Salem Witch Trials - Participants
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Location: Salem, Massachusetts Bay
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This is a Sub-Page of the Puritan Great Migration Project
Contents |
Introduction
“A great number of Americans have made the same startling discovery that Francis Dane did: They are related to...[victims of witchcraft delusion]. American presidents descend from George Jacobs, Susannah Martin, and John Procter. Nathan Hale was John Hale’s grandson. Israel ‘Don’t Fire Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes’ Putnam was the cousin of Ann Putnam. Oliver Wendell Holmes and Louisa May Alcott descended from Samuel Sewall; Clara Barton from the Townes; Walt Disney from Burroughs. (In a nice twist, the colonial printer who founded the American Antiquarian Society, where Cotton Mather’s papers reside today, was also a Burroughs descendant.) The Nurse family includes Lucille Ball...”[1]
We list here some of the victims of the Witchcraft Delusion of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts Bay and attempt to show their various roles. This is not so easy. Many others have attempted to do this in the more than 300 years elapsed; all are unsuccessful.
A primary cause is lost records, some of them undoubtedly intentionally destroyed. There are many errors; most of them probably mistakes, but some also intentional. Other obstacles include dual or changed roles. For example, many early accusers were later accused themselves and imprisoned. Other early collaborators became vigorous protestors.
It is estimated that several thousand persons suffered during this dark time; we will never know how many. A majority of living Americans are descendants.
The list is, and, therefore, will remain incomplete. A larger alphabetical listing may be found here, Category: Salem Witch Trials.
We invite you to visit the profiles, correct the errors, improve them, and add your own discoveries.
Thank you for taking a look!
Victims
Executed
"Reverend George Burroughs...In 1690, when the Eng. frontier was forced back to Wells [Maine], there he held, doing a hero’s work until arrested for witchcraft, taken to Salem, tried and hanged…"[2]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridget Bishop | Goody | Bridget | Bishop | 10 Jun 1692, hanged |
| George Burroughs | Reverend | George | Burroughs | 19 Aug 1692, hanged |
| Martha Carrier | Goody | Martha | Carrier | 19 Aug 1692, hanged |
| Giles Corey* | Giles | Corey | 19 Sep 1692, pressed to death | |
| Martha Corey | Goody | Martha | Corey | 22 Sep 1692, hanged |
| Mary Estey | Goody | Mary | Esty | 22 Sep 1692, hanged |
| Sarah Good | Wife | Sarah | Good | 19 Jul 1692, hanged |
| Elizabeth Howe | Goody | Elizabeth | Howe (How) | 19 Jul 1692, hanged |
| George Jacobs, Sr. | husbandman | George | Jacobs, Sr. | 19 Aug 1692, hanged |
| Susannah Martin | Widow | Susannah | Martin | 19 Jul 1692, hanged |
| Rebecca Nurse | Goody | Rebecca | Nurse | 19 Jul 1692, hanged |
| Alice Parker | Goody | Alice | Parker | 22 Sep 1692, hanged |
| Mary (Ayers) Parker | Widow | Mary | Parker | 22 Sep 1692, hanged |
| John Proctor | Goodman | John | Proctor | 19 Aug 1692, hanged |
| Ann Pudeator | Goody | Ann | Pudeator | 22 Sep 1692, hanged |
| Wilmot Redd | "Mammy Red" | Wilmot | Redd (Reed) | 22 Sep 1692, hanged |
| Margaret Scott | Widow | Margaret | Scott | 22 Sep 1692, hanged |
| Samuel Wardwell | prisoner at the bar | Samuel | Wardwell | 22 Sep 1692, hanged |
| Sarah Wildes | Goody | Sarah | Wildes (Wilds) | 19 Jul 1692, hanged |
| John Willard | husbandman | John | Willard | 19 Aug 1692, hanged |
* Giles Corey was pressed to death as a part of an interrogation; he was not executed for a crime.
