A Place for Peculiar People
While aching for that gloom and moodiness so characteristic of autumn, and in direct contrast with the weather we had seen the day before in Boston, Salem greeted us with the bluest, clearest, crispiest blue sky. The historic quarter of the city has a decidedly small-town feel, with cute shops lining stone-cobbled streets, most of them catering to those who, like us, visit The Witch City with spooky motivations.
Salem Witch Trials Memorial
This memorial, built out of granite and composed of benches representing each of the 20 victims of the Salem Witch Trials, was created in 2017 to commemorate the 325th anniversary of their deaths. The stone threshold is carved with the dying words of the victims: “I do plead not guilty.” “God knows I am innocent.” “I am wholly innocent of such wickedness.” “Oh Lord; Help me.”
The Salem Witch Trials were the result of what began in February of 1692, when Betty Parris (aged 9) and her cousin Abigail Williams (11), began to have fits, complain of being pinched and being pricked with pins, throw things around the room, contort themselves into peculiar positions, and generally behave in a manner that was considered unusual. This spread, until eventually Ann Putnam, Jr. (12) and Elizabeth Hubbard (17) were also displaying the same behavior. Eventually, Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, the last of who was an enslaved woman, were the first people accused of witchcraft in Salem. By May of 1693, 19 people had been executed by hanging, 1 by pressing, and 5 had died while in prison.
Bridget Bishop was the first person executed. Her trial lasted eight days, beginning on April 19, 1692, after being accused of bewitching five young women. The accusations mostly revolved around her specter appearing to those who pointed the finger in order to torment them and accost them to sign their names into a “certain book,” the apparent poisoning or bewitching of a cat after a quarrel with a neighbor, and the fact that poppets were found in her home (presumably used for witching). She was the first woman to die from hanging in the colony. She was 60 years old.
Before being accused of witchcraft, Rebecca Nurse had been a well-respected member of her community, enjoying a reputation for being pious and honorable. She was accused in March of 1692 by Edward and John Putnam, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. This caused a public outcry, and 39 of the most prominent members of the community even signed a petition on her behalf. While she was at first declared innocent, further fits by the so-called afflicted led the judges to review her case again. At 71 years old, Rebecca Nurse was hard of hearing, which led to some confusion in her testimony, and eventually resulted in her death after the jury changed their verdict.
Susannah Martin was first accused of witchcraft in 1669, to which she responded by countersuing for slander. These charges were dismissed. By the time she was accused a second time, in 1692, she had become an impoverished widow. The accusations against her included bewitching oxen and causing them to drown and attempting to lure others into witchcraft. During her trials, she proved to be pious and quoted the Bible freely (a thing witches were said to be incapable of doing). Reverend Cotton Maher, part of the proceedings, countered this by claiming that servants of the Devil were perfectly capable of putting on a show of goodness. She was executed at the age of 71.
Elizabeth Howe was accused mainly by the Perley family, who had a 10-year-old daughter who claimed to be afflicted by her. At first her parents did not believe her and took her instead to doctors, who apparently told them that their daughter was “under an evil hand.” She was later accused of afflicting other girls in Salem Village, including Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, Ann Putnam Jr., Abigail Williams, and Mary Warren. While some came forward and testified in her defense, she was eventually hanged at the age of 57.
Sarah Good was one of the first three women to be accused during the Salem Witch Trials, along with Sarah Osborne (who died in prison) and Tituba (whose track was lost after her case was dismissed). Sarah Good had been left destitute after her father’s death, as he left no will and his property was divided in a way that left her with no dowry and no prospects. Sunk in poverty, she wandered Salem begging for alms, often muttering under her breath, and soon gained a reputation for being unpleasant. She was accused by Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Parris, who claimed to have been bitten and pinched by her. During her trial one of the girls accused Sarah of attacking her with a knife which broke, and she produced the piece of it as proof. A townsman attending the trial disproved this by saying that he himself had broken the knife, and produced the missing piece. In response to this, Judge William Stoughton merely scolded the girl for exaggerating without dismissing her accusations. Sarah tried to redirect the blame by pointing the finger at Tituba and Sarah Osborne, to no avail. Pregnant at the time of her arrest, she gave birth in her cell to a baby that died before her mother was hanged at 39 years old.
Sarah Wildes had garnered a reputation for being a nonconformist by the Puritan standards of the time. She had a record already, with prior offenses including fornication and wearing a silk scarf. There is a theory that points to her husband’s former in-laws holding a grudge against her due to his having married her soon after his first wife’s death. This is supported by the fact that they (the Goulds) were related to the Putnams, who were the principal accusers during the trial. Her husband’s former sister-in-law, Mary Gould, even circulated a rumor that Sarah was a witch. Accusations against her included Thomas Dorman losing much of his livestock after she purchased a beehive from him, and John and Joseph Andrews having issues with their cart and oxen after borrowing a scythe from Sarah against her will. She was executed along with Elizabeth Howe, Susanna Martin, Sarah Good, and Rebecca Nurse, at 65 years old.
John Proctor was accused after staunchly defending his wife, Elizabeth, after she herself was accused, and going as far as to express disbelief in the accusers. 32 neighbors signed a petition in his favor, but he was still found guilty and sentenced to death. His property was seized while he and his wife were in prison, with their children left destitute. He was hanged at 59, and Elizabeth was given a reprieve, as she was pregnant. By the time she gave birth, the trials had ended, allowing her to survive.
George Jacobs Sr. was accused of witchcraft along with his son, George Jr., though the latter managed to avoid arrest. During his trial, the usual fits were enacted by the accusing girls, with Ann Putnam Jr. stating that Jacobs’ specter had confessed to her that he had been a witch for 40 years. Margaret Jacobs, his granddaughter, was also accused and examined, forced to confess and in turn accuse George Jacobs. He was hanged at 83 years old.
