Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and their Descendants

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Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and their Descendants

"Witchcraft at Salem Village"
Courtesy of: Wikipedia, the free enccyclopedia
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before local magistrates followed by county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex counties of colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693

A witch craze swept the small Puritan community of Salem Village, Massachusetts in 1692. It began when a group of girls gathered in the evenings in the home of Reverend Parris to listen to stories told by one of his slaves, Tituba. They also played fortune-telling games, which were strictly forbidden by the Puritans. One night, while trying to see the faces of their future husbands in an egg white dropped in a glass of water, one girl believed she saw the shape of a coffin.

Soon after, the girls began acting strangely, leading the Puritan community to suspect that the girls were victims of witchcraft. The girls named three townswomen, including Tituba, as the witches who were torturing them.

The three women were put on trial for practicing witchcraft. Tituba confessed to having seen the devil and also stated that there was a coven, or group, of witches in the Salem Village area. The other two women, Sarah Good and Sarah Osbourne, insisted they were innocent. The court didn’t believe them, and found them guilty of practicing witchcraft.

As the weeks passed, the affected girls accused other townspeople of torturing them, and some on trial also named others as witches. Women were not the only ones believed to be witches—men and even some children were accused. By the end of the trials in 1693, 24 people had died, some in jail but most by hanging. Some of the accused had confessed as being witches, but none of them were hanged.

Despite being generally known as the "Salem" witch trials, the preliminary hearings in 1692 were conducted in a variety of towns across the province: Salem Village, Ipswich, Andover and Salem Town. The best-known trials were conducted by the Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692 in Salem Town. Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned, with even more accused but not formally pursued by the authorities. At least five more of the accused died in prison. All twenty-six who went to trial before this court were convicted. The four sessions of the Superior Court of Judicature in 1693, held in Salem Village, but also in Ipswich, Boston and Charlestown, produced only three convictions in the thirty-one witchcraft trials it conducted. The two courts convicted twenty-nine people of the capital felony of witchcraft. Nineteen of the accused, fourteen women and five men, were hanged. One man (Giles Corey) who refused to enter a plea was crushed to death under heavy stones in an attempt to force him to do so.

