This article is available for unedited republication, free of charge, using the following credit: Originally published as Records of the Salem Witch Trialsin the Winter 2022 issue ofHumanitiesmagazine, a publication of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Please notify us atpublications@neh.govif you are republishing it or have any questions. There were 156 official complaints and maybe 200 accused, along with 70 afflicted persons, nine judges, dozens of jurors and . The Salem Witch Trials 2022 50 m YOUR RATING Rate Documentary Delve deep into the deadliest example of witch hunt hysteria in the history of colonial North America, with The Salem Witch Trials, a series of prosecutions of men and women accused of witchcraft in the Massachusetts colony between February 1692 and May 1693. Hundreds of court documents from the 1692 Salem Witch Trials are being transferred from the Salem museum where they have been stored for more than four decades to the newly expanded. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraftthe devil's magic and 20 were executed.. Far more women than men were among the accused, convicted and executed. 19 1/2 Washington Square North Genealogy of the Balch Families in America By Galusha Burchard Balch. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Just as the jails were filling up with accused witches, the number of those claiming affliction also ramped up. Did you know? Lewis, Jone Johnson. In 1706, while seeking to join the Salem Village church, Ann offered the only known apology of any of the Salem accusers, stating that she had been deluded by the devil, and that she desired to lie in the dust, and earnestly beg forgiveness from God and from all those unto whom I have given just cause of sorrow and offence. She was allowed to join the congregation, but died from unknown causes just nine years later. He outlined accusations from a neighbor of the Bishops that she "did entertain people in her house at unseasonable hours in the night to keep drinking and playing at shovel-board whereby discord did arise in other families and young people were in danger to be corrupted." Shortly after Ann Jr. was afflicted, Lewis began showing signs of affliction as well. Among those who testified against Sarah Bishop was the Rev. On September 13, 1710, William Good went before the court to receive restitution for the losses he endured years earlier. Often referred to as the afflicted girls, they included members of prominent village families, as well as domestic servants and refugees of King Williams War, a long-running conflict that pitted English settlers against Wabanaki Native Americans and their French allies. READ MORE: Women Weren't the Only Victims of the Salem Witch Trials. Context & Origins of the Salem Witch Trials, Salem Witch Trials: Conclusion and Legacy, Before America Had Witch Trials, Europe Had Werewolf Trials. Soon, prisons were filled with more than 150 men and women from towns surrounding Salem; their names had been cried out by tormented young girls as the cause of their pain. Thirteen womenand five men from all stations of life followed her to the gallows onthree successive hanging daysbefore the court was disbanded by Governor William Phipps in October of that year. 6"Balch Genealogy," The Essex Antiquarian 6:1 (Jan 1902), p. 2, Family History Library, 974.45 B2a. By September 1692, people were starting to think that the trials weren't fair. Lewis, Jone Johnson. A girl points to an accused woman during the Salem witch trials in this engraving from 1900. Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images. As the world grew smaller in the 18th-century, Salem took a leading role in developing international trade routes and enjoyed a period of prosperity and fame. The events have also inspired countless TV shows, films, and even musical genres. To understand the events of theSalem Witch Trials, it is necessary to examine the times in which accusations of witchcraft occurred. Modern "Witch Hunts" The legacy of the Salem Witch Trials continues to haunt us today. Betty and Abigail soon accused Tituba, the enslaved woman owned by Samuel Parris, whose subsequent confession launched a full-blown witchcraft crisis in Salem. Briggs. Hale stated that "Edward Bishop's would have been a house if great profaneness and iniquity" if the behavior had not been stopped. Betty never attended the subsequent trials; her parents sent her away to live with family to avoid the uproar. If you think about whats going on in New Englandthreat of attack from warring tribes, unease about a new charterand suddenly something strange happens in your household and youre a minister. was taken into custody the next day and jailed with her mother, Sarah, who had been accused of the