Died in Prison
"Lydia Dustin...Accused as a witch during the Salem hysteria, Lydia was found not guilty, but, died in prison before she could be released."[3]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Good | Infant | Mercy (Dorcas) | Good | died bef. 19 Jul 1692 |
| John Durrant | John | Durant (Durrant) | died 27 Oct 1692 | |
| Lydia Dustin | Lydia | Dustin | died 10 Mar 1693 | |
| Ann Foster | Ann | Foster | died 3 Dec 1692 | |
| Sarah Osborne | Sarah | Osborne | died 23 May 1692 | |
| Roger Toothaker | Dr. | Roger | Toothaker | died 16 Jun 1692 |
Tortured in Prison
"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.”[4]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Carrier Jr. | Child, 10 | Thomas | Carrier, Jr. | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| Andrew Carrier | Child, 15 | Andrew | Carrier | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| Richard Carrier | Son | Richard | Carrier | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| William Proctor | Son | William | Proctor | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
Imprisoned Children
|
| An Imprisoned Child |
"Five year old, Dorcas [Dorothy] Good...When led in to be examined, Ann Putnam, Mary Walcot, and Mercy Lewis, all charged her with biting, pinching, and almost choking them...The evidence was considered overwhelming; and Dorcas was, per mittimus, committed to the jail, where she joined her mother."[5]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorothy Dorcas Good | Child, 5 | Dorcas | Good | Released on Bond; became insane |
| Sarah Carrier | Child, 7 | Sarah | Carrier | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| Abigall Faulkner | Child, 9 | Abigail | Faulkner, Jr. | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| Margaret Toothaker | Child, 10 | Margaret | Toothaker | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| Abigail Johnson | Child, 11 | Abigail | Johnson | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| Johanna Tyler | Child, 11 | Johanna | Tyler | Confessed, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| Dorothy Faulkner | Child, 12 | Dorothy | Faulkner | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| Stephen Johnson | Child, 12 | Stephen | Johnson | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| John Sawdy | Child, 13 | John | Sawdy | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| Sarah Wilson | Child, 14 | Sarah | Wilson, Jr. | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| Abigail Rowe | Child, 15 | Abigail | Rowe (Roe) | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
| Abigail Hobbs | Child, 16 | Abigail | Hobbs | Accused, Imprisoned, & Later Released |
A Brief Timeline
"Legal proceedings extended from February 29, 1691/ 2...to late May 1693...encompassed legal action against at least 144 people (38 of them male),...54 confessions of witchcraft; the hangings of 14 women and 5 men; the pressing to death of another man by heavy stones; and the deaths in custody of 3 women and a man, along with several infants."[6]
- 1639 Dorothy (Rawlinson) Talby (1598 - 1639), the first female member of the First Church of Salem to be hanged, 53 years before the Salem Witch Trials.
- 1688 Ann Glover hanged at Boston for witchcraft.
- 1689 Cotton Mather publishes "Memorable Providences".
- Feb 1692: Abigail Williams and Elizabeth "Betty" Parris exhibit "afflicted" behavior.
- Feb 1692: amid witchcraft fears, Dr. William Griggs diagnoses the girls to be “under an Evil Hand.”
- 25 Feb 1692: Mary Sibley instructs John Indian to make a "witch cake".
- "Afflicted girls" accuse Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good of witchcraft.
- 29 Feb 1692: Colonel John Hathorne and Captain Jonathan Corwin issue warrants to arrest local women for witchcraft.
- 1 Mar 1692 – 18 May 1692: more local women are accused of witchcraft.
- 27 May 1692: Governor William Phips establishes Court of Oyer and Terminer.
- 10 Jun 1692: Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill.
- Sep 1692: twenty persons have been executed and least eight were to die in prison.
- 6 Oct 1692: eight children in custody are released on £2500 bail.
- 29 Oct 1692: Phips dissolves Court of Oyer and Terminer.
- 16 Dec 1692: Superior Court of Judicature established to prosecute remaining people in jail.
- May 1693: all are cleared and Governor Phips vacates death sentences.
- 14 Jan 1697: Massachusetts General Court orders a day of fasting and soul-searching for the tragedy of Salem.