Matches 1 to 50 of 50

#	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Birth Date	Salem Witch Trials of 1692: Fact	Full Name
1	Alden, John	22 May 1622	Accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials in May 1692, but escaped to Duxbury, where he stayed with friends until, as he later said, "the public had reclaimed the use of its reason." When he returned, he was cleared by proclamation.	John Alden
2	Bassett, Elizabeth	1650	Elizabeth Proctor was one of the first women accused of witchcraft in Salem Village (present day Danvers, MA), in the spring of 1692. Elizabeth's grandmother was Ann (Holland) Bassett Burt, a Quaker and a midwife, who was brought up on charges of witchcraft in 1669. As she was not a doctor, but was successful at curing the sick, some people felt she could only have medical skills if she were a witch; one of those who testified against Ann was Phillip Read, a doctor. The Puritans felt there was something "witchlike" about Quakers. Some felt the stigma of being the granddaughter of someone thought to be a witch may have contributed to Elizabeth's persecution On March 26, 1692, Mercy Lewis made the first accusations that Elizabeth's spectre was tormenting her. William Rayment, of nearby Beverly, Massachusetts, mentioned he had heard a rumor that Elizabeth Proctor would be questioned in court the next day. Appearing to go into a trance, one of the girls cried "There?s Goody Proctor! Old Witch! I?ll have her hang," but when onlookers expressed doubt, claiming that the Proctor family was well regarded in the community, promptly came out of her trance and told them it was all for "sport". On March 29, 1692, Abigail Williams and Mercy Lewis again said they were being tormented by Elizabeth's specter. A few days later, Abigail again complained that Elizabeth was pinching her and tearing at her bowels, and said she saw Elizabeth?s specter as well as John?s. n April 1692, 31 men from Ipswich, Massachusetts, where Emmanuel Gbalazeh had lived before moving to Salem, filed petition attesting to the upstanding character of John and Elizabeth and denying that they had ever seen anything that would indicate they were witches. In May 1692, a similar petition was filed on behalf of John and Elizabeth containing signatures of 20 men & women, including several of the wealthiest landowners of Topsfield, Massachusetts and Salem Village. It questioned spectral evidence, testified to the Christian lives that John and Elizabeth had led, stated that they ?were ever ready to help such as stood in need of their help? and stated that they had no reason to believe they were witches. On June 2, 1692, a male doctor and several women completed a physical examination of Elizabeth and several of the other accused. They looked for birth defects, moles or other markings that they believed were a sign that the person was a witch, and found none. On August 2, 1692, the court met in Salem to discuss the fate of John and Elizabeth and several others. At some point during this time, John rewrote his will, but he did not include Elizabeth. In spite of the petitions and testimonies from friends, both John and Elizabeth were found guilty, and were sentenced to death on August 5, 1692. Elizabeth, who was pregnant at the time, was granted a stay of execution until after the birth of the baby. John tried to postpone his execution, but failed. On August 19, 1692, John was executed. Elizabeth remained in jail. Action was eventually taken on the petition that John had filed to save his life and that of Elizabeth, but it was too late for John. In January 1693, several hundred people were still in prison awaiting trial. On January 27, while still in prison, Elizabeth gave birth to a son whom she named John, after his father. For some reason, Elizabeth was not executed as the court had ordered. In May 1693, the girls began to accuse the wife of Governor of Massachusetts Phips. The Governor, believing that people were being wrongly convicted without hard evidence, ordered 153 people set free. Elizabeth was among this general release of prisoners. Before she was released, her family was required to pay her prison fees. At this time, families were required to pay for their family members and board while in jail, as well as the cost of their executions Though Elizabeth was free, the ordeal was not over for her, for in the eyes of the law, she had been convicted as a witch. Although the law stated that possessions would be seized when someone was convicted, the Proctors' possessions were confiscated long before their trials, and Elizabeth could not claim any of John's property, some of which had been salvaged by this time. She could not regain her dowry, because legally, she no longer existed. Elizabeth petitioned the General Court for reversal of attainder to restore her legal rights. No action was taken for seven years, even