same capital crime three weeks earlier. After their trial their son, Samuel Bishop recovered their property. Salem Witch Museum His claims were a portent of what was to come in 1692. A witchcraft trial where Mary Walcott is shown as a witness. This belief in the power of the accused to use their invisible shapes or spectres to torture their victims had sealed the fates of those tried by the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The Superior Court of Judicature, formed to replace the witchcraft court, did not allow spectral evidence. Though adult womenand a few menaccused their neighbors of witchcraft in 1692, the core group of accusers were girls. "Edward Bishop and Sarah Bishop." s'd Bishop rideing in to the brooke pretty hastily she finding fault with his soe doing & said that he would throw her in to the water or words to that purpose s'd Bishop Answered her that it was noe matter if he Did or words to that Effect: & soe wee Rode along all together toward Beverly & she blamed her husband for Rideing soe fast & that he would Doe her a mischeife or words to that purpose & he Answered her that it was noe matter what was Done unto her or words to that purpose: And then s'd Bishop Directed his speech unto us as we Rode along & s'd that she had ben a bad wife unto him ever since they were marryed & reckoned up many of her miscarriages to- wards him but now of Late she was worse then Ever she had ben unto him before (and that the Devill Did Come bodyly unto her & that she was familiar with the Devill & that she sate up all the night Long with the Devill) or words to that purpose & with such kinde of Discourse he filled up the time untill we Came to s'd Bishops Dwelling house & this Deponant Did reproove s'd Bishop for speaking in such a manner unto his wife s'd Bishop Answered it was nothing but what was truth & s'd Bishops wife made very Little reply to all her husbands Discourse Dureing all the time we wer with them & farther said not The accused were interrogated in public. "Salem Witch Trials: The Documentary Archive and Transcription Project," provides access to 17th century Court Records and other primary source material, as well as transcriptions, historical maps, archival collections and scanned contemporary books. The damage to the community lingered, however, even after Massachusetts Colony passed legislation restoring the good names of the condemned and providing financial restitution to their heirs in 1711. 1 My wife Sarah Good was In prison about four months & then Executed. The girls complained of bites, contorted their bodies, threw things, and fell into trances. You believe that the devil is against Massachusetts, and you believe the devil is against your church, and you believe the devil is against you as a Protestant Puritan minister. 19 people executed, were hanged, one pressed with rocks to death and few more died in jail within a year from 1692-1693. When Governor Endicott arrived in 1628, he incorporated Conant and his men into the new government. Three women were taken into custody on March 1. In January 1697, the Massachusetts General Court declared a day of fasting for the tragedy of the Salem witch trials; the court later deemed the trials unlawful, and the leading justice Samuel Sewall publicly apologized for his role in the process. An illustration depicting an officer leading away an elderly woman accused of witchcraft. 2. The first to be tried wasBridget Bishopof Salem who was found guilty and was hanged on June 10. Though popularly referred to as "the Salem witch trials," accusations had spread throughout Essex County and beyond. They were during the Colonial times. Because of the statues proximity to the museum and because of his cloak and hat and generally impressive appearance, Roger Conant is often mistaken for a participant in the Salem witch trials. These tableaux may not be suitable for all audiences. 1Derby, Perley, John Woodbury and Some of His Descendants (Salem, Massachusetts: s.n., 1900. As hysteria spread through the community and beyond into the rest of Massachusetts, a number of others were accused, including Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurseboth regarded as upstanding members of church and communityand the four-year-old daughter of Sarah Good. 3 a child of 4 or 5 years old was in prison 7 or 8 months and being chaind in the dungeon was so hardly used and terrifyed that she hath ever since been very chargeable haveing little or no reason to govern herself. *William Good Salem. Visit The Salem Witch Museum | Salem, MA Visit About the Museum The Salem Witch Museum examines one of the most enduring and emotional events in American History, the Salem witch trials of 1692. The "Salem Witch Trials" is still remembered as one of the