- 1697: Judge Nathaniel Saltonstall apologizes. (“Judge Sewall's Apology: the Salem Witch Trials and the Forming of an American Conscience.”)[7]
- 1702: Massachusetts court declares trials unlawful.[8]
- 1706: Ann Putnam Jr. apologizes[9]
- 1711: Massachusetts restores rights and good names of most accused and grants £600 restitution to their heirs.[10]
- 1957: Massachusetts formally apologizes for the events of 1692.[11]
- 31 Oct 2001: Massachusetts amends 1957 apology and clears the names of remaining unnamed victims. ("AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE WITCHCRAFT TRIAL OF 1692.")[12]
Initiators, Punishers & Collaborators
The Minister that started it all
"The darkest page in the history of New England is that which bears the record of Salem witchcraft...[Pastor of Salem Church, Rev.] Parris believed or affected to believe, that the two girls were bewitched and that Tituba, an Indian maidservant of the household, was the author of the affliction...There is no doubt whatever that the whole murderous scheme originated in the personal malice of Parris...."[13]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Parris | Reverend | Samuel | Parris | Harvard-educated, minister, father & uncle of afflicted girls, slave-owner, initiator of "delusion" |
Afflicted Girls of Salem Village
"In February 1692, strange illnesses appeared after the girls tinkered with fortune-telling. Elizabeth [Betty Parris] acted abnormal by hiding '...under furniture, complained of fever, barked like a dog, and screamed and cried out of pain' and her body convulsed into un-human-like positions."[14]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Parris | Child, age 9 | Betty | Parris | daughter of Rev. Samuel Parris |
| Abigail Williams | Child, age 11 | Abigail | Williams | niece of Rev. Samuel Parris |
| Ann Putnam, Jr. | Child, age 12 | Ann | Putnam, Jr. | daughter of Thomas Putnam, Jr. |
| Elizabeth Booth | Daughter, age 18 | Elizabeth | Booth | daughter of George Booth |
| Sarah Churchill | Servant, age 20 | Sarah | Churchill | servant of George Jacobs, Sr. |
| Eliabeth Hubbard | Niece, age 17 | Elizabeth | Hubbard | niece of Mrs. Dr. Griggs |
| Mercy Lewis | Servant, age 17 | Mercy | Lewis | servant of Rev. George Burroughs |
| Susanna Sheldon | Orphan, age 18 | Susanna | Sheldon | orphan of the "Maine Indian Wars" |
| Mary Walcott | Daughter, age 17 | Mary | Walcott | daughter of Jonathan Walcott |
| Mary Warren | Servant, age 20 | Mary | Warren | servant of John Proctor |
Doctor of the “Evil Hand”
"And the whole neighborhood and surrounding country soon were filled with the story of the strange and unaccountable sufferings of the "afflicted girls." No explanation could be given, and their condition became worse and worse. The physician of the village, Dr. Griggs, was called in, a consultation had, and the opinion finally and gravely given, that the afflicted children were bewitched."[15]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Griggs | Dr. | William | Griggs | "His diagnosis that the afflictions of Betty Parris and Abigail Williams were caused by an 'evil hand' facilitated events that became the Salem Witch Trials" |
Later Afflicted
"The Deposistion of Ann putnam the wife of Thomas putnam who testifieth and saith that on the first day of June 1692. the Apperishtion of Rebekah Nurs did again fall upon me and almost choak me and she tould me that now she..would kil me..."[16]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Corwin | Child, age 9 | George | Curwin | son of Judge Jonathan Corwin |
| Rose Foster | Child, age 14 | Rose | Foster | daughter of Ephraim Foster; she died in 1693 |
| Martha Sprague | Child, age 16 | Martha | Sprague | daughter of Phineas Sprague |
| Mary Hill | Daughter, age 25 | Mary | Hill | daughter of Zebulon Hill |
| Bathsheba Pope | Wife, age 40 | Bathsheba | Pope | wife of Joseph Pope; "infirm of mind" |
| Ann Putnam, Sr. | Wife, age 31 | Ann | Putnam, Sr. | wife of Thomas Putnam, Jr. |
The role of witches' cakes
"Mary Sibley recommended the making of a witch's cake to reveal whether witchcraft was involved. She gave directions to John Indian, a slave serving the Parris family, to make the cake. He collected urine from the girls and then had Tituba, another slave in the household, actually bake the witch's cake and feed it to the dog that lived in the Parris household."[17][18]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Sibley | Mary | Sibley | "real witch?" of the "urine cake" | |