though it was now widely accepted that innocent people had been wrongly convicted. On April 19, 1697, the probate court at Salem ordered the Proctor heirs to give Elizabeth her dowry. The public demanded that the courts apologize, and a written apology was issued on March 18, 1702. On September 22, 1699, Elizabeth married her second husband, Daniel Richards, in Lynn, Massachusetts. In July 1703, an address was made to the General Court requesting the petitions from the families be granted. Finally, action was taken to obtain the reversal of attainder for Elizabeth. The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill formally disallowing spectral evidence, but reversing attainder only for those who had filed petitions, which only applied to John and Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse.	Elizabeth Bassett
3	Blackstone, James ^	29 Jul 1798	Descendant of Thomas Danforth	James Blackstone, ^
4	Blackstone, James Knox ^	5 Apr 1846	Descendant of Thomas Danforth	James Knox Blackstone, ^
5	Blackstone, Rosa "Rose" "Rosie" Mae ^	19 Oct 1872	Descendant of Thomas Danforth	Rosa "Rose" "Rosie" Mae Blackstone, ^
6	Blackstone, William ^ Capt.	1766	Descendant of Thomas Danforth	William Blackstone, ^ Capt.
7	Bliss, Mary	Abt 1628	"Mary Bliss Parsons" 1675 Courtesy of: History of American Women THE WITCH OF NORTHAMPTON Though proven not a witch - by Kathy Ann Behee Becker My multiple great grandma was not a witch, honest. But this is the story of what happened to her. Watch out that it doesn't happen to you. And don't look at me if strange things go on around here. The first case of witchcraft in Northampton came to trial in 1694. Mary Parsons, wife of Coronet Joseph Parsons, one of the first settlers in town, who had disembarked as a child in Plymouth and moved to the "wilds" to become one of Northampton's most prominent citizens, was accused. "She was...a woman of more than ordinary intelligence, and of unquestioned respectability. Her accusers were also persons of high standing and good reputation. How much revenge, jealously, or spite may have influenced the prosecutors is not known, but there is reason to believe that the imputation grew out of an old quarrel of some eighteen years standing. (Trumbull's History of Northampton). Mary was different: rich, beautiful, high strung, argumentative. One man[...literally stalked her, so obesssed was he. He testified about how he waited and followed her at night (she was an insomniac). He said she walked through swamps and he saw her chemise never get wet. He had many stories about her walks while he covertly observed her---sometimes with other men for company. He reports her conversations with her husband in their yard. [He was hiding in the bushes.] He complained, "I cannot have my mind from this woman yt if shee be not right this way, shee may be a cause of these things, though I desire to look to ye overwhelming hand of God in all." For eighteen years she was suspected as being the cause of unexplainable events and sicknesses of people and animals, and was brought to trial three times for the charge of practicing witchcraft. Finally she was taken to Boston and jailed for three months, her body searched for devil marks. In court she was called upon to speak for herself, which she did effectively. The jury found her innocent. Mary Parsons returned home to Northampton. Not content to let the business end, the villagers took up calling her son, John Parsons, a warlock. He had angered "witch-finders," the Bartletts and Bridgemans, by defending the innocence and dignity of his mother. When Mary's younger son was killed in a battle at Northfield by Indians, it was said to be God's judgement on the family. Cornet Joseph Parsons and Mary and some of their children retreated to Springfield. John Parsons remained, held town offices in Northampton, and was a Captain in the King Philip's War. As for the "wrath of God," two of Capt. Parson's children were killed by Indians, two drowned in the Connecticut River. A surviving son, William, married his cousin, Mary Ashley(Parsons). Lieut. William Parsons lost all but two of his children in infancy or to drowning. His only surviving son, Samuel Parsons, served as a Lieut. in the 2nd Mass. Rgt. in the Revolution; was wounded and lame the rest of his life. His daughter, named Mary Parsons, wed and moved to upstate New York and prospered. Three generations later, a single son left Niagara County, took a wife, named Mary, and moved to Ohio. Their daughter now lives in Wendell, Kathy Becker, multiple-granddaughter of the "Witch of Northampton", Mary Parsons. Footnote: The person Mary Parsons was accused of killing by witchcraft was one of her in-laws, John Stebbins, likely an ancestor of Wendell's Stebbins family, who were prominent in Northampton at the time. Ironically, her son, John Parsons, so called "warlock"' took as his wife another relative of the Stebbins family, Abigail Stebbins, joining the two families for all time. Presently, [1996] descendants of both these families live side by side on Locke Hill Rd. by coincidence, with graves of the earlier Stebbins family not too far away in the Jennison/Locke Hill intersection cemetery. Source: Title: Torrey 2nd Supplement Media: Book Page: 48	Mary Bliss
