Edward and Sarah were jailed in Salem and then in Boston, and their property was seized. Laura Wolff Scanlan is a writer in Wheaton, Illinois. Amid these simmering tensions, the Salem witch trials would be fueled by residents suspicions of and resentment toward their neighbors, as well as their fear of outsiders. READ MORE: Women Weren't the Only Victims of the Salem Witch Trials. Bridget Bishop is usually credited with running a tavern that was something of a town scandal, but it was more likely Sarah and Edward Bishop who ran it out of their home. 5Rasmussen, James A., "Edward Raynsford of Boston," NEHGR 139:4 (Oct 1985) (New England Historic, Genealogical Society. At the time, Edward was about 44 years old and Sarah Wildes Bishop was about 41 years old. READ MORE: Before America Had Witch Trials, Europe Had Werewolf Trials. 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. Peabody Essex Museum . Lewis experiences, along with her uncertain future as an orphaned servant and her connection with the Putnam family, could have played a role in her actions. After the trials ended, Lewis gave birth to an illegitimate child; she married in 1701 and moved to Boston with her husband and child. And its in your house! Other times, she sat in the courtroom and knitted calmly while other afflicted girls had fits around her. The parallels between the Salem Witch Trials and more modem examples ofwitch huntinglike the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, are remarkable. Belief in the supernaturaland specifically in the devils practice of giving certain humans (witches) the power to harm others in return for their loyaltyhad emerged in Europe as early as the 14th century, and was widespread in colonial New England. 19 1/2 Washington Square North She married Benjamin Balch (c. 1653 - Spring 1698) on October 11, 1674; he was the son of Benjamin Balch and Sarah Gardner. 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. Paranoia was sweeping Salem, and Elizabeth wasbeing examined by a local judge on suspicion of witchcraft. 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. The Salem witchcraft trials, which began in May of 1692 after months of rumors of Satanic influence, still grip the American imagination more than 300 years later. Ebenezer (4) Balch was born on 4 Jun 1680 in Beverly, Essex, MA. Sarah Osborne ( ne Warren) - died in prison (May 10, 1692) before she could be tried. It displays the names of the accusers and the accused, and their household locations, as recorded in the court documents. children of John (d 1673) and Elizabeth Woodbury: From http://balchipedia.wikidot.com/elizbalch. Warrens fate after the trials is unknown. 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. Edward Bishop may have been the son of Edward Bishop, the husband of Bridget Bishop. Salem Village had a very colorful history before the famous witch trials. 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. Testimony, provided by Elizabeth, would cost Sarah Bishop her life. Did you know? One of the accusers listed in the court documents of Sarah Good was her daughter, Dorothy, who was coerced during an interrogation. Boston, 1702, and written by Sarah Bishop's accuser, Rev. She was daughter of John Woodbury (d 1673) & his wife Elizabeth. + 162 F iv. Summary. ), p. 308, Los Angeles Public Library. (Pg. 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 . George Burroughs, a former minister of Salem Village who had relocated to Casco Bay, where Lewis had briefly worked for him as a servant. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraftthe devil's magic and 20 were executed.. 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). The confessions that came before were from people with no agency whatsoever, like little Dorothy. 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. The museum consists of two presentations. The Salem witch trials were done in 1692. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Click to enlarge. Of the accused witches Walcott testified against, 16 were executed, one (Giles Corey) was pressed to death and another died in jail. Salem, Massachusetts 01970. Examination of a Witch by T.H. . 19 1/2 Washington Square North The city of Salem attracts visitors today as the harbor and rivers and fields of Naumkeag drew Roger Conant over 300 years ago. By Amber C. Snider. 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 [email protected] you are republishing it or have any questions. Elizabeth joined Betty, Abigail and Ann Jr. among the first four accusers, and went on to testify against 29 people in the Salem witch trials, 13 of whom were executed. A: The memorial is surrounded on three sides by a handcrafted granite drywall. Hathorne and Corwin could have said, Okay, we dont buy this. In late February, arrest warrants were issued for the Parris Caribbean slave, Tituba, along with two other womenthe homeless beggar Sarah Good and the poor, elderly Sarah Osbornwhom the girls accused of bewitching them. 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. 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. ), pp. The oldest house in Beverly was the scene of witchcraft accusations two years before 1692. 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. The afflicted girls were asked to name names, and they did. 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. 