Ann Foster (Salem witch trials)

Ann Foster (née Alcock; 1617 – December 3, 1692) was an Andover widow accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials.

Life and family

Ann Alcock was born to George and Anne (née Hooker) Alcock of England. She married Andrew Foster and settled in Andover, Massachusetts. They had five children: Andrew, Abraham, Mrs Sarah Kemp, Mrs Hannah Stone (whose husband, Hugh Stone, killed her in a drunken rage in 1689, and was hanged), and Mrs Mary Lacey.

Accusation and trial

In 1692, when a woman named Elizabeth Ballard came down with a fever that baffled doctors, witchcraft was suspected, and a search for the responsible witch began. Two afflicted girls from Salem village, Ann Putnam and Mary Walcott, were taken to Andover to seek out the witch, and fell into fits at the sight of Ann Foster. Ann, seven years a widow, was arrested and taken to Salem prison. Foster's daughter, Mary Lacey, and her daughter, also named Mary Lacey (called "Mary Lacey, Jr."), were accused of witchcraft as well.