8	Brown(e), William ^	24 Dec 1622		William Brown(e), ^
9	Carr, Ann	15 Jun 1661	Accused in Witch Trials	Ann Carr
10	Danforth, Mary ^	28 Jul 1650	Descendant of Thomas Danforth	Mary Danforth, ^
11	Danforth, Thomas ^Dep Gov.	20 Nov 1623	Was the judge for the 1692 Salem witch trials in early colonial America.	Thomas Danforth, ^Dep Gov.
12	Foster, Mary	09 Jul 1652	Mary Foster was Accused, Tried and Condemned as a Witch in Salem or Andover along with her mother, Ann Alcock nee Foster. At the Andover Witch Trials, she confessed herself a "Witch" and died in prison in 1707 Desecendants of Ralph Farnum book; Vol 1; Page 58)	Mary Foster
13	Hood, Sarah	02 Aug 1657	"The annals of Lynn state that "Sarah Bassett was tried at Salem May 23 (1692) and sent to Boston prison, where she was kept until December 3, seven months. She was a daughter of Richard Hood, and wife of William Bassett, jun., in Nahant street. She had a young child, twenty-two months old, which she took to prison with her. The next daughter which she had after her imprisonment, she called Deliverance'." There is a record of nine pounds allowed to Sarah Bassett as compensation for her imprisonment for witchcraft. (AL 1692. L&N 294,295)" [from Catherine Soleman Chandler, The Bassett Family, Lynn, MA to Salem, NJ, 1624-1964, (Salem Co. Historical Society Publications, Vol. 3, No. 1, Salem, NJ, 1964), pg. 8.]	Sarah Hood
14	Mansfield, Lydia	21 Sep 1754	Descendant of John Proctor	Lydia Mansfield
15	Mather, Cotton	12 Feb 1663	Cotton Mather Puritian Minister Courtesy of: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia He was a New England Puritan minister and prolific author and is often remembered for his connection to the Salem witch trials. He was Author of more than 450 books and pamphlets, Cotton Mather's ubiquitous literary works made him one of the most influential religious leaders in America. Mather set the nation's "moral tone," and sounded the call for second and third generation Puritans, whose parents had left England for the New England colonies of North America to return to the theological roots of Puritanism.	Cotton Mather
16	Mather, Increase	12 Jun 1639	Increase Mather Puritian Minister Courtesy of: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Witch Trials was a major figure in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay (now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts). He was a Puritan minister who was involved with the government of the colony, the administration of Harvard College, and most notoriously, the Salem witch trials. He was the son of Richard Mather and father of Cotton Mather, both influential Puritan ministers. As an influential member of the community, Increase was involved in the notorious witch hysteria of Salem, Massachusetts. As the court of oyer and terminer was beginning to hear cases of suspected witchcraft, Increase published "The Return of Several Ministers Consulted," which urged moderation in the use and credence of "spectral evidence." In June and July 1692 as the trials and executions grew, Mather made a number of sermons interpreted as a plea to cool the heated atmosphere. In September he published Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits Personating Men, Witchcrafts, infallible Proofs of Guilt in such as are accused with that Crime (more commonly known as just "Cases of conscience concerning evil spirits"), which defended the judges and trials, but strongly denounced the spectral evidence used by them. It said, "It were better that Ten Suspected Witches should escape, than that one Innocent Person should be Condemned." (A slightly altered version of this phrase would later become known as Blackstone's formulation.) Afterwards, his reputation was not improved by his involvement and association with the trials, nor by his subsequent refusal to denounce them. His refusal to repudiate was likely because of his longtime friendship with the judges involved. He was also defamed by Robert Calef in his harshly critical More Wonders of the Invisible World (referred to as More Wonders of the Spiritual World by the Encyclopedia Britannica Eleventh Edition. The Pavement song "Give It A Day" is about the Salem Witch Trials and both Increase and Cotton Mather's involvement in them.	Increase Mather
17	Morse, William Witch Trials	12 May 1614	Tried & convicted of Witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials	William Morse, Witch Trials
18	Murford, Elizabeth ^	Abt 1620		Elizabeth Murford, ^
