Ann  Foster was probably the second wife of Andrew Foster. She was accused
of being a witch. She was tried and on 17 Sep 1692 received the "Sentance of
Death" along with eight other individuals. Of these, eight were executed,
Ann being the only one spared. She was put in jail in Andover, Essex Co.,
MA. Unfortunately prison conditions were not to her liking. She was over 70
years of age at the time, and death was her inevitable outcome, Her son
Abraham Foster later alleged, she suffered imprisonment twenty-one weeks and
upon her Tryall was condemned for supposed witchcraft and died in prison."

  Following is the doleful disposition of Ann;her daughter Mary (Foster)
Lacey and her grand-daughter Mary Lacey, as quoted from Cotton Mather's,
"Wonders":

   VIII..   One Foster, who confessed her own Share in the Witchcraft for
which the Prisoner stood indicted, affirm'd, That she had seen the Prisoner
at some of their Witch-Neetings, and that it was,this Carrier, (Martha
Carrier found guilty of witchcraft and executed) who perswaded her to be a
Witch. She confessed,, That the Devil carry'd them on a Pole, to a
Witch-Meeting; but the Pole broke, and she hanging about Carriers Neck, they
both fell down, and she then Received an Hurt by the Fall, whereof she was
not at this very time Recovered.
        IX.   One Lacy (Mary [Foster] Lacy - Ann's daughter), who also
Confessed her share in this Witchcraft, now Testify'd , That she and the
Prisoner were once Bodily present at a Witch-meeting in Salem-Village; and
that she knew the Prisoner to be a Witch, and to have been at a Diabolical
Sacrament, and that the Prisoner was the undoing of her and her Children.,
by Enticing them into the Snare of the Devil.
  X.  Another Lacy., (Ann's grand-daughter, aged 14) who also Confessed her
share in the Witchcraft, now Testify'd, that. the Prisoner was at the
Witch-Meeting, in Salem Village, where they had Bread and Wine Administred
unto them.
  --- Memorandum. This Rampant Hag, Martha Carrier, was the Person, of whom
the Confessions of the Witches, and of her own Children among the rest,
agreed That the Devil had promised her she should be Queen of Hell.

  Thus all three of the Fosters, mother, daughter and grand-daughter were
pronounced guilty, Ann was examined four times, which ultimately led to her
confession, Following is the conclusion of her last
examination":
21. July.- -92 Ann Foster, Examined Owned her former confession being read
to her and further confessed that the discourse amongst the witches at the
meeting at Salem village was that they would afflict there to set up the
Devil's Kingdom, This confession is true as witness my hand.
The mark of Ann Foster

There were 300 "witches" at this meeting described by Cotton Mather. Ann
died in prison, while her child and grandchild were later freed. Ann would
have been hanged, but probably her age and the unsavory prison conditions
caused her untimely death. Such tortures as to tie her neck to her heels and
deprive her of sleep were not unknown. She may have been exposed to another
form of torture --- "Tie the left thumb to right toe and the right thumb to
the left toe, then drop in the river." If they floated they were witches. If
they sank, well, they might be all right - but someone had to fish them out,
If it wasn't done quickly and the person died, they were undoubtedly guilty
anyway.
Ann's son Abraham Foster had to pay 2 pounds 10 shilling to the jailer to
obtain her body. Her accused daughter Mary (Foster) Lacey died from natural
causes in 1707, probably in Andover, Essex Co,, MA. Poor Ann, not only she
was found guilty of witchcraft, but another daughter, Hannah (Foster) Stone,
had been murdered by her son-in-law Hugh Stone only a few years before, as
had her aged husband. To compound the matter her daughter Mary and her
granddaughter Mary both had been convicted at this same time of being
witches, and were undoubtedly jailed, but fortunately were later sent free.
Possibly there was some salving of the witchcraft trial victims. On 17 Oct
1711 a "Reversal of Attainder" document was "Made and passed by the Great
and General Court or- Assembly of Her Majesty's Province of the
Massachusetts Bay in New England," Queen Mary was ruling the British Empire
at the time. "Damages sustained by the Sundry persons prosecuted for
witchcraft in the years 1692" totalled "Five hundred seventy eight pounds
and Twelve shillings." Of this amount six pounds and ten shillings were
awarded the heirs of Anne Foster (the least amount awarded) and eight pounds
and ten shillings to the heirs of Mary Lacey.