Samuel Parris
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Samuel Parris (abt. 1653 - 1720)

Rev. Samuel Parris
Born about in London, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
Brother of , , and
Husband of — married 1680 [location unknown]
Husband of — married about 1698 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
Descendants descendants
Father of , , and
Died at about age 67 in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
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Profile last modified | Created 19 Aug 2011
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Contents

Biography

Samuel Parris was involved in the Salem Witch Trials
Notables Project
Samuel Parris is Notable.

Family origins: Samuel's family had properties in England, Ireland and Barbados. Samuel's father is believed to be Thomas Parris of London, Brother to John Parris of Barbados. Samuel has one brother that we know about, John Parris (1648-) who was a minister in Ugborogh England.[1][2][3] Samuel's family had properties in England, Ireland and Barbados which were divided after the deaths of Samuel's unmarried Uncle John and his father Thomas.[1][4][5]

The best date we have for Samuel Parris birth is 1653 in London, England.[6][7]. Samuel first appears in the records of the First Church of Boston in 1672[8]. He attended Harvard College, but left before graduation to manage his family plantation in Barbados from 1673 to 1680. About 1680, he married his first wife Elizabeth Eldridge who died while Samuel was Minister in Salem[2]. In 1682, then at the First Church of Boston, he became Freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony[9]. About 1683, he became the minister at Stow -- some twenty miles west of Boston -- but was replaced by 1685[10]; in 1689, he began preaching at Salem Village (Present day Danvers, Massachusetts)[11] and was ordained there on 15 November 1689[6](Note: the Danvers Church Records begin on 19 November 1689[11])

A synopsis of Samuel's Sermons, including those that led to the Salem Witch Trials, given at the Salem Village Church can be found in the NEGHS Register[12][13] And in a book by Bejamin Ray[14]

By June 1696, he was forced out by the villagers who held him responsible for the 1692 Witch Trials.[6] Samuel once again accepted the minister's position in Stow on 29 November 1697[15]. In 1699, he married his second wife Dorothy Noyes[16][6]. Replaced at Stow by the Rev. John Eveleth at the end of 1699[17], Samuel is next found in Watertown in 1700, Concord in 1705, Dunstable in 1711, and finally Sudbury. He mostly engaged in retail trade and teaching after Stow, but is known to have preached some.[7]

Samuel died on 27 Feb 1720 in Sudbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony[18][19][6]; there is a tradition that he was buried at Stow, in the burying-ground near the town's Lower Common[20], but a mid-1980s search there failed to locate any marked grave[21]; while a burial at Wayland is also claimed on Find A Grave[22], there is no image of a gravestone, the claim is not sourced, and it may represent confusion with the burial there of his likenamed grandson[23][24].

Savage says that Samuel's Father Thomas and Uncle John are mentioned in his will[7], but only the reference to Uncle John's Plantation, to which Samuel must still have had a claim, is visible. Samuel bequeaths his part of this plantation to his sons. Samuel mentions his Daughters Elizabeth Barron, Dorithy Brown, and Mary Parris, and sons Noyes and Samuel. Samuel bequeaths his Indian woman, Violet, daughter of Tituba to his son Samuel.[25][26] Hopestill Brown Jr. is assigned guardianship over Samuel's younger children: Mary and Samuel.[27]

Children of Samuel Parris and Elizabeth Eldridge

  1. Thomas Parris, b. 25 Oct 1681, Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony[28][6]
  2. Elizabeth Parris, b. 28 Nov 1682, Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony[29]; m. Benjamin Barnard (Barron); d. 28 Nov 1682, Rumford (now Concord), New Hampshire
  3. Susannah Parrris, b. 9 Jan 1687, Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony[30][6]

Children of Samuel Parris and Dorothy Noyes

  1. Noyes Parris, b. 22 Aug 1699, Newton, Massachusetts Bay Colony; graduated Harvard College, 1721[31][7][1]
  2. Dorothy Parris, b. 28 Aug 1700, Newton, Massachusetts Bay Colony[32]; m. 29 Nov 1718, Hopestill Brown Jr., Sudbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony
  3. Samuel Parris, Jr. , b. 9 Jan 1702, Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Colony[33]; bapt. 1 Mar 1703; m. 28 Nov 1760, Abigail Fisk, Sudbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony
  4. Mary Parris, b. 20 Oct 1703, Concord, Massachusetts Bay Colony[34]; m. 18 Apr 1727, [Bent-153|Peter Bent], Sudbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony; d. 17 Jun 1774, Sudbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Salem Witchcraft Trials