19	Parris, Elizabeth "Betty"	28 Nov 1682	Was the nine-year-old daughter of the Salem villages' reverend Samuel Parris and was the first to become ill after being "bewitched" as most people thought. Her contortions, convulsions and outbursts of gibberish at first baffled everyone, especially when other girls began to show similar symptoms. Shortly after her illness, the Salem witch trials began, with the girls accusing neighbors of witchcraft. Richard Tango also had these same symptoms as Betty, the only boy to have this "illness"	Elizabeth "Betty" Parris
20	Parris, Samuel Rev.	1653	Was the Puritan minister in Salem Village, Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials, as well as the father to one of the afflicted girls, and uncle of another The events that led to the Salem witch trials began when his daughter, Betty Parris, and her cousin Abigail Williams accused the family's slave Tituba of witchcraft. In February 1692, Betty Parris began having "fits" that the doctor could not explain. Parris beat Tituba and compelled her to confess that she was a witch. The hysteria lasted sixteen months, concluding with the Salem witch trials. His church brought charges against him for his part in the trials, leading him to apologize for his error. However, despite the intense dislike of the villagers, Parris stayed on for another four years after the panic had run its course. In 1697, he accepted another preaching position in Stow, and eventually moved on to Concord and Dunstable before his death in the town of Sudbury on February 27, 1720.	Samuel Parris, Rev.
21	Parsons, Benjamin	22 Jan 1648/49	Descendant of Mary Parsons Bliss	Benjamin Parsons
22	Parsons, John	14 Aug 1650	Descendant of Mary Bliss Parsons	John Parsons
23	Parsons, Joseph	1671	Desendant of Mary Bliss Parsons	Joseph Parsons
24	Parsons, Joseph	1 Nov 1647	Descendant of Mary Bliss Parsons	Joseph Parsons
25	Perkins, Mary Witch Trials^	03 Sep 1615		Mary Perkins, Witch Trials^
26	Phipps, Danforth ^	Bef 4 Feb 1710/11	Descendant of Thomas Danforth	Danforth Phipps, ^
27	Phipps, Eleanor ^	Bef 8 Jun 1735	Descendant of Thomas Danforth	Eleanor Phipps, ^
28	Phipps, Thomas Esq.^	22 Nov 1676	Descendant of Thomas Danforth	Thomas Phipps, Esq.^
29	Proctor, Abigial	27 Jan 1689	Descendant of John Proctor and Elizabeth Bassett Proctor	Abigial Proctor
30	Proctor, Elisha	28 Apr 1687	Descendant of John Proctor and Elizabeth Bassett Proctor	Elisha Proctor
31	Proctor, Elizabeth	Abt 1663	Descendant of John Proctor	Elizabeth Proctor
32	Proctor, Hannah	03 Sep 1729	Descendant of John Proctor	Hannah Proctor
33	Proctor, John	28 Oct 1668	Descendant of John Proctor	John Proctor
34	Proctor, John	27 Jan 1693	Descendant of John Proctor and Elizabeth Bassett Proctor	John Proctor
35	Proctor, John	1631	Was a tavern keeper in 17th century Massachusetts. During the Salem witch trials he was accused of witchcraft, convicted and hanged. Although Abigail Williams was John Proctor's chief accuser, he was also named by Mary Walcott who stated he tried to choke her and his former servant Mary Warren on April 21. Warren told magistrates that Proctor had beaten her for putting up a prayer bill before forcing her to touch the Devil's Book. Further allegations of an increasingly salacious nature followed. John Proctor continued to challenge the veracity of spectral evidence and the validity of the Court of Oyer and Terminer which led to a petition signed by 32 neighbors in his favor. The signatories stated that Proctor had lived a 'Christian life in his family and was ever ready to help such as stood in need..' John and Elizabeth Proctor were tried on August 5, 1692. They were both found guilty and sentenced to hang. Still maintaining his innocence, Proctor prepared his will to secure the welfare of his sons but left his wife with nothing. He was executed on August 19, 1692 along with George Burroughs, John Willard, George Jacobs, Sr. and Martha Carrier. The Crucible by Arthur Miller, a fictionalized version of the trials casts John Proctor as one of the main characters in the play. Proctor is portrayed as being in his thirties and Abigail Williams is 17 and a half years old, while the real John Proctor and Abigail Williams were respectively about sixty and eleven years old at the time of the witch trials. In the play, they had an affair, as a result of which Abigail accused Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft. In reality, Elizabeth Proctor was initially named by Ann Putnam on March 6 after her spectre allegedly attacked the girl. She was accused by Abigail on March 14 and further accusations were made by Mercy Lewis. Miller has Mary Warren accuse Proctor of afflicting her but this followed his initial accusation by Abigail in early April 1692. There is no historical evidence to suggest that Abigail even knew John Proctor before she accused him of witchcraft. In the 1996 film based on the play, Proctor was played by Daniel Day-Lewis.	John Proctor