| Rebecca Woodrow | Rebecca | Woodrow | mother of Mary Sibley |
Governor of Massachusetts Bay
"…on September 29, 1692, twenty persons had been executed and the accusations and arrests continued, including charges against…Phips' own wife. At this point Phips finally let it be known that the court of Oyer and Terminer ‘must fall’"[19]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir William Phips | Sir | William | Phips | greatly more interested after his wife was accused |
Court of Oyer and Terminer, 1692
"Chief Justice William Stoughton…he sacrificed all the better feelings of his nature, and prostituted the forms of justice to consummate a series of judicial murders that have no parallel in our history."[20]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Stoughton | Chief Justice | William | Stoughton | favored spectral evidence & death penalties |
| Thomas Newton | Crown's Attorney | Thomas | Newton | (1st prosecutor) |
| Anthony Checkley | Crown's Attorney | Anthony | Checkley | (2nd prosecutor) |
| John Hathorne | Colonel | John | Hathorne | relentless interrogator |
| Jonathan Corwin | Captain | Jonathan | Corwin | collaborator of John Hathorne |
| Barth. Gedney | Colonel | Bartholomew | Gedney | "physician" |
| John Richards | Captain | John | Richards | "businessman, politician" |
| Nathaniel Saltonstall | Colonel | Nathaniel | Saltonstall | resigned "in disgust" |
| Peter Sergeant | Constable | Peter | Sergeant | "merchant, constable" |
| Samuel Sewall | Judge | Samuel | Sewall | publicly apologized later |
| Stephen Sewell | Major | Samuel | Sewall | clerk of the court |
| Waitstill Winthrop | Major-General | Waitstill | Winthrop | "politician" |
Jurors
"We do therefore hereby signify to all in general, and to the surviving sufferers in special, our deep sense of, and sorrow for, our errors in acting on such evidence to the condemning of any person; and do hereby declare, that we justly fear that we were sadly deluded and mistaken–for which we are much disquieted and distressed in our minds and do therefore humbly beg forgiveness..."[21]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Fiske | Captain, Foreman | Thomas | Fiske | subsequent written, public apology |
| John Bacheler | John | Bacheler | subsequent written, public apology | |
| John Dane | John | Dane | subsequent written, public apology | |
| Andrew Eliot | Lieutenant | Andrew | Elliot | subsequent written, public apology |
| Joseph Eveleth | Joseph | Eveleth (Euleth) | subsequent written, public apology | |
| Thomas Fiske, Jr. | Captain | Thomas | Fiske, Jr. | subsequent written, public apology |
| Henry Herrick, Jr. | Henry | Herrick, Jr. | subsequent written, public apology | |
| John Peabody | Captain | John | Peabody | subsequent written, public apology |
| Thomas Perkins | Thomas | Perkins | subsequent written, public apology | |
| Thomas Perley, Sr. | Thomas | Perley | subsequent written, public apology | |
| Samuel Sayer | Samuel | Sayer | subsequent written, public apology |
Officers of the Court
"It is even told that the Sheriff [George Corwin] took his cane and pressed Giles' tongue back into his mouth just before he died at the end of the two days of being slowly crushed."[22]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Corwin | Sheriff, Essex County | George | Corwin | executioner of Giles Corey; prison keeper |
| Israel Cheever | Jail Keeper, Cambridge Jail | Israel | Cheever | prison keeper |
Clergy
"Go tell Mankind, that there are Devils and Witches...," Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather[23]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Increase Mather | Reverend Dr. | Increase | Mather | Puritan minister, Harvard graduate, President of Harvard, Doctor of Sacred Theology, author |
| Cotton Mather | Reverend Dr. | Cotton | Mather | Puritan minister, Harvard graduate, Doctor of Divinity, Spectral Evidence promoter, author, son of Increase Mather |
| Nicholas Noyes | Reverend | Nicholas | Noyes | "a believer in the delusion, until an accusation was made against his wife," described execution as "nine firebrands of Hell" |
| John Hale | Reverend | John | Hale | Puritan pastor of Beverly, Massachusetts Bay, Harvard graduate |
| Samuel Willard | Reverend | Samuel | Willard | Puritan minister of Boston, Massachusetts Bay, Harvard graduate, Acting President of Harvard, Spectral Evidence opposer |
