I think the last witch trials anywhere were around 1722.

In Angelique's Descent, there is a scene where Angelique is travelling through Collinsport for the first time and she thinks to herself that this land seems familiar for some reason, but she can't remember.  LP seems to briefly bring up the past life as Miranda here.

In the original 1840, once Quentin was executed, perhaps Judah/Gerard killed Tad, Daphne, and Carrie and then himself in the playroom.  That could have been his 1840 motive- kill off a line of the Collins family.  This led to the authorities to place that inscription oh his headstone.

In 1970, IMHO, JZ is leaving red herrings for Barnabas and Julia to throw them off the track.  Hallie Stokes may have caused his spirit unrest due to her resemblence to Carrie.

Back in 1968 the skeleton of Trask was still hanging there.

[spoiler]Unfortunately we never got to see how 1897 set up following the conclusion of the 1840 story with Edith and Gabriel now dead.

I think the ramnifications hit 1897 much more then the present time as it is only two generations later.

IMHO...Quentin I and Daphne most likely never returned and neither did Desmonf & Leticia.  They wouldn't want the memories of what happened to them constantly around them.

Perhaps this led to a more placid time with the parents of Judith, Edward, Quentin, and Carl now living past the time they originally died and raising the children themselves.

The personalities of the children may have also changed with their parents raising them instead of their grandmother Edith.  Quentin II may never have become the lout he was and never had a werewolf curse placed upon him, so there is never any ghost for David and Amy to find in 1969.

Barnabas & Julia now never went to 1897 as Quentin II may have lived a normal life with Jenny and died a normal death.  Quentin II's son may have moved away when he got older and never came back, raising a family elsewhere.   Lenore still married and had a daughter who married a man named Jennings.

The Quentin in the present time is now the real grandson of Quentin II now living with the family.  He may have arrived at Collinwood in 1970 at the time of the Leviatian's.

What we have here is following the Adam storyline, there is a year where there was nothing happening at Collinwood until somehow the Leviathan's got hold of Barnabas in November 1969 and sent him to their dimension making it appear it is really 1796.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I though Lamar was stabbed.[/spoiler]

P.S. The original last name for LaMar was "Cramer".

Mysterious Benefactor wrote:
[spoiler]One of my all-time favorites being that Lamar Trask was stabbed when he'd actually been shot in the 1840/41 finale episode.)[/spoiler]

During the first year, I think DC was a little more restraint over what went on then he was in later years.  The story was not fast paced then.

Had AM stayed on DS, perhaps she would have been the time traveller to 1897 or played Rachael Drummond.

Kathryn Leigh Scott might have been phased out as Maggie would not have any more use in the story.   She would have appeared only occasionally or maybe not at all during the Quentin hauntings.  There would be no 1897 character for KLS to play, so she may have been let go.

Love the Vicki parentage theories!  Carolyn Groves would have made a good Vicky.  If only she was hired before Betsy Durkin.