36	Proctor, Martha	04 Jun 1666	Descendant of John Proctor	Martha Proctor
37	Proctor, Mary	30 Jan 1670	Descendant of John Proctor	Mary Proctor
38	Proctor, Mary	20 Dec 1667	Descendant of John Proctor	Mary Proctor
39	Proctor, Samuel	11 Jan 1686	Descendant of John Proctor and Elizabeth Bassett Proctor	Samuel Proctor
40	Proctor, Sarah	1674	Descendant of John Proctor and Elizabeth Bassett Proctor	Sarah Proctor
41	Proctor, Thorndike	15 Jul 1672	Descendant of John Proctor	Thorndike Proctor
42	Proctor, Thorndike	03 Jun 1700	Descendant of John Proctor	Thorndike Proctor
43	Proctor, William	6 Feb 1674/75	Descendant of John Proctor and Elizabeth Bassett Proctor	William Proctor
44	Putnam, Ann Jr.	18 Oct 1679	Along with Elizabeth "Betty" Parris, Mary Walcott and Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam Jr. was an important witness at the Salem Witch Trials of Massachusetts during the later portion of 17th century Colonial America. Born 1679 in Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts, she was the eldest child of Thomas Putnam (1652?1699) and Ann Carr (1661?1699). She was friends with some of the girls who claimed to be afflicted by witchcraft and, in March 1692, proclaimed to be afflicted herself. Some historians have speculated that her parents, Thomas and Ann (Carr), Sr., coerced Putnam to accuse those they were feuding with or sought revenge on. Many of the accused had some sort of relationship with the powerful Putnam family. When her parents died in 1699, Putnam was left to raise her nine siblings aged 7 months to 16 years. She never married, and died in 1716.	Ann Putnam, Jr.
45	Randall, Perley Quinlin ^	22 Apr 1903	Descendant of Thomas Danforth	Perley Quinlin Randall, ^
46	Randall, Robert Dean ^Sr.	03 Feb 1930	Descendant of Thomas Danforth	Robert Dean Randall, ^Sr.
47	Towne, Mary	24 Aug 1634	Mary, with her sisters Sarah Towne Cloyce and Rebecca Towne Nurse, were among those accused on witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her sister Rebecca, Mary was a pious and respected member of Salem, and her accusation came as a surprise. During the examination on April 22, 1692, when Eastey clasped her hands together, Mercy Lewis, one of the afflicted, imitated the gesture and claimed to be unable to release her hands until Eastey released her own. Again, when Mary inclined her head, the afflicted girls accused her of trying to break their necks. Mercy claimed that Eastey's specter had climbed into her bed and laid her hand upon her breasts. When asked by magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin how far she had complied with Satan, she replied, "Sir, I never complyed but prayed against him all my dayes, I have no complyance with Satan, in this....I am clear of this sin." For reasons unknown, Eastey was released from prison after two months, and discharged on May 18. However, on May 20, Mercy Lewis claimed that Eastey's specter was afflicting her, and was supported by the other girls. A second warrant was issued that night for Eastey's arrest. She was taken from her bed and returned to the prison; Lewis's fits ceased after Mary was chained. Eastey was tried and condemned to death on September 9. Robert Calef, in More Wonders of the Invisible World, described Eastey's parting words to her family "as serious, religious, distinct, and affectionate as could be expressed, drawing tears from the eyes of almost all present." She was hanged on September 22, along with Martha Corey, Ann Pudeator, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, Wilmot Redd, Margaret Scott, and Samuel Wardwell. On the gallows she prayed for an end to the witch hunt. In November, after Eastey had been put to death, Mary Herrick gave testimony about Eastey. Herrick testified that she was visited by Eastey who told her she had been put to death wrongfully and was innocent of witchcraft, and that she had come to vindicate her cause. Eastey's family was compensated with 20 pounds from the government in 1711 for her wrongful execution. Her husband Isaac lived until June 11, 1712.	Mary Towne
48	Towne, Rebecca	Abt 21 Feb 1619/20	Rebecca, with her sisters Sarah Towne Cloyce and Mary Towne Estery, were among those accused on witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. Nurse and her family lived on a vast homestead which was part of a 300-acre (1.2 km2) grant given to Townsend Bishop in 1636. The family had been involved in a number of acrimonious land disputes with the Putnam family. On March 23 a warrant was issued for her arrest based upon accusations made by Edward and John Putnam. Upon hearing of the accusations the frail 70 year old, who is often described as an invalid said, "I am innocent as the child unborn, but surely, what sin hath God found out in me unrepented of, that He should lay such an affliction on me in