More Victims
Accused & Imprisoned
"…the story resonates far beyond Salem because those accused have an estimated 100 million descendants." "In that sense, it really is our national story, our national shame and our national chance at redemption because you know if you're not a descendant of one of those people probably the person standing next to you is" --- Emerson "Tad" Baker, a professor at Salem State University[24]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Alden | John | Alden | Indicted, Imprisoned & escaped | |
| Abigail Barker | Abigail | Barker | released by Superior Court | |
| Mary Barker | Mary | Barker | released by Superior Court | |
| William Barker, Jr. | William | Barker, Jr. | released by Superior Court | |
| William Barker, Sr. | William | Barker, Sr. | Indicted, Imprisoned & escaped | |
| Sarah Bassett | Sarah | Bassett | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Sarah Bishop | Sarah | Bishop | Indicted, Imprisoned & escaped | |
| Edward Bishop, Jr. | Edward | Bishop, Jr. | Indicted, Imprisoned & escaped | |
| Mary Bradbury | Mary | Bradbury | Indicted, Imprisoned & escaped | |
| Sarah Bridges | Sarah | Bridges | released by Superior Court | |
| Mary Bridges, Jr. | Mary | Bridges, Jr. | released by Superior Court | |
| Mary Bridges, Sr. | Mary | Bridges, Sr. | released by Superior Court | |
| Sarah Buckley | Sarah | Buckley | released by Superior Court | |
| Bethia Carter, Jr. | Bethia | Carter, Jr. | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Bethia Carter, Sr. | Bethia | Carter, Sr. | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Mary Clarke | Mary | Clarke | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Sarah Cloyes | Sarah | Cloyes | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Sarah Cole | Sarah | Cole (Lynn) | released by Superior Court | |
| Sarah Cole | Sarah | Cole (Salem) | tried, found not guilty & released | |
| Mary Colson | Mary | Colson | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Deliverance Dane | Deliverance | Dane | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Phoebe Day | Phebe | Day | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Mary Deriche | Mary | Deriche | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Elizabeth Dicer | Elizabeth | Dicer | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Rebecca Dike | Rebecca | Dike | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Ann Dolliver | Ann | Dolliver | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Mehitable Downing | Mehitable | Downing | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Sarah Dustin | Sarah | Dustin | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Daniell Eames | Daniel | Eames | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Rebecca Eames | Rebecca | Eames | found guilty & pardoned | |
| Esther Elwell | Esther | Elwell | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Martha Emerson | Martha | Emerson | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Mary English | Mary | English | Indicted, Imprisoned & escaped | |
| Philippe English | Phillip | English | Indicted, Imprisoned & escaped | |
| Thomas Farrar II | Thomas | Farrar | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Edward Farrington | Edward | Farrington | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Abigail Faulkner | Abigail | Faulkner, Sr. | found guilty & pardoned; pregnant | |
| John Floyd | John | Floyd | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Eunice Frye | Eunice | Frye | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Mary Green | Mary | Green | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Elizabeth Hart | Elizabeth | Hart | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Sarah Hawkes | Sarah | Hawkes | released by Superior Court | |
| Dorcas Hoar | Dorcas | Hoar | found guilty & pardoned | |
| William Hobbs | William | Hobbs | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Frances Hutchins | Frances | Hutchins | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Tituba Indian | Tituba | Indian | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Mary Ireson | Mary | Ireson | accused, not indicted & released | |
| John Jackson Jr. | John | Jackson, Jr. | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| John Jackson, Sr. | John | Jackson, Sr. | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Margaret Jacobs | Margaret | Jacobs | released by Superior Court | |