most notorious cases of mass hysteria. Watching his wife withstand the heated examination was bad enough, but suddenly the read more, I was taken very ill again all over & felt a great pricking in ye soles of my feet, and after a while I saw apparently the shape of Margret Scott, who, as I was sitting in a chair by ye fire pulled me with ye chair, down backward to ye ground, and tormented and pinched me very read more, 1. The basic gist of her testimony is that Elizabeth and her sister came across Edward Bishop and his wife Sarah as they were riding on horseback. For everyone who remains intrigued by Salem, here are a few lesser-known facts about the witchcraft trials. Miller used historical records and texts to help construct his play. Indeed, the vivid and painful legacy of the Salem witch trials endured well into the 20th century, when Arthur Miller dramatized the events of 1692 in his play The Crucible (1953), using them as an allegory for the anti-Communist witch hunts led by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. A land grant of 1,000 acres was given to five men in 1627 in the northernmost, waterfront area of Salem, or the "Bass River Side." A dense forest separated Bass River Side from the rest of Salem. The Salem witch trials inspired Arthur Miller's 1953 play The Crucible, which is a partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials. It didnt have to go any further than those three, says Burns, but they didnt have a way to defend themselves. Eighteen others followed Bishop to Salems Gallows Hill, while some 150 more men, women and children were accused over the next several months. Mercy Lewis survived a bloody raid in 1689 by Wabanaki Native Americans in Casco Bay (present-day Portland, Maine), during which both of her parents were killed. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. A real-life horror story that has captured our imagination for ages is the Salem Witch . John Balch, who lived on this property by 1638, was one of the first five original Old Planters who settled the area, coming to Salem with Roger Conant from Gloucester in 1626. But the truth is undoubtedly more complex, and impossible to know. Ebenezer (4) Balch was born on 4 Jun 1680 in Beverly, Essex, MA. (Pg. Betty later married a shoemaker and had five children; she died in 1760. After Conants death, the colony suffered through the witch trials of 1692. John Hale of Beverly. 3Tingley, Raymon Meyers, Some Ancestral Lines: Being a Record of Some of the Ancestors of Guilford Solon Tingley and his wife Martha Pamelia Meyer (Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing Co., 1935. The trials claimed at least 367 victims (the actual toll may be higher), with just read more. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Co./George Eastman House/Getty Images. The silhouette of the egg could predict the profession of your future husband. Even the governor's wife, Lady Mary Phips, was called out as a witch. The Salem witch trials of 1692 have become a prominent feature of the American cultural consciousness. At the time, Edward was about 44 years old and Sarah Wildes Bishop was about 41 years old. Roach opens her work with chapters on the history of the Puritan . They changed their verdict to guilty. Salem, Massachusetts 01970. The Salem witch trials were done in 1692. children of John (d 1673) and Elizabeth Woodbury: From http://balchipedia.wikidot.com/elizbalch. ), p. 308, Los Angeles Public Library. 161 M iii. At the center of the Salem witch trials were a core group of accusers, all girls and young women ranging in age from nine to 20, who screamed, writhed, barked and displayed other horrifying symptoms they claimed were signs of Satanic possession. The Salem Witch Trials occurred just as Europe's "witchcraft craze'' from the 14th to 17th centuries was winding down, where an estimated tens of thousands of European witches, mostly women, were executed. "Shalom" or Peace on June 29, 1629. She is a former faculty member of the Humanist Institute. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Pub. Historical Insights The Salem Witch Trials During the year-and-a-half-long inquisition at the end of the 17th century known as the Salem Witch Trials, even the pious became suspect in small town New England. Sarah Bishop apparently made no effort to defend herself against these allegations and Elizabeth evidently took this as an indication that the allegations were correct. The Salem Witch Trials, the events of 1692 in Salem Village which resulted in 185 accused of witchcraft, 156 formally charged, 47 confessions, and 19 executed by hanging, remain one of the most studied phenomena in colonial American history. This is due largely to Nathaniel Hawthorne's fictional works, Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1953), and also some popular nonfiction books, like Marion Starkey's The Devil in Massachusetts (1949) as well as more scholarly works, principally Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum's Salem Possessed . Arthur Miller's famous play "The Crucible," published and first performed in 1953, describes the events in Salem, inspired by the eerily similar mass hysteria that at the time was manifesting in the Red Scare, when innocent people were accused and prosecuted for communist beliefs and activities. 