SALEM Centuries-old, fragile documents from the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 are being returned to state custody after more than four decades, Trial Court and Peabody Essex Museum officials These protests are interrupted mid-sentence by the wall, symbolizing society's indifference to oppression. She eventually accused nine people of witchcraft and testified in 16 cases, including that of Rev. This image is a fanciful representation of the Salem witch trials. Ruth (4) Balch was born on 29 Aug 1691 in Beverly, Essex, MA. There, a lot who confessed were children as young as six. In 1693, the new Superior Court of Judicature tried the remaining cases and eventually cleared the jails. Though Good and Osborn denied their guilt, Tituba confessed. A scene in the courtroom during The Salem witch trials of 1692. At 20, Mary Warren worked as a servant in the household of John and Elizabeth Proctor. Overall, 141 people were arrested as 19 were hanged and one person crushed to death. InJanuary of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village became ill.William Griggs, the village doctor, was called in when they failed to improve. Soon, others were accused and the courtrooms filled with people believed to be witches. According to Mark Podvia (see Timeline, PDF), the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony adopted the following statute in 1641: "If any man or woman be a WITCH, that is, hath or consulteth with a familiar spirit, they shall be put to death. The Archive also contains educational information, such as biographical profiles, a collection of images containing portraits of notable people involved in the trials, pictures of important historic sites, historical paintings and published illustrations taken from 19th and early 20th century literary and historical works. But the truth is undoubtedly more complex, and impossible to know. Lewis, Jone Johnson. The Salem witch trials were done in 1692. 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. Though the Massachusetts General Court later annulled guilty verdicts against accused witches and granted indemnities to their families, bitterness lingered in the community, and the painful legacy of the Salem witch trials would endure for centuries. The Salem witch trials was one of the most famous witch hunt in history. Far more women than men were among the accused, convicted and executed. Context & Origins of the Salem Witch Trials, Salem Witch Trials: Conclusion and Legacy, Before America Had Witch Trials, Europe Had Werewolf Trials. Just as the jails were filling up with accused witches, the number of those claiming affliction also ramped up. Like Tituba, several accused witches confessed and named still others, and the trials soon began to overwhelm the local justice system. 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." 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. READ MORE: Salem Witch Trials: Who Were the Accusers? More than two hundred people were accused. Salem Witch Trials (407) 6.0 3 h 4 min 2003 16+ A masterful work accurately details the current consensus of what exactly occurred to prompt the colonial witch-trials. Salem included much of the North Shore, including Marblehead. ), pp. Salem Witch Museum. New England's most famous preacher and the Great Awakening. Witch hunts A: The memorial is surrounded on three sides by a handcrafted granite drywall. And its in your house! Beverly V.R. There were three or four Edward Bishops living in the area at that time. All would await trial for a crime punishable by death in17th-century New England the practice of witchcraft. I, myself, have come across the Salem Witch Trail mentions of our Balch family. Sister of John Woodbury; Hannah Dodge; Mary Conant and Abigail Walden The confessions that came before were from people with no agency whatsoever, like little Dorothy. If it had been another time, it might just have stopped there. "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. Salem Witch Trials: Directed by Joseph Sargent. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Did you know? In addition, seven other accused witches died in jail, while the elderly Giles Corey (Marthas husband) was pressed to death by stones after he refused to enter a plea at his arraignment. A doctor diagnosed the children as being victims of black magic, and over the next several months, read more, John Proctor sat in the courtroom, watching his pregnant wife, Elizabeth on the stand. The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between early 1692 and mid-1693. They accused the majority of the victims in the . Hover to zoom. But when they got to Andover, the magistrates were really good at interrogating people in private. From June 1692 to March 1693, hysteria swept through the Massachusetts Bay Colony, leading to the execution of twenty-five men, women, and children. 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. On September 13, 1710, William Good went before the court to receive restitution for the losses he endured years earlier. 5 Notable Women Hanged in the Salem Witch Trials, How the Salem Witch Trials Influenced the American Legal System. With the Bill of Rights in place, interpretations of the First Amendment consistently ruled that slander and defamation were not protected by the Constitution. Salem will be 400 years old in 2026. 161 M iii. After the trials, Mary Walcott married a local man, Isaac Farrar; Rev. And I leave it unto the Honourable Court to Judge what damage I have sustained by such a destruction of my poor family. 33). It wasnt so much whether specters existed, it was how you interpret it. 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. There were discussions going on between ministers, says Burns. The witch trials in Salem in the year 1692 was a scowling time in American history. In his petition he wrote: To The Honourable Committee The humble representation Willm. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. A statue of Roger Conant, the founder of Salem, stands outside the Salem Witch Museum. The law of the Salem Witch Trials is a fascinating mix of biblical passages and colonial statutes. Roger Toothaker - died before trial (June 16, 1692) probably due to torture or maltreatment. They had seizures, hid under chairs, talked in gibberish, and ran fevers. Among those who testified against Sarah Bishop was the Rev. Died: 1698, Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA Title page of A Modest Enquiry Into the Nature of Witchcraft, pub. The museum presentation depicts tragic history, including a tableau of the Devil, the pressing of Giles Corey and hanging of George Burroughs. 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. It displays the names of the accusers and the accused, and their household locations, as recorded in the court documents. Sarah Osborne ( ne Warren) - died in prison (May 10, 1692) before she could be tried. Sarah and her husband Edward Bishop, Jr are listed on Wikipedia as having escaped the Boston prison where they were being held before trial. More than 200 accused witched occupied the local jail. The chilling mayhem unfolded during the winter of 1692 in Salem Village, now the town of Danvers, Massachusetts, when three girls . 