| Rebecca Jacobs | Rebecca | Jacobs | released by Superior Court | |
| Elizabeth Johnson, Jr. | Elizabeth | Johnson, Jr. | found guilty & pardoned | |
| Elizabeth Johnson, Sr. | Elizabeth | Johnson, Sr. | released by Superior Court | |
| Mary Lacy, Jr. | Mary | Lacy, Jr. | released by Superior Court | |
| Mary Lacy, Sr. | Mary | Lacy, Sr. | found guilty & pardoned | |
| Jane Lilly | Jane | Lilly | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Mary Osgood | Mary | Marston | released by Superior Court | |
| Mary Osgood | Mary | Osgood | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Sarah Pease | Sarah | Pease | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Joan Penny | Joan | Penney | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Mary Post | Mary | Post | found guilty & pardoned | |
| Margaret Prince | Margaret | Prince | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Benjamin Proctor | Benjamin | Proctor | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Elizabeth Proctor | Elizabeth | Proctor | found guilty & pardoned; pregnant | |
| Sarah Proctor | Sarah | Proctor | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Susanna Rootes | Susanna | Rootes | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Mary Rowe | Mary | Rowe | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Abigail Somes | Abigail | Somes | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Martha Sparks | Martha | Sparks | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Mary Taylor | Mary | Taylor | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Mary Toothaker | Mary | Toothaker | released by Superior Court | |
| Hannah Tyler | Hannah | Tyler | released by Superior Court | |
| Martha Tyler | Martha | Tyler | accused, imprisoned & later released | |
| Mary Tyler | Mary | Tyler | released by Superior Court | |
| Rachel Vinson | Rachel | Vincent | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Mary Wardwell | Mary (Mercy) | Wardwell | released by Superior Court | |
| Sarah Wardwell | Sarah | Wardwell | found guilty & pardoned | |
| Sarah Wilson, Sr. | Sarah | Wilson, Sr. | accused, not indicted & released | |
| Mary Witheridge | Mary | Witheridge | released by Superior Court |
Accused, Not Imprisoned
"During the Salem Witch Trials, Bradstreet was Justice of the Peace for Andover. He issued warrants for the arrest and imprisonment of forty-eight suspected ‘witches’, after which he refused to issue any more. As a result, Bradstreet and his wife, Anne, were accused of witchcraft and forced to flee the area."[25]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nehemiah Abbott, Jr. | Nehemiah | Abbott, Jr. | accused, but released | |
| Daniel Andrews | Daniel | Andrews | fled before arrest | |
| Ann Bradstreet | Ann | Bradstreet | fled before arrest | |
| Dudley Bradstreet | Colonel; J.P. | Dudley | Bradstreet | fled before arrest |
| John Bradstreet | John | Bradstreet | fled before arrest | |
| Elizabeth Colson | Elizabeth | Colson | fled before arrest | |
| George Jacobs, Jr. | George | Jacobs, Jr. | fled before arrest | |
| John Busse | Reverend | John | Busse | accused, not arrested |
| Francis Dane | Reverend | Francis | Dane | accused, not arrested |
| Nicholas Frost? | Nicholas | Frost | accused, not arrested | |
| Sarah Hale | Sarah | Hale | accused, not arrested | |
| James Howe | James | Howe, Jr. | accused, not arrested | |
| Mary Phips | Mary | Phips | accused, not arrested | |
| Sarah Swift | Sarah | Swift | accused, not arrested | |
| Hezekiah Usher | Hezekiah | Usher | accused, not arrested |
They Dared to Oppose
"Salisbury, Aug. 9, 1692," addressed "To the worshipful Jonathan Corwin... The letter is a most able argument against the manner in which the trials were conducted, and, by conclusive logic, overthrows the whole fabric of the evidence on the strength of which the Court was convicting and taking the lives of innocent persons... The weight of evidence seems to indicate that the document is attributable to Major Robert Pike, of Salisbury.”[26][27]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Brattle | Lieutenant | Thomas | Brattle | highly-critical, reasoned attack on trials |
| Robert Calef | Robert | Calef | authored "More Wonders of the Invisible World" | |
