at the tavern door to curse the trip.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Illustration:
Illustration: Old Meg curses the soldiers. Credit: from Sarah Comstock\u2019s \u201cThe Broomstick Trail,\u201d an article published in Harper\u2019s Monthly in December 1919.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The campaign, indeed, went wretchedly, until one day the men spotted a black raven, its underwing zig-zagged with white, circling above them. Remembering Meg, a soldier took aim and fired. The first shot broke the bird\u2019s leg, the second shot killed it. Two days later, Louisburg fell.<\/p>\n

Back home, the men learned that Meg had fallen down and broken her leg. Two days later \u2013 the day of the Louisburg victory \u2013 she had died.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another newspaper source fills in more drama on Old Shag with just a slightly different account.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Providence Journal (Providence, Rhode Island), 5 August 1923, page 66<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article reports:<\/p>\n

There is Peg Wesson, of witchcraft fame, who followed Gloucester soldiers to the Louisburg siege to put a curse upon them and who flew over their heads in the form of a crow. The soldiers fired a silver button at the crow and broke its leg. Upon arriving home, they found Peg Wesson in bed with a shattered limb. A doctor extracted the silver button from her very ankle!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Pringle\u2019s History of the Town and City of Gloucester, Cape Ann, Massachusetts<\/em><\/a> reveals the fate of the three Gloucester soldiers who visited Old Shag to have their fortunes told prior to their departure for Cape Breton.<\/p>\n

It is said their names were Job Ayers, Thomas Goodwin, and Martin Sanders. According to sources, when they visited Old Shag, Sanders tried to pull a fast one \u2013 slipping her a lead coin claiming it was a silver sixpence.<\/p>\n

When she tested it, Old Shag knew it was fake. She chased the feisty fellows and after storming the tavern, \u201cwaved a lank finger of warning\u201d over Captain Byles\u2019s company.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll visit ye!\u201d she shrieked and \u201cI\u2019ll visit ye in such wise that ye\u2019ll repent the folly this day!\u201d The fellows roared in laughter, and she exited with a hot temper more waxed with vengeance.<\/p>\n

When the company sailed into Cape Breton, Goody Wesson\u2019s curses began to plague them.<\/p>\n

Sanders slipped when a rope parted under his feet, throwing him overboard. A powerful current sucked him into the deep dark waters, but all he could hear was the eerie cries of the crow\u2026<\/p>\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> \u201cThe Witches of Dogtown\u201d by Louise Welch, using a blend of photography and art. Credit: Louise Welch; Our Town Gloucester \u2013 Photo Art.<\/p>\n

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