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. To understand the events of theSalem Witch Trials, it is necessary to examine the times in which accusations of witchcraft occurred. $5.36 . She was daughter of John Woodbury (d 1673) & his wife Elizabeth. Amid waning public support for the trials, Governor Phips dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer in October and mandated that its successor disregard spectral evidence. Hathorne and Corwin could have said, Okay, we dont buy this. Betty never attended the subsequent trials; her parents sent her away to live with family to avoid the uproar. After Conants death, the colony suffered through the witch trials of 1692. Betty and Abigail soon accused Tituba, the enslaved woman owned by Samuel Parris, whose subsequent confession launched a full-blown witchcraft crisis in Salem. Boston, 1702, and written by Sarah Bishop's accuser, Rev. 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. They escaped from the Boston jail for a short time. Edward and Sarah Bishop were found to have committed witchcraft against Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, and Abigail Williams. The first provides an immersive look into the events of 1692. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. The Salem witch trials marked a seven-month period of mass hysteria in 1692 Colonial America. 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. The tradition was English superstition: crack an egg into a glass of water, then wait for it to settle into shape. Elizabeth, d. Benjamin and Elizabeth, July 6, 1688. The main reason was its 600 plus residents were divided into two main parts: those who wanted to separate from Salem Town, and those who did not. Words About the Word 'Witch', via Digital History. Have one to sell? 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. 4Ferris, Mary Walton, Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines (Milwaukee: Cuneo Press, Inc., 1943. The three accused witches were brought before the magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne and questioned, even as their accusers appeared in the courtroom in a grand display of spasms, contortions, screaming and writhing. Getty Images It's hard to imagine that the sleepy . A scion of one of Salems most prominent families, and a close ally of Parris, Thomas served as a key instigator of the witch trials; he wrote many of the depositions for the afflicted, including his daughter and later his wife, Ann Putnam Sr. After her parents died suddenly in 1699, Ann Jr. was left to look after her seven younger siblings. The big discussion was whether the devil could impersonate somebody with or without their permission. Samuel Skelton was the first pastor of the First Church of Salem, which is the original Puritan church in North America. A third of those arrested confessed but were not necessarily given lighter sentences. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 tell us so much about how women have been targeted throughout history. Mary Easty: Hanged as a Witch in Salem, 1692, Rev. Ann Foster (ne Alcock) (Important in Salem) Mercy, infant daughter of Sarah Good. The girls complained of bites, contorted their bodies, threw things, and fell into trances. The witch trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. Elizabeth Balch, along with her sister Abigail Walden, made testimony against Sarah Bishop and both signed their testimonies with the first letter of their first names. He and his wife Hannah signed a petition protesting the accusations against Rebecca Nurse. By September 1692, people were starting to think that the trials weren't fair. Miller used historical records and texts to help construct his play. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. 7Torrey, Clarence Almon, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985. The court heard the cases, found 18 guilty people, and hanged them, even though they did not do anything wrong. Boyer, Paul, Stephen Nissenbaum, and United States. State and Jurisdictional Humanities Councils, HUMANITIES: The Magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities, SUBSCRIBE FOR HUMANITIES MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION, Sign up for HUMANITIES Magazine newsletter. So that was tantamount to saying Rebecca Nurse gave the devil permission to go out and afflict these girls in her image.. A period of less than a year caused such turmoil that Salem, Massachusetts, is still widely known for the trials. As a wave of hysteria spread throughout colonial Massachusetts, a special court convened in Salem to hear the cases; the first convicted witch, Bridget Bishop, was hanged that June. Salem Witch Museum 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. Summary. 2 a sucking child dyed in prison before the Mothers Execution. The Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project consists of an electronic collection of primary source materials relating to the Salem witch trials of 1692 and a new transcription of the court records. She had six children, and died in 1752, at the age of 77. The Salem Witch Trials: The History of Women as Witches. Re: Salem Witch Trials and the Balch Family. EXTRA 10% OFF 3+ ITEMS See all eligible items and terms. A girl points to an accused woman during the Salem witch trials in this engraving from 1900. Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images. She married Benjamin Balch (c. 1653 - Spring 1698) on October 11, 1674; he was the son of Benjamin Balch and Sarah Gardner. Known for her tendency to go into trances in the courtroom, she claimed frequently to be tormented by the specters of the accused. 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. Jone Johnson Lewis is a women's history writer who has been involved with the women's movement since the late 1960s. https://www.historicbeverly.net/visit/our-locations/balch-house/. 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. Shortly after Ann Jr. was afflicted, Lewis began showing signs of affliction as well. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Inscribed in the stone threshold entering the memorial are the victims' protests of innocence. Website designed and developed by Sperling Interactive. The grand jury couldnt even indict Tituba, says Burns. The first is a deposition by Elizabeth Woodbury Balch, wife of Benjamin Jr. and her sister Abigail regarding Sarah Bishop, wife of Edward. Salem Witch Trials of 1692 In January of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village became ill. William Griggs, the village doctor, was called in when they failed to improve. Burns examines the witch trials through original-source documents in The Capital Crime of Witchcraft: What the Primary Sources Tell Us, a presentation sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities Council. "Edward Bishop and Sarah Bishop." Abigail, on the other hand, played a prominent role in the Salem witch trials, accusing a total of 57 people of witchcraft. When the trial for Sarah Bishop came along Elizabeth Balch testified against her. During the 18th and 19th centuries, it developed as one of New England's leading maritime and shipbuilding centres, and during the American Revolution (1775-83) and the War of 1812 its port served as a privateers' base. 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 Seizures, hid under chairs, talked in gibberish, and the courtrooms filled with people believed to be.... 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