| William Milbourne | Reverend | William | Milbourne | Baptist minister opposed spectral evidence |
| Robert Pike Sr. | Major | Robert | Pike, Sr. | "undisguised... opposition to the proceedings" |
Superior Court of Judicature, 1693
"In Cases of Conscience Increase Mather forcefully related his distrust of spectral evidence to convict witches. He argued that it would be better that ten witches go free than the blood of a single innocent be shed."[28]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Stoughton | Chief Justice | William | Stoughton | resigned after Gov. Phipps reprieve of prisoners |
| Thomas Danforth | Judge | Thomas | Danforth | "cleared the jails" |
| John Richards | Captain | John | Richards | "cleared the jails" |
| Samuel Sewall | Judge | Samuel | Sewall | "cleared the jails" |
| Waitstill Winthrop | Maj-Gen | Waitstill | Winthrop | "cleared the jails" |
More Accusers
"After the witch trials began, Thomas Putnam and Ann Putnam, Jr, quickly became the main accusers in the trials..."[29]
| Profile | Title | First Name | Last Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Abbe | Mary | Abbe | ||
| Samuel Abbe | Samuel | Abbe | ||
| Benjamin Abbot | Corporal | Benjamin | Abbot | |
| Ebenezer Babson | Ebenezer | Babson | ||
| Elinor Babson | Elenor | Babson | ||
| Joseph Ballard | Ensign | Joseph | Ballard | |
| Sarah Bibber | Sarah | Bibber | ||
| Richard Carr | Richard | Carr | ||
| Ezekiel Cheever, Sr. | Ezekiel | Cheever, Jr. | ||
| John de Riche | John | de Riche | ||
| Samuel Endicott | Samuel | Endicott | ||
| Zerubbabel Endicott | Zerubbabel | Endicott | ||
| Mary Fitch | Mary | Fitch | ||
| Thomas Flint | Thomas | Flint | ||
| Andrew Foster | Andrew | Foster | ||
| Ephraim Foster | Constable | Ephraim | Foster | |
| Zebulon Hill | Zebulon | Hill | ||
| John Indian | Slave | John | Indian | |
| Nathaniel Ingersoll | Nathaniel | Ingersoll | ||
| John Kimball | John | Kimball | ||
| Henry (Kinne) Kenny, Sr. | Henry | Kenny, Sr. | ||
| Abigail Martin | Abigail | Martin | ||
| Naomi (Lynsey) Maule | Naomi | Maule | ||
| Thomas Maule | Thomas | Maule | ||
| Zacheus Perkins | Zacheus | Perkins | ||
| Samuel Preston | Samuel | Preston | ||
| Thomas Preston | Thomas | Preston | ||
| Edward Putnam | Deacon | Edward | Putnam | |
| Nathaniel Putnam | Lieutenant | Nathaniel | Putnam | |
| John Putnam, Jr. | John | Putnam, Jr. | ||
| Thomas Putnam, Jr. | Sergeant | Thomas | Putnam, Jr. | |
| Spencer-144? | Mary | Seargeant | ||
| James Stevens | Deacon | James | Stevens | |
| Allin Toothaker | Allin | Toothaker |
Massachusetts Remediation
- 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.[30]
- 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 Bridget Bishop, no compensation because survivors did not petition][30]
- 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.[31]
- 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.[32]
Reconciliation?
The events that took place during the Salem Witchcraft Trials are odious and disgusting to most people of our current time.
Those of us who had innocent and defenseless ancestors executed, tortured, imprisoned for months in iron fetters, and put to death by prison conditions cannot find words sufficient to express our anguish and sorrow even after 320 years.
More heart-rending is the infant of executed Sarah Good, born and died in jail; or her five-year-old daughter, Dorothy, also accused, imprisoned, fettered alongside her mother until the hanging, and insane for the rest of her life.
It may be impossible for some of us, but it may be proper to countenance that nearly all participants believed themselves to be acting virtuously. 1692 was a very different time, and the relativists warn us that morality and historical truth exist only in terms of their time and place.
Perhaps, we might also remember that all participants have been forgiven in one form or another.
Enough said.
Sources
- ↑ Schiff, Stacy. The Witches (pp. 414-415). Little, Brown and Company. Kindle Edition.
- ↑ “Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, Vol. 2.” Free Family History and Genealogy Records - FamilySearch.org. Accessed May 26, 2020. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/271714-genealogical-dictionary-of-maine-and-new-hampshire-vol-2?viewer=1&offset=5#page=54&viewer=picture&o=search&n=0&q=burroughs.
- ↑ Legends of America. Accessed May 26, 2020. https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ma-witches-d/.