7Torrey, Clarence Almon, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Cases would continue in a regular court in January. Between 1692 and May 1693, a series of investigations and persecutions caused 19 convicted "witches" to be hanged" and several others to be imprisoned. Researchers describe the Salem witch trials as a series of court trials that were aimed at prosecuting persons who had been accused of witchcraft. The first witch trial occurred because the daughter (Betty Parris) and niece (Abigail Williams) of the local Salem Reverend had become violently ill. In addition, this presentation discusses the emergence of the stereotypical witch and the phenomenon of witch-hunting. And so rest Your Honours humble servant The witch trials in Salem in the year 1692 was a scowling time in American history. Whispers of the devil's presence spread like wildfire across the Massachusetts Bay village of Salem in the winter of 1692. Edward Bishop may have been the son of Edward Bishop, the husband of Bridget Bishop. A: The memorial is surrounded on three sides by a handcrafted granite drywall. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Examination of a Witch by T.H. The son of Sarah and Edward Bishop Jr., Edward Bishop III, married Susannah Putnam, part of the family who had leveled many of the accusations of witchcraft in 1692. Historian Carol Karlsen has argued that Hubbard and some of the other accusers in similar circumstances may have wanted to "focus the communities' concern on their difficulties." The law of the Salem Witch Trials is a fascinating mix of biblical passages and colonial statutes. People were hanged for false beliefs and actions based on human nature and society. Elizabeth at first scolded Edward Bishop for saying these things about his wife but Edward asserted that these allegations were indeed true. Perhaps predictably, Mary Walcott joined the core group of accusers by March 1692, and went on to see numerous visions and suffer apparent afflictions at the hands of accused witches. Historians and sociologists have examined this most complex episode in our history so that we may understand the issues of that era and view subsequent events with heightened awareness. Ruth, d. Benjamin and Elizabeth (Woodbury), b. Aug. 29, 1691. Summary. in the archives. This is not true. But they held them over.. "Edward Bishop and Sarah Bishop." Phips pardoned all those sentenced to be executed by Stoughton in January 1693. Jone Johnson Lewis is a women's history writer who has been involved with the women's movement since the late 1960s. Five more people were hanged that July; five in August and eight more in September. In January 1692, 9-year-old Elizabeth (Betty) Parris and 11-year-old Abigail Williams (the daughter and niece of Samuel Parris, minister of Salem Village) began having fits, including violent contortions and uncontrollable outbursts of screaming. Abigail, age eleven, and Betty, age nine, were telling their fortunes by the light of the fire. David Balch's bedroom, where he claimed to be tormented by witches and where he died in 1690. A masterful work accurately details the current consensus of what exactly occurred to prompt the colonial witch trials. Over the course of a year and a half, nineteen people were hanged and one man was brutally tortured to death. In additionone man was pressed to death; several others died in prison, and the lives of many were irrevocably changed. Visitors experience the drama of that dark time though thirteen life-size stage sets, figures, lighting and narration as they are witness to the web of lies and intrigue of the Salem witch-hunt. . Woodbury, Agnes Woodbury, Sarah Woodbury, Abigail Woodbury, Ann Woodbury, Peter Woodbury, Peter Woodbury, Lydia Woodbury, Humphrey Woodbu John Glassford, Source: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=47854014, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Beverly, Essex County, Province of Massachusetts, https://jrm.phys.ksu.edu/genealogy/needham/d0005/I3904.html. Sarah Good, a beggar and mother, Sarah Osborne, a woman who hadnt attended church in some time, and Tituba, Parriss Indian slave, were all charged with witchcraft. At the end of the 