froglover Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Ran into some intersting info on a family history site about "Old Mother Fysonthe celebrated witch of Holme Hale." I hadn't heard of Mother Fyson before. HolmeHale is in western Norfolk about 19 miles north of Thetford. The site says she lived at "the Jolly Farmers Inn, on the border with Necton" and"for a fee she would foretell the sex of an unborn, and if one wanted to be ridof a husband, a wife or a lover, she would be able to supply the correct potion."She ammassed a considerbale amount of money by the standards of her time, whichwas wasted in the end by ayoung husband.http://www.copsey-family.org/~allenc/hale.htm She seemed an intriguing person and I have done a little further digging. I'dbe interested to hear if anyone knows more about her, she was succesful enoughto leave more traces than most. 1)From Notes and Queries, 1858, page 427, digitized on Google. Note the "old w_at home" story which is also told of Pickingill (except that the P story doesnot add that he refused to help, and he was an "old b_" rather than an "old w_".I'm assuming "w_" stands for "whore" here). Mrs. Fyson (2nd S. v. 315.)”The late Mrs. Fyson of Holme Hale, who died aboutfifty years since, was considered to possess the power of witchcraft. I neverheard of any person having felt the effects of her power in that " black art."Persons having lost articles by being stolen went to her, considering she hadthe power of restoring them, compelling the thief to return them secretly. Ihave heard speak of two persons going on such an occasion, and just before theyarrived at her house, one said to his companion, " I wonder if we shall find theold w_ at home." He knocked at the door, was told to come in, as "the old w_ wasat home," and informed him he might return immediately, as she would not givehim any information on the business he came about. Mrs. Fyson was a doctress, and I well remember taking a female cousin to her whohad a very sore ankle, which had been under a surgeon's care a considerabletime, without deriving any benefit from his attendance. When we came to Mrs.Fyson and told her the purport of my cousin's coming, she asked permission tosee her ankle, which was then much inflamed; asked if it was natural, or ifcaused by hurt. She applied a Elaster to the sore, and gave her others to takeome, with directions to apply a fresh one about every two days, and to drink adecoction from stinging-nettles, or, as she expressed it, "You must drink half ateacup of stinging-nettle tea twice a-day," and let me see you again next week.My cousin attended strictly to her prescription, and in about six weeks herankle became well, and remained whole to the day of her death. Young females were frequent visitors to the old woman to have their fortunestold, and to consult her on love affairs, for which she made them pay smartly. Mrs. Fyson by her mean habits saved a considerable sum, from 500/. to 1000/.,for which a young fellow of the name of Parfray married her. He built awindmill, and attempted a watermill; soon made away with all the money, and Mrs.Fyson died in penury and want. I well remember her coming to a village shop,where she bought some shoe oil and oiled her shoes as they were upon her feet.Having the character of a witch, she attracted a deal of attention wherever shewent. Anon. 2) the[1803] Monthly Magazine or British Register Vol15 page 497 (now onlinedigitized) records the death of "Mrs Parfrey formerly known by the name ofFyson" at the age of 80 remarking "She was in high repute as a sort of medicalpractioner, having performed remarkable cures in the dropsy". Nothing of thesinister witch who could dispose of unwanted husbands here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
froglover Posted July 29, 2010 Author Share Posted July 29, 2010 Talking to oneself is usually seen as a bad sign, it certainly didn't seem to work out for Hamlet. And replying to one's own post is I suppose likely to be seen as a bit sad by some....in any case when, as here, no-one else has replied! Oh well, I'll take a bullet for the cause here, and do it anyway. I think Elizabeth Fyson is worth it....the tireless researcher Bill the Exile has done some digging and turned up some of Mother Fyson's details. Her maiden name was Robinson for example. For the ongoing search see the "Pickingill" mailing list, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pickingill/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarasuperid Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 Quite an enjoyable history. Thank you for sharing it. I recently hurt my ankle and the doctor didn't do so much for me. But an older woman told me to try contrast baths and gave me a little two sided tub to put hot and cold water in for it. I wonder how often an older woman's advice is more useful than a doctors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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