- ↑ Ray, Benjamin C. Satan & Salem: the Witch-Hunt Crisis of 1692. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2017.
- ↑ “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/72/mode/1up/search/Dorcas.
- ↑ In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 by Mary Beth Norton https://a.co/2hiftIQ
- ↑ Francis, Richard. “Judge Sewall's Apology: the Salem Witch Trials and the Forming of an American Conscience.” Amazon. Harper Perennial, 2006. “Judge Sewall's Apology: the Salem Witch Trials and the Forming of an American Conscience.
- ↑ https://www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-trials/The-trials
- ↑ https://historyofmassachusetts.org/ann-putnam-jr/
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/salemwitchcraftw02upha_0/page/480
- ↑ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/
- ↑ https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2001/Chapter122
- ↑ “History Of The United States Vol I : John Clark Ridpath Lld : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, January 1, 1970. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.82887/page/n171/mode/2up/search/Parris.
- ↑ “Betty Parris.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, April 24, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris.
- ↑ “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/6/mode/1up/search/Grigg.
- ↑ “SWP No. 094: Rebecca Nurse Executed July 19, 1692.” SWP No. 094: Rebecca Nurse Executed July 19, 1692 - New Salem - Pelican. Accessed May 26, 2020. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n94.html#n94.24.
- ↑ Lewis, Jone Johnson. “Beliefs About a Witch's Cake Sparked the Salem Witch Trials.” ThoughtCo. ThoughtCo, December 13, 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-witchs-cake-3528206.
- ↑ https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-are-witch-cakes?utm_source=Gastro+Obscura+Weekly+E-mail&utm_campaign=2e3dfed861-GASTRO_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_10_26&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2418498528-2e3dfed861-69554289&mc_cid=2e3dfed861&mc_eid=3b3c672c3d
- ↑ “William Phips.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, May 4, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Phips.
- ↑ The New England historical and genealogical register. Accessed May 26, 2020. https://archive.org/stream/newenglandhistor50wate#page/12/mode/1up.
- ↑ Legends of America. Accessed May 26, 2020. https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ma-salemcourt/4/.
- ↑ “Giles Corey By Heather Snyder.” Salem Witch Trials: Giles Corey. Accessed May 26, 2020. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/gilescorey.html.
- ↑ Linder, Doug. Cotton Mather's Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions (1689). Accessed May 26, 2020. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASA_MATH.HTM.
- ↑ Kennedy, Merrit. “Salem Memorializes Those Killed During Witch Trials.” NPR. NPR, July 19, 2017. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/19/538163000/salem-memorializes-those-killed-during-witch-trials.
- ↑ Dudley Bradstreet (Magistrate).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, March 5, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_Bradstreet_(magistrate).
- ↑ “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/448/mode/2up.
- ↑ “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/538/mode/2up.
- ↑ “Increase Mather.” Salem Witch Trials: Increase Mather. Accessed May 26, 2020. http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/i_mather.html.
- ↑ Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice, and Rebecca Beatrice Brooks. “Thomas Putnam: Ringleader of the Salem Witch Hunt?” History of Massachusetts Blog, May 12, 2020. https://historyofmassachusetts.org/thomas-putnam-ringleader-of-the-salem-witch-hunt/.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Upham, Charles Wentworth. Salem Witchcraft : with an Account of Salem Village, and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects, vol. 2. (Boston, 1867): Page 479.
- ↑ https://www.mass.gov/doc/resolves-of-1957-chapter-145/download
- ↑ https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2001/Chapter122
See also:
- A Guide to the Primary Sources of the Salem Witchcraft Trials
- University of Virginia's Library of Virginia Salem Witch Trials This well-organized source includes court records, both transcribed and images of original documents, and much more
Lists of People in the Salem Witch Trials:
- The Salem Witchcraft Papers, http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/tags.html
- Charles Upham, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17845/17845-h/salem1-htm.html#GENERAL_INDEX,
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_of_the_Salem_witch_trials
- https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Salem_Witch_Trials
- People Accused of Witchcraft in 1692. Accessed May 1, 2020. http://www.17thc.us/primarysources/accused.php?id=1&pg=
Acknowledgements
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