Copyright keenesentinel
Mrs. Jenny Gilchrist lived in the town of Hillsborough, N.H., during the late 18th century. She lived in a little house in the southwest part of town and was known to the other residents of the town as Aunt Jenny. The Hillsborough town historian relayed a description of Aunt Jenny as a “small, lean, sallow, shriveled old woman” whose later years were embittered by some unhappiness in her early life. Jenny’s volatile temper and several unexplained occurrences involving her soon earned her the reputation of being a witch. Although the Salem witch trials were a century in the past, belief in ancient superstitions, including witchcraft, still brought a feeling of dread to many people in New England in the 1700s. The legends of many of Jenny’s supernatural powers survive to the present day. Some of them are as follows. One day Aunt Jenny visited the local gristmill. It is said that she became so angry at the miller during her visit that she chased the poor man across the surface of the millpond. Jenny became very destitute in her later years, and the townspeople decided she should be taken to the poor farm to be cared for. The town constable arrived at her door late one afternoon and told Jenny that he had come to take her to the poor farm. She made no protest but climbed up behind the officer on his horse. They rode all night through the dark. When morning dawned the next day, the constable was amazed to find that they were still in Jenny’s front yard. Aunt Jenny remained in her home for the rest of her life. One time a neighbor of Jenny’s decided to do away with one of his sheep because it was exhibiting symptoms of rabies. He struck the sheep with a heavy club. It was reported that Jenny fell to the floor of her home in extreme pain at the same moment. She was confined to her bed following the collapse and a neighbor came to keep watch at her bedside. The neighbor was instructed to not leave her side because it was believed that witches would not allow anyone to witness their death. Late in the evening the neighbor went to a nearby table to retrieve a piece of paper. When he returned to her bed a few seconds later, Hillsborough’s old Aunt Jenny had died.