As noted above, Samuel was Salem Village Minister during the Salem Witch Trials. He brought the slave Tituba to Salem from Barbados, who was a key figure in the witchcraft accusations. Samuel's daughter Elizabeth "Betty" Parris and niece Abigail Williams were the first accusers.[6] Charles Wentworth Upham, in Salem Witchcraft, 1836 offers many details and opinions about Samuel's Role in the Salem Witch Trials.[35] J.W. Hanson, in his "History of the Town of Danvers" also casts blame on Samuel for the Witch Trials.[36] John Clark RIdpath Summarizes the trials in great detail casting blame on Cotton Mather and Governor William Stoughton as well as Samuel.[37][38] And Robert Calef, More Wonders of the Invisible World, 1700, goes on to further analyze the events in Salem Village and Samuel's role[39] .

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Tilson genealogy from Edmond Tilson at Plymouth, N.E., 1638 to 1911; with brief sketches of the family in England back to 1066. Also brief account of Waterman, Murdock, Bartlett [and other] families, allied with the parents of the author : Tilson, Mercer Vernon, 1837- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming. (1970, January 01). Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://archive.org/details/tilsongenealogyf00byutils/page/541/mode/1up
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB202/i/11611/6/23539633
  3. ↑ Essex Institute. “Essex Institute Historical Collections.” Google Books. Essex Institute Press. Accessed June 14, 2020. https://books.google.com/books?id=OxgRAAAAYAAJ.
  4. ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB202/i/11611/6/23539633
  5. ↑ Essex Institute. “Essex Institute Historical Collections.” Google Books. Essex Institute Press. Accessed June 14, 2020. https://books.google.com/books?id=OxgRAAAAYAAJ.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Wikipedia: Samuel Parris
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England (Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1862)
  8. ↑ “Boston, MA: Church Records, 1630-1895” The Records of the Churches of Boston. CD_ROM. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008 .) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB31/i/7625/77/22233817
  9. ↑ Massachusetts: Miscellaneous Census Substitutes, 1630-1788, 1840, 1890 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013. From records supplied by Ancestry.com) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB509/rd/13684/10447/242328686
  10. ↑ History of Stow, by Ethel B. Childs, Stow, MA : Historical Society Publishing Co., 1983, p. 8
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Vital Records from The NEHGS Register. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Compiled from articles originally published in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB522/i/21075/131/1429268928
  12. ↑ Vital Records from The NEHGS Register. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Compiled from articles originally published in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB522/i/21076/127/45652539
  13. ↑ Society, New England Historic-Genealogical. “New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 12.” Google Books. New England Historic-Genealogical Society. Accessed June 14, 2020. https://books.google.com/books?id=fMMMAAAAYAAJ.
  14. ↑ Ray, Benjamin C. "Satan's War against the Covenant in Salem Village, 1692." The New England Quarterly 80, no. 1 (2007): 69-95. Accessed June 16, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/20474511.Copy.
  15. ↑ Vital Records from The NEHGS Register. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Compiled from articles originally published in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB522/i/21076/63/45652475
  16. ↑ Torrey, Clarence Almon. Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, 1985)
  17. ↑ History of Stow, by Ethel B. Childs, as above, p. 10
