He was a Honourable man and looked to his nine grandchildren when their father Sir Phillip died in 1594,one of the elders of the church of St Helier served as a Commissioner to the island of Guernsey.In 1583 he was sworn as Baillif ."The oath of office included the following;
"You will defend the rights of the Christian Church and secure to the utmost of your power the destruction,annihilation,and abolition of the false church of the pope and that all who despise the pure word of God shall be condignly punished."3
George hated catholicism and sorcery and was never afraid to come down heavily on the side of his version of the law when evil people were brought before him,As Baillif he sat in judgement on at least 35 suspected witches of these 18 were executed."He married four times ;his last in 1604 when he was 70 .a young man at heart ,still managed to father two children before his death in 1621 niether of these two Elizabeth or her brother Phillip survived childhood,due to a old sire
The fact of witches ,is not so much devil worship or spells,more a case of old unprotected widows
holding land that those in a place of authority could not get there hands on while the husband lived
and women in the Channel Islands had no right to hold land in their own name till recent times,made them fair game to all male members of either family ,or local officials."Marie le Dain wife of Jean ,was the last person to be tried and executed for sorcery in the Channel Islands ,she was sentenced on the 31 January 1660 after 24 good people from her own parish and the two parishes next to her own found her guilty,that she was a housewife from St Ouen,therefore a parishioner of de Carteret land,this as it so happens rounded off the hunt as Michelle la Blanche Vestue,had been taken in the same manner in 1561 some 99 years before.Which hand had the finger to point to both the witch and the land he wanted,Droit de Seigneur en nom dieu. |