17th century, after years of mostly resisting witch hunts and witch trial prosecutions, Puritans in New England suddenly found themselves facing a conspiracy of witches in a war against Satan and his minions. Salem, 1692. Girls started saying they were getting the devil. The Salem Witchcraft Papers: Verbatim Transcripts of the Legal Documents of the Salem Witchcraft Outbreak of 1692. During the witchcraft trials of 1692, Mary Gage (alternate spelling Gadge) testified that she had witnessed Davids illness, and had heard him claim to be tormented by witches at the foot of his bed. Brought before the judges in April 1692, she was confronted with her past statement that the afflicted persons did but dissemble, or fake their symptoms. Hathorne and Corwin could have said, Okay, we dont buy this. #33). Directors Joseph Sargent Starring Kirstie Alley, Shirley MacLaine, Rebecca De Mornay Genres Historical, Drama Subtitles English [CC] Audio languages English Title/Occupation: Granddaughter of "Old Planter" of Massachusetts Bay John Woodbury/Woodbery. Plan to allow at least one hour for your visit. Valais: France/Switzerland, 14281447 Often considered to be the first in Europe, the Valais trials began in the French-speaking southern region of Valais and spread to German-speaking Wallis. Sister of John Woodbury; Hannah Dodge; Mary Conant and Abigail Walden And then there is the 1692 Witch Trials. the mark of elezebeth Balch. The next two defendants were Rebecca Nurse, an ancestor of Burns, and Martha Cory, both fully covenanted church members and of high social standing. The court heard the cases, found 18 guilty people, and hanged them, even though they did not do anything wrong. Salem Witch Trials: Who Were the Accusers? You know a witch was arrested in Chelmsford and another up in Ipswich. The 12-year-old daughter of Thomas Putnam and his wife, Ann Carr Putnam, became one of the most prolific accusers of the trials, naming and/or testifying against more than 60 people. Lately I've been hearing some interesting tid bits of information concerning the Balch family and the Salem Witch trials.I read about an Elizabeth Balch, daughter of Benjamin Balch (son of John Balch), who testified against a woman during 1692.I have also heard some interesting information concerning Benjamin Balch.Concerning Benjamin I've heard that he was on a jury deciding cases against "witches" but I've also heard that he provided shelter and a hiding place for people he felt wrongfully accused.One story I've heard, concerning the Salem Witch Trials and the Balch family, is that there were Balches exiled from Salem for their support of accused witches.Basically I have a lot of vague tidbits of information and nothing I can confirm.Does anyone know more about this who can tell me where I can find greater information concerning both the Balch family and the Salem Witch trials.Any help would be greatly appreciated. Like Tituba, several accused witches confessed and named still others, and the trials soon began to overwhelm the local justice system. It is hosted by the University of Virginia, but the Project Staff is international. Aug 15 1654 - Salem, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America, 1698 - Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States, Anna Balch, Joseph Balch, Ebenezer Balch, Abigail Rainsford (born Balch), Elizabeth Balch, Ruth Wood (born Balch). His diagnosis of bewitchment put into motion the forces that would ultimately result in the hanging deaths of 19 men and women. Presided over by judges including Hathorne, Samuel Sewall and William Stoughton, the court handed down its first conviction, against Bridget Bishop, on June 2; she was hanged eight days later on what would become known as Gallows Hill in Salem Town. SALEM, MA Hundreds of documents from the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, which have been held at the Peabody Essex Museum's Phillips Library in Salem for the past four decades, will be. The Salem witch trials marked a seven-month period of mass hysteria in 1692 Colonial America. The Balch House is not only the oldest house standing in Beverly, but the oldest part of it is among the oldest standing structures in Massachusetts. John Hale. Edward accused his wife of entertaining Satan in her kitchen at night and various other allegations. Soon after that, Warren herself was accused of witchcraft. During the trial, Tituba confessed to having seen the devil and also stated that there was a coven, or group, of witches in the Salem Village area. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Picture Information. The Archive's collection of literary works includes works by Hawthorne, Longfellow, Whittier, and Freeman. Samuel Parris performed the ceremony. