I will probably be damned as a heretic!! 
My problem is that their story just doesn't seem to fit the facts?! 
Well lets face it, witchcraft is and was always nonsense.
In the dark ages, few if any women claimed to be witches. Usually a 'Moral Panic Episode' was initiated by the clergy or other leaders to boost their own stature in society. Often the women 'identified' by so-called witchhunters, (usually brought down from Scotland) were women who had , for instance, healing skills. They were therefore a threat to the power of the religious leaders.
Unfortunately, the witch hunt outlined in the Federation's story did occur. The Witchcraft Act of 1735 would not dispel entrenched superstition.
For her time, Elizabeth Lee was a forceful woman; she confronted Armstrong , a yeoman, in Court and sued him for defamation.
Unusually, the earlier witch-hunt was lead , not by a Scott, but by a local woman, Mrs Armstrong.
It is possible that this story is , in part, about an ongoing Whitfield/Armstrong feud.
Cheers Gary