  18. ↑ Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/i/7806/320/142141185
  19. ↑ "Massachusetts Deaths and Burials, 1795-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FH1C-SXK : 14 February 2020), Samuel Parris, 1720.
  20. ↑ History of Stow, by Ethel B. Childs, as above, p. 10 [citing a claim in the earlier History of Stow, by Mrs. Preston Crowell, 1933]
  21. ↑ Search carried out by Stow native and Salem trials researcher Christopher Childs
  22. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/129372519/samuel-parris : accessed 08 April 2022), memorial page for Rev Samuel Parris (1653–17 Feb 1720), Find A Grave: Memorial #129372519, citing North Cemetery, Wayland, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Lela Parris Koch (contributor 47311410).
  23. ↑ Grandson's grave located at Wayland mid-1980s by Christopher Childs
  24. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52193908/samuel-parris : accessed 08 April 2022), memorial page for Samuel Parris (13 Mar 1734–27 Jul 1742), Find A Grave: Memorial #52193908, citing North Cemetery, Wayland, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Bill Boyington (contributor 46800933).
  25. ↑ Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991Online at Ancestry.com
  26. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized images provided by FamilySearch.org) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB536/i/14465/16951-co2/38352543
  27. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized images provided by FamilySearch.org) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB536/i/14465/16952-co1/263959775
  28. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHM7-TPY : 15 January 2020), Samuel Parris in entry for Thomas Parris, 1681.
  29. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCWK-JM6 : 14 January 2020), Samuel Parris in entry for Elizabeth Parris, 1682.
  30. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHM4-987 : 15 January 2020), Samuel Parris in entry for Susanna Parris, 1687.
  31. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCGH-22T : 15 January 2020), Samuel Paris in entry for Noyce Paris, 1699.
  32. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCGH-6XW : 15 January 2020), Samuel Paris in entry for Dorathy Paris, 1700.
  33. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F465-R45 : 10 November 2020), Samuel Paris, 9 Jan 1702; citing Birth, Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009514.
  34. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6W-8FH : 15 January 2020), Samll. Parris in entry for Mary Parris, 1703.
  35. ↑ "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." January 01, 1970. Accessed June 15, 2020. https://archive.org/details/salemwitchcraftw01upha_0/page/314/mode/1up?q=Parris.
  36. ↑ “History of the Town of Danvers, from Its Early Settlement to the Year 1848 : Hanson, J. W. (John Wesley), 1823-1901 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive. Danvers, The author, January 1, 1970. https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofdd00hans/page/174/mode/1up?q=Great+Delusion.
  37. ↑ “History of the United States Volume I : John Clark RIdpath : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, January 1, 1894. https://archive.org/details/historyunitedst00ridpgoog/page/n196/mode/2up.
  38. ↑ “Genealogy of the Burroughs Family : Burroughs, L. A. (Lewis Amos), b. 1820 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive. Garrettsville, O. : The Peirce Printing Co., January 1, 1894. https://archive.org/details/genealogyofburro00burr/page/4/mode/2up?q=Parris. .pps 4-7
  39. ↑ “More Wonders of the Invisible World"; Calef, Robert, 1648-1719 : Internet Archive. London, Printed for Nath. Hillar... and Joseph Collyer..., January 1, 1970. https://archive.org/details/morewondersofinv1700cale/page/64/mode/1up?q=Parris.