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. There were three or four Edward Bishops living in the area at that time. If it had been another time, it might just have stopped there. Matteson (1853), inspired by the Salem Witch Trials. It displays the names of the accusers and the accused, and their household locations, as recorded in the court documents. The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. The Salem Village Accusations Map shows the day-by-day accusations the month of March, 1692. Beverly V.R. Elizabeth Balch, wife of Benjamin Balch Jr., and her sister, Abigail Walden, also testified against Sarah Bishop, claiming they heard Edward accuse Elizabeth of entertaining Satan at night. The cases continued to be tried until mid May, but no one else was convicted. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Trials ensued and, when the episode concluded in May 1693, fourteen women, five men, and two dogs had been executed for their supposed supernatural crimes. George Burroughs and the Salem Witch Trials, Biography of Elizabeth Parris, Accuser in the Salem Witch Trials, Tituba and The Salem Witch Trials of 1692, John Alden Jr. and the Salem Witch Trials, Profile of Mary Lacey Sr. and Mary Lacey Jr, Salem Witch Trials, M.Div., Meadville/Lombard Theological School. Our second exhibit, Witches: Evolving Perceptions, explores the meaning behind the word witch and evolution of the image of the witch over time. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The chilling mayhem unfolded during the winter of 1692 in Salem Village, now the town of Danvers, Massachusetts, when three girls . Overall, 141 people were arrested as 19 were hanged and one person crushed to death. The Salem Witchcraft TrialsHistorical records show that the Balch family, although living in the midst of the families accused of witchcraft, remained almost totally removed from the 'witchcraft delusions' of 1692 in Salem Village (now Danvers, Massachusetts). Two Salem Village church members, Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse, five ministers, and four ministers' wives stood accused, as well as other leading members of the colony. A third of those arrested confessed but were not necessarily given lighter sentences. Over the next year, more than 150 women, men, and children from Salem Village (present-day Danvers) and neighboring communities were formally accused of practicing witchcraft. Edward and his wife were involved in an argument about how fast they were going on their horse when Edward addressed Elizabeth and her sister. The daughter and niece of the local minister, Samuel Parris, claimed to be afflicted by invisible forces who bit and pinched them, read more, In late March 1662, John and Bethia Kelly grieved over the body of their 8-year-old daughter inside their Hartford, Connecticut, home. 2023 Copyright October 19, 2021. And I leave it unto the Honourable Court to Judge what damage I have sustained by such a destruction of my poor family. Inscribed in the stone threshold entering the memorial are the victims' protests of innocence. There were reasons why it was credible that there could be witches in Salem Village, says historian Margo Burns, the associate editor of Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt. ), pp. Testimony, provided by Elizabeth, would cost Sarah Bishop her life. Little is known about Elizabeth's life prior to her marriage to Benjamin Balch on October 11, 1674. The confessions that came before were from people with no agency whatsoever, like little Dorothy. In a 1710 affidavit attempting to gain recompense for the damages they'd suffered and to clear their names, Edward Bishop said they were "prisnors for thirtiey seven wekes" and required to pay "ten shillings pur weeake for our bord" plus five pounds. Samuel Parris was dismissed from his job as minister in Salem Village, and settled with Betty and the rest of his family in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Half sister of Jonathan Dodge, Sr. Elizabeth Woodbury was born 15 August 1654 in Salem. Salem-Village Witchcraft: A Documentary Record of Local Conflict in Colonial New England. In his petition he wrote: To The Honourable Committee The humble representation Willm. They were accused of witchcraft based on spectral evidence, which meant the court accepted testimony that disembodied spirits, or specters, were sent through dreams or visions by the accused with the help of Satan to harm the victims by stabbing, choking, biting, and jabbing them with pins. Witch hunts Since witches were often shackled in jail, something like shackles must have been adapted to fit little Dorothy, the youngest person in Salem accused of practicing the devils magic.
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