my old age." There was a public outcry over the accusations made against her, as she was considered to be of very pious character. Thirty-nine of the most prominent members of the community signed a petition on Nurse's behalf. At age 71, she was one of the oldest accused. Her ordeal is often credited as the impetus for a shift in public opinion about the validity of the witch trials. Her trial began on June 30, 1692. By dint of her respectability, some testified on her behalf including her family members. However the young Ann Putnam and her siblings would break into fits and claim Nurse was tormenting them. In response to their outbursts Nurse stated, "I have got nobody to look to but God." Many of the other afflicted girls were hesitant to accuse Nurse. In the end, the jury ruled Nurse not guilty. Due to public outcry and renewed fits and spasms by the girls, the magistrate asked that the verdict be reconsidered. At issue was the statement of another prisoner "[she] was one of us" to which Nurse did not reply, probably because of her loss of hearing. The jury took this as a sign of guilt and changed their verdict, sentencing Nurse to death on July 19th. Many people labeled Nurse "the woman of self dignity", due to her dignified behavior on the gallows. As was the custom, after hanging Nurse's body was buried in a shallow grave near the gallows, along with other convicted witches, who were considered unfit for a Christian burial. Nurse's family secretly returned after dark and dug up her body which they interred properly on their family homestead. In July 1885, her descendants erected a tall granite memorial over her grave in what is now called the Rebecca Nurse Homestead cemetery in Danvers (formerly Salem Village), Massachusetts. The inscription on the monument reads: In 1892 a second additional monument was erected nearby recognizing the 40 neighbors who took the risk of publicly supporting Nurse by signing a petition to the court in 1692. er accuser, Ann Putnam, Jr., publicly apologized to the Nurse family for accusing innocent people. In 1711, the government compensated her family for Nurse's wrongful death. The Nurse family homestead fell into the hands of Putnam family descendent, Phineas Putnam in 1784. The Putnam family maintained control of the property until 1908. Today, it is a tourist attraction that includes the original house and cemetery, on 27 of the original 300 acres (1.2 km2). Rebecca Nurse is a central character in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible as well as many other dramatic treatments of the Salem Witch Trials. The PBS film Three Sovereigns For Sarah features Vanessa Redgrave as one of Rebecca Nurse's sisters, Sarah Cloyce, who, although accused, escaped execution. (Another of Nurse's sisters, Mary Eastey, was, however, also executed.) The film depicts Nurse and her family members as main characters. Rebecca Nurse was also the subject of Lectures on Witchcraft by Charles W. Upham.	Rebecca Towne
49	Towne, Sarah	Abt 3 Sep 1648	Sarah, with her sisters Rebecca Towne Nurse and Mary Towne Estery, were among those accused on witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. Her sisters were executed, but Sarah was spared, being freed on 3 January 1693. She spent the next 10 years attempting to clear her name (as fictionalized in the movie "Three Sovereigns for Sarah" "On Apri 4, 1692 the consiracy filed a complaint (No. 6) against Sarah Cloyce. On April 11 she was arrested. The examination was held in Salem Town before Thomas Danforth (the deputy governor, Issac Addington, the secretary of the province, Hohn Hathorne, Mahor Samuel Appleton, James Russell, Captain Samuel Sewaal, and Jonathan Corwin. All of the last five were assistants to the governor, that is, they were members of the upper legislative chamber. Sarah Cloyce refused to confess, and in response to testimony by John Indian said, "Oh! You are a grevious liar." She was imprisoned at Salem, then Boston." "On January 3, 1693, at the Superior Court of Judicature at Salem, the grand jury dismissed the charge against Sarah Cloyce. Peter Cloyce paid his wife's prison fees. Eventually they left Salem Village and settled in Marlborough. Afterwards they moved to neighboring Sudbury, Massachusetts." Tami's source: "Salem Possessed, The Social Origins of Witchcraft." 1974, Paul Boyer & Stephen Nissenbaum, p. 190. "The Devil Discovered," 1991, Enders A. Robinson, p. 273-275, 278.	Sarah Towne
50	UNKNOWN, Elizabeth		Tried and convicted of witchcraft	Elizabeth UNKNOWN

Report:
Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and their Descendants

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Report: Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and their Descendants

Generations Gone By © 2008 All rights reserved.

Report:
Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and their Descendants