Andrew Carrier (1677 - 1749)

Born 7 Apr 1677 in Billerica, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Adams) Carrier — married 11 Jan 1705 in Colchester, New London Co., Connecticut

Descendants

Died 23 Jul 1749 at age 72 in Colchester, Hartford, Connecticut Colony

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Biography

Andrew Carrier was accused of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials

This profile is part of the Carrier Name Study.

Andrew Carrier was born on 7 April 1677 at Billerica, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay. ^[1][2]

He removed with his family in 1685 to the neighboring town of Andover, Essex, Massachusetts Bay.^[3][4]

He married Mary Adams, daughter of John Adams and Abigail Pinney, on 11 January 1704/5 at Colchester, Hartford, Connecticut.^[1]

They had at least the following children recorded at Colchester: ^[5]

1. Andrew Carrier, b. 2 Feb 1705/6
2. John Carrier, b. 14 June 1707
3. Mary Carrier, b. 19 April 1708
4. Thomas Carrier, b. 20 June 1711
5. Benjamin Carrier, b. 17 Sept 1713

Andrew died on 23 July 1749 at Colchester, Hartford, Connecticut, at age 72. ^[1][6]

There is a stone marking his burial at the Colchester Burying Ground, Colchester, Connecticut.^[7]

Salem Witch Trials

On 21 Jul 1692, at age 15, he and his brothers, Richard Carrier and Thomas Carrier, were arrested and charged with witchcraft on the warrant issued by Colonel Bartholomew Gedney, Colonel John Hathorne, Captain Jonathan Corwin, and Colonel John Higginson. On 22 Jul 1692, after torture, Richard confessed for himself and Andrew. "Two of the five are (Carrier's sons) young men, who would not confess any thing till they tied them neck and heels, till the blood was ready to come out of their noses."^[8][4] After examination by Colonel Dudley Bradstreet on 10 Aug 1692, 10-year-old Thomas, also confessed.

‘’In July, John Procter of Salem Village, who was awaiting execution in the Salem jail, sent a petition to Increase Mather and several other Boston ministers known to be sympathetic to the plight of the accused. Procter reported that his seventeen-year-old son, William, had been tortured by being tied up “Neck and Heels till the Blood gushed out at his Nose” and thereby forced to confess. Procter also said that the same technique had been used on two of Martha Carrier’s sons, eighteen-year-old Richard Carrier and fifteen-year-old Andrew, in order to extract confessions and accusations against their mother.”^[9]

Around this time, his sister, Sarah, only seven years old, was accused and arrested. Under examination by Hathorne and Bradstreet on 11 Aug 1692, she confessed and testified against her mother, her aunt, Mary (Allen) Toothaker, her uncle, Dr. Roger Toothaker, and her cousin, Margaret Toothaker. ^[10][11]

After his mother's execution he removed with his father and siblings to Colchester, Hartford, Connecticut.^[3]

Massachusetts Remediation

1. 17 October 1710, Convictions Reversed, The General Court of Massachusetts Bay, An act, the several convictions, judgments, and attainders be, and hereby are, reversed, and declared to be null and void.^[12]
2. 17 Dec 1711, Compensation to Survivors, Governor Dudley, GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY, approved compensation to such persons as are living, and to those that legally represent them that are dead [For Martha Carrier, 7 pounds, 6 shillings]^[12]
3. 28 Aug 1957, No Disgrace to Descendants, General Court of Massachusetts, ...such proceedings, were and are shocking, and the result of a wave of popular hysterical fear of the Devil in the community, and further declares that, as all the laws under which said proceedings...have been long since abandoned and superseded by our more civilized laws, no disgrace or cause for distress attaches to the said descendants or any of them by reason of said proceedings.^[13]
4. 31 Oct 2001, Additional Victims Included, Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives in General Court, AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE WITCHCRAFT TRIAL OF 1692, chapter 145 is hereby further amended by adding Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Margaret Scott and Wilmot Redd.^[14]

Research Notes

1. Along with his father and siblings, he watched his mother's execution on 19 August 1692 at Gallows Hill, Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^[4] This fact requires further support.(Perkins-11750 00:11, 31 January 2020 (UTC))

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} May, George S. Some Descendants of Thomas Carrier of Andover and Billerica, Massachusetts, Who Died in Colchester, Connecticut, May 16, 1735, and His Wife Martha (Allen) Carrier, Who, as a Result of the Infamous Witch Trials, Was Hung at Salem, Massachusetts on August 19, 1692. Fair Oaks, CA: May 1978. Page: 2
2. ↑ “Vital Records of Billerica, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 : Billerica (Mass.) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive. Boston, Mass., Pub. by the New England historic genealogical society, at the charge of the Eddy town-record fund, January 1, 1970. https://archive.org/details/vitalrecordsofbi00bill/page/35/mode/1up/search/Andrew Carrier.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "History of Billerica, Massachusetts, with a Genealogical Register : Hazen, Henry Allen, 1849-1900 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive. Boston, A. Williams and Co., January 1, 1883. https://archive.org/details/historyofbilleri00hazen/page/22/mode/1up/search/Carrier.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Salem Witchcraft and Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables Author: Enders A. Robinson Publication: Heritage Books, Bowie, Maryland, 1992 Page: 102, 137-8, 283
5. ↑ The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records: Colchester 1699-1850; Colebrook 1779-1810; Columbia 1804-1852; Cornwall 1740-1854 Compiler: Lorraine Cook White, Publication: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, 1996
6. ↑ Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) Online($) at: [1]
7. ↑ www.FIndAGrave.com; Maintained by: Linda Mac; Originally Created by: Frank Grimes; Record added: Dec 16, 2002; Find A Grave Memorial# 7015846
8. ↑ “Salem Witchcraft : with an Account of Salem Village, and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects : Upham, Charles Wentworth, 1802-1875, Author : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, January 1, 1970. John Procter and others, Salem Prison, July 23, 1692
9. ↑ Ray, Benjamin C. Satan & Salem: the Witch-Hunt Crisis of 1692. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2017.
10. ↑ Marie-Claire, and Dave Alexander. Legends of America. Accessed January 28, 2020. https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ma-witches-c/.
11. ↑ New England, Salem Witches and Others Tried for Witchcraft, 1647-1697 Online($) at Ancestry.com.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} “Salem Witchcraft : with an Account of Salem Village, and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects : Upham, Charles Wentworth, 1802-1875, Author : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, January 1, 1970. https://archive.org/details/salemwitchcraftw02upha_0/page/480/mode/1up?q=Foster.
13. ↑ https://www.mass.gov/doc/resolves-of-1957-chapter-145/download
14. ↑ https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2001/Chapter122

See also:

• Find A Grave: Memorial #7015846 with images
• The Salem Witchcraft Papers (SWP No. 025) Richard Carrier (includes Andrew Carrier)