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). He identified these tormentors as Sarah Wildes, Dorcas Hoar, and an un-named witch from Marblehead, most likely Wilmott Redd. In February 1692, the Massachusetts Bay Colony town of Salem Village found itself at the center of a notorious case of mass hysteria: eight young women accused their neighbors of witchcraft. ), p. 34, Los Angeles Public Library, Gen 974 T694. + 160 M ii. Though popularly referred to as "the Salem witch trials," accusations had spread throughout Essex County and beyond. But when they got to Andover, the magistrates were really good at interrogating people in private. A period of less than a year caused such turmoil that Salem, Massachusetts, is still widely known for the trials. The museum is open year-round, every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Day and in January for several weeks as we close to paint, and prepare the museum for the upcoming season. His diagnosis of bewitchment put into motion the forces that would ultimately result in the hanging deaths of 19 men and women. The next two people should not have had their cases go forward. The witch trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. In June of 1692, the special Court of Oyer (to hear) and Terminer (to decide) sat in Salem to hear the cases of witchcraft. Phips pardoned all those sentenced to be executed by Stoughton in January 1693. The Salem Witch Trials: The History of Women as Witches. 19 people executed, were hanged, one pressed with rocks to death and few more died in jail within a year from 1692-1693. They later accused people in their community of being witches. Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth was an orphan who worked as a maid in the household of her aunt, Rachel Griggs, and her husband, William Griggs, the doctor who first attended the afflicted girls in the Parris household. These trials were because of a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts that accused different people of practicing witchcraft. She married Benjamin Balch (c. 1653 - Spring 1698) on October 11, 1674; he was the son of Benjamin Balch and Sarah Gardner. Nurse was found not guilty, but Stoughton sent the jurors to reconsider. Geni requires JavaScript! We have modified our mask policy. Plan to allow at least one hour for your visit. sustained by him in the year 1692. by reason This Edward Bishop seems to be the one who was born on April 23, 1648. 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. She eventually accused nine people of witchcraft and testified in 16 cases, including that of Rev. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. It was an allegory for the United States government's persecution of people accused of being communists. Keep in mind the historical documents aren't consistent and scholars believe some might have been changed to protect the families involved in the finger-pointing, as they were later ashamed of the whole thing. The 16-year-old daughter of Captain Jonathan Walcott, leader of the Salem Village militia, was related to the Putnam family by marriage; Ann Jr. was her step-cousin. No, you didnt see her, because we know this person. Salem Witch Museum On March 23, 1692, a warrant was issued for the arrest of four-year-old Dorothy Good of Salem Village on "suspition of acts of Witchcraft." She 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. ), p. 6, Los Angeles Public Library, 929.2 W881-2. [E]benezer, s. Benjamin and Elizabeth (Woodbury), b. June 4, 1680. The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between early 1692 and mid-1693. Salem Witch Trials: The Hysteria Spreads Salem Witch Trials: Conclusion and Legacy The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem. 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. A girl points to an accused woman during the Salem witch trials in this engraving from 1900. Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images. In October, Increase Mather, a prominent minister in Boston, denounced the use of spectral evidence: It were better that ten suspected witches should escape than one innocent person be condemned. That same month, Governor Phips terminated the special court. #33). He and his wife Hannah signed a petition protesting the accusations against Rebecca Nurse. EXTRA 10% OFF 3+ ITEMS See all eligible items and terms. Edward and Sarah Bishop were found to have committed witchcraft against Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, and Abigail Williams. Cases would continue in a regular court in January. 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. Our second exhibit, Witches: Evolving Perceptions, explores the meaning behind the word witch and evolution of the image of the witch over time. Salem included much of the North Shore, including Marblehead. Words About the Word 'Witch', via Digital History. They accused the majority of the victims in the . Salem in Massachusetts is famous for the dark history which fell upon the city over 300 years ago when Puritans ruled the land with their strict authoritative rules. 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. Boyer, Paul, Stephen Nissenbaum, and United States. The court heard the cases, found 18 guilty people, and hanged them, even though they did not do anything wrong. Known for her tendency to go into trances in the courtroom, she claimed frequently to be tormented by the specters of the accused. These tableaux may not be suitable for all audiences. Hale stated that "Edward Bishop's would have been a house if great profaneness and iniquity" if the behavior had not been stopped. David Balch's bedroom, where he claimed to be tormented by witches and where he died in 1690. In May 1692, the newly appointed governor of Massachusetts, William Phips, ordered the establishment of a special Court of Oyer (to hear) and Terminer (to decide) on witchcraft cases for Suffolk, Essex and Middlesex counties. 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. Petition for bail from accused witches (American Memory) 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. It is hosted by the University of Virginia, but the Project Staff is international. Trials continued with dwindling intensity until early 1693, and by that May Phips had pardoned and released all those in prison on witchcraft charges. 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