See also:

These are of genealogical interest:
These are short histories of the Witch Trials
I could not find these:
  • Genealogy of the Parris Family in Scotland and England Abbreviation: Parris genealogy Author: James Wendell-Howie Parris IV Publication: 1957
  • "The Origin of the Family of Parris(h), of the Barbadoes and of Massachusetts, in the Seventeenth Century": Correction; vol. 113; July 1959; p. 240-241
  • Bent Family in America Abbreviation: Bent Family in America Author: Bent, Allen H. Publication: David Clapp & Son, Boston MA, 1900




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It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Samuel by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Samuel:

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Images: 2
Samuel Parris, 1653-1720
Samuel Parris, 1653-1720
His Indian Slave, Violet, daughter of Tituba and John Indian
His Indian Slave, Violet, daughter of Tituba and John Indian


Comments: 13

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Simpier-2 Andrew Simpier
It appears his FindAGrave memorial now does indeed have a photo of his gravestone which mentions parents.

Edit: apparently the stone is for a son

See: Source #24. Also per inscription: Here lyes ye Body of SAMUEL PARRIS Son of Mr. SAMUEL & Mrs. ABIGAIL PARRIS Who Died July 27th 1742 in ye 8th Year of his Age.

posted by Andrew Simpier
edited by Andrew Simpier
Weatherall-96 Elaine (Weatherall) Martzen
As a member of the US Black Heritage Project, I have added categories using the standards of the US Black Heritage Exchange Program. This helps us connect enslaved ancestors to their descendants. See the Heritage Exchange Portal for more information.
posted by Elaine (Weatherall) Martzen
Rachel (Pickels) Wilson
I have quite a bit of verified information on this man (who is my 9guncle). Info I have includes parents, and even further back. Please let me know if you would like me to add info to this page.
posted by Rachel (Pickels) Wilson
Bill Pease
Info confirming parents would be very welcome, further back info can be added to the respective parent. He is my uncle 8 times removed as well.
posted by Bill Pease
Bill Pease
Checked most sources and bio except the parts about Samuel's Children. Still some editing to do there. The historical sources about the trials are of only limited genealogical interest because they say so little about his family. I only deleted duplicates.

I can not find anything pointing to a Mother for Samuel or his Brother John. Most online trees say her name was Abigail, but I see nothing to support that. Any Ideas?

posted by Bill Pease
Thiessen-117 Traci Thiessen
No clue about the mother. This profile was in good shape and was reviewed by the Black Sheep Project in 2020, so there shouldn't have been too much to change. I orphaned this profile (BSP was formerly the manager) as BSP was disbanded in November. As you're the sole PM now, it's your choice, but in the future please consider putting SOURCED historical/non-genealogy data under a separate heading like "History" (instead of deleting the work of other members). Thanks William!
posted by Traci Thiessen
Bill Pease
For the record nothing was deleted. Quotes were paraphrased and moved to section on Witch Trials.
posted by Bill Pease
Thiessen-117 Traci Thiessen
Thanks for clarifying that William! We all appreciate your great work on this one!
posted by Traci Thiessen
Childs-1516 Christopher Childs
For the record, as I've said elsewhere, Parris was the much-disliked interim minister in Stow (my native town) both before _and_ after his disastrous stint in Salem Village. He was the first inhabitant, albeit briefly, of the "Minister's Manse," completed in early 1689 (owned in modern times by friends of my family) that sits on a hill above Stow's Lower Common.

There is a tradition that Parris is actually buried not in Sudbury or Wayland, but in Stow, in the little burying-ground below the Minister's Manse (a rather remarkable spot, historically, for such a small and little-known town, as it almost certainly is also the burial-place of English regicide William Goffe). However, despite a fairly careful search, I never could find any (marked) grave for Rev. Samuel. It may be there -- I couldn't find it in Wayland, either, though I did find there the grave of his son Samuel, Jr. Find A Grave places Rev. Parris's burial in Wayland, but with no photo of any gravestone... so frankly, I think the question is still open.

posted by Christopher Childs
Perkins-11750 Clyde Perkins
Profile Improvement Notice

I suggest improving this profile "into a single, easy-to-read narrative, removing duplication, long quotes, and long extracts that could be summarized and linked to,” in accordance with WikiTree’s Style Guide, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Styles_and_Standards and, Witch Trials Project Goals, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:Witch_Trials#Goals.

All this, while carefully preserving the good stuff already there…

Any comments/objections?

posted by Clyde Perkins
Bill Pease
Samuel is an Uncle of mine, so I have taken this on. I will also be checking for sources for parents as well as sibling and child relationships. Between Samuel and his Brother John there are some odd attachments.
posted by Bill Pease
Perkins-11750 Clyde Perkins
William,

Thank you; I look forward to your improvements. 😊

posted by Clyde Perkins
Bill Pease
I think I have improved this some. There is a wealth of information that is not Birth, Marriage or Death, and actually a shortage of direct sources for BMD. I didn't really delete much, but I think it reads more like the profile of someone who lived, did some very infamous things, had some children and died quietly some years later.
posted by Bill Pease

Featured National Park champion connections: Samuel is 11 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 21 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 11 degrees from George Catlin, 14 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 23 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 11 degrees from George Grinnell, 25 degrees from Anton Kröller, 11 degrees from Stephen Mather, 20 degrees from Kara McKean, 13 degrees from John Muir, 17 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 23 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.

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Categories: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Slave Owners | Essex County, Massachusetts, Slave Owners | Massachusetts Bay Colonists | Salem Witch Trials | Harvard College | Notables