WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Joan Bennett Kennedy, the first wife of a U.S. senator, the mother of a congressman and the sister-in-law of a slain president, has died at the age of 89, the Boston Globe reported on Wednesday.

A daughter of privilege who could trace her lineage back to one of the victims of the Salem Witch trials, Joan Kennedy’s marriage to Edward Kennedy tied her to an American political dynasty and tumultuous personal life marred by bouts of alcoholism.

Representatives for Kennedy could not be immediately reached to confirm the report. The Globe cited Democratic Party officials in Massachusetts, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters.

Virginia Joan Bennett was born into a wealthy Catholic family and attended the private Manhattanville College of t

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