Martha Carrier, from Andover, was accused by Susannah Sheldon, Mary Walcott, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Ann Putnam Jr. as they traveled through Essex County trying to root out witches. They accused her of leading a 300-strong witch army to become the Queen of Hell. Martha denied these claims and in turn accused them of insanity. She was further accused by her neighbor after they had a land dispute, as he fell sick, and she was imprisoned along with her children in an attempt to convince her to confess. Her children later testified against her, after having been tortured and schooled on what to say. She was executed by hanging, with her age somewhere between 42 and 49.
George Burroughs was the only minister executed for witchcraft in American history. He was accused of witchcraft for such feats as being exceptionally strong, not having baptized his children nor attending communion, and was further suspected of killing his wives through witchcraft. He is remembered for reciting the Lord’s Prayer during his execution, something witches are believed incapable of doing. He was 42 years old.
At the time of the Salem Witch Trials, John Willard was working as a constable, responsible for bringing the accused to court. After some time, he began to harbor doubts about the veracity of the accusations, and refused to arrest any more people. He was subsequently accused by Ann Putnam Jr. and others, both of witchcraft and murder. His wife’s family also accused him, claiming he had brought illness and death to several members of the family through witchcraft. He was executed by hanging at 35.
Giles Corey is the only victim of the Salem Witch Trials to have been executed, not by hanging, but by pressing. He was accused of witchcraft along with his wife, Martha Corey, but he refused to enter a plea. As such, he was subjected to pressing (the act of placing heavy objects upon a person until they submit), which resulted in his death three days later. He was 81.
Though both Martha Corey and her husband had less than impeccable pasts (Martha had a son out of wedlock and Giles had committed theft and murder), at the time of their accusations Martha was known for her piety and dedicated church attendance. As she herself did not believe in witchcraft, she was outspoken in her belief that the accusers were lying. At this, Ann Putnam Jr. and Mercy Lewis then accused her of being a witch. Unaware of the level of paranoia in the village, she was extremely frank about her views during her trial, referring to the accusers as hysterical children, which counted against her. She was hanged at 72.
Samuel Wardwell was accused of witchcraft alongside his wife, Sarah, and their daughter, Mercy, by 14-year-old William Baker Jr. All three confessed on the day they were interrogated. Though Samuel later retracted a forced confession, he was executed by hanging at the age of 49. His wife and daughter were offered a reprieve and were eventually released.
Like Sarah Good, Margaret Scott’s circumstances left her in poverty and dependent upon the alms provided by her neighbors. She did not live in Salem, but in Rowley, though she was accused by Ann Putnam Jr and Mary Walcott after they had been brought to Rowley to continue the witch hunt there. They accused her of tormenting and torturing people, bewitching oxen not to move after having begged for some corn from their owner, and killing off cows after their owner had refused to give her some wood. She was part of the last group to be executed by hanging. She was 77.
Apparently known for her irritability, Wilmot Redd was accused of committing “sundry acts of witchcraft” against Mary Walcott and Mercy Lewis, among others in Salem Village. She was hanged, age unknown.
Ann Pudeator’s accusations included presenting the Devil’s book to a girl and forcing her to sign it, causing the death of a neighbor’s wife, appearing in spectral form to afflicted girls, killing her own husband and his first wife, among others. Many of these accusations came from the lips of Mary Warren, though her other accusers included Ann Putnam Jr., John Best Sr. and Jr., and Samuel Pickworth. She was in her 70s upon her execution.
Also hailing from Andover, Mary Parker was a 55-year-old widow when she was accused of witchcraft. Martha Sprague and Rose Foster, two of the most active afflicted girls in Andover, claimed that Mary’s specter tormented them. A touch test, whereby the accused touched the afflicted and were proven guilty if the tormented “was cured,” secured her guilt before the jury. She was 55 years old when she was executed by hanging.
Alice Parker was accused of murdering Mary Warren’s mother. She was further charged with casting away Thomas Westgate and bewitching Mary Warren’s sister. Her age at her death is unknown.
Mary Easty was sister to Rebecca Nurse, who was also accused and executed during the trials. Their other sister, Sarah Cloyce, was also accused, but was eventually released. Mary was also a respected citizen of Salem, and much like with Rebecca, her accusation came as a surprise. During her trial, the afflicted mimicked her movements and gestures, claiming that she was controlling them. She was released, though Mercy Lewis again accused her after a few days, and she was once more arrested. She was tried and condemned to death at the age of 58.
Five others died while imprisoned: Ann Foster, Sarah Osborne, Lydia Dustin, Roger Toothaker, and Mercy Good (infant daughter of Sarah Good). Years after the trials, the families of those accused, tried, and executed continued to seek justice for them. In 1706, Ann Putnam Jr. publicly asked for forgiveness as she joined the Salem Village church, blaming Satan for deluding her into accusing the victims. In 2001, the Massachusetts legislature passed an act exonerating all those who had been convicted.
The Burying Point
The Salem Witch Trials Memorial is adjacent to the Burying Point. Also known as the Charter Street Cemetery, this is the oldest cemetery in Salem, having been established in 1637. It contains 700 headstones and 17 box tombs dating to the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
The first burial took place in 1637 (Doraty Cromwell), and the last in 1894 (Horace Lorenzo Ingersoll). John Hathorne, judge of the Salem Witch Trials, is buried here, as is Mary Corey, second wife of Giles Corey (Martha was his third).
Gold Colored Fox 