John Hathornes mansion burned down in the great fire of October 6, 1774 which also destroyed a nearby meetinghouse, seven other homes and 14 stores. The house, which was built sometime between 1662-1673, still stands today and serves as the office of the Wenham Historical Association. The Salem witch trials were a series of court trials conducted over a long period of time. With the seeds of paranoia planted, a stream of accusations followed over the next few months. It is not known what happened to the house but in 1764, Judge Benjamin Pickman built a large brick house there. As described by "The European Witch Craze of the 14th to 17th Centuries: A Sociologist's Perspective," there were witch trials throughout Europe, starting in the 14th century. It was believed that witches were attacking them. Salem Witch Trials. She said that she and the other witches rode through the sky on sticks. We can guess from the circumstances that Parris enslaved Tituba in Barbados, probably when she was 12 or a few years older. Mather was buried here when he died in 1728 at the age of 65. The Puritans were thought to be working with the Devil if they did not conform to societys standards. Although the Salem Witch Trials are well-known for having their victims being burned at the stake, that was actually less common than being hanged. It all began in 1692 and 1693 when Salem in the United States . Our Colonial Homes. Adults questioned them, insisting that they reveal who was attacking them with magic. Many of the accused were outsiders in their communities, and only confessed when tortured. When she was 29, she confessed (quoted via History of Massachusetts) that she had accused people of terrible crimes and some of those people had been killed. After she died sometime around 1691-92, Sheriff Corwin inherited it. Sarah Osbourn was one of the first women accused in the Salem Witch Trials when she was accused in February of 1692. As described by Smithsonian, there were three mass executions under Gallows Hill, specifically on a rocky ledge. Pike was buried here after he died in 1706 at the age of 90. People were classified as witches when they act strange or different from the majority. This was the home of Reverend Joseph Gerrish in 1692. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Endicott gave the farm to his son, John, in 1653. Abigail officially charged Burroughs with being the first in Salem to serve the devil, and to convert others to the diabolic cause. Good Puritans were expected to live a simple life and never give into temptations to live in a more pleasurable way. According to Smithsonian Magazine there were more than 200 people accused of witchcraft and 20 of those people were executed.. In 1911, the former location of the Howe homestead on the farm was discovered by a writer investigating the history of the Salem Witch Trials. The physical symptoms, like seizing up, did not get worse over time as one would expect with repeated poisoning. The building has been heavily renovated since it was first built. Margaret Toothaker was hanged in the ninth execution. In 1935, Goodalls son Alfred and his wife began offering tours of the home and the old dungeon underneath. Giles Corey, Marthas 71-year-old husband, was pressed to death in September 1692 with heavy stones after refusing to submit himself to a trial. Nicholas Noyes who officiated as the clergymen at many of the Salem Witch Trials executions. Site of Beadles Tavern:Address: south side of Essex Street, opposite of Washington Square E, Salem, Mass. Witchcraftphobia, as the name suggests, is a fear of witches. Bridget Bishop was the first person tried for witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Description. Puritans thought that when witches joined forces with the devil, they signed his book in blood. Hale died in this home on May 15, 1700. The Puritan villagers believed all the quarreling was the work of the devil. When Dorcas was 22, and the trials were long over, her father William Good stated that she had never fully recovered and had, "ever since been very changeable" (via "The Salem Witchcraft Trials in United States History"). As stated in "Salem Possessed," Sarah married an indentured servant with a large amount of debt. In 1784, Joshua Ward demolished Sheriff George Corwins house on the property and built a large brick mansion on the spot. The trials consisted of accusations of witchcraft against hundreds of people, and for the unfortunate one's it would mean their death. The Salem witch trials have been called one of the most shameful events in American history. It is not known what happened to the original parsonage, but by the 19th century the building was gone and the land was being used for agricultural purposes. In fact, it was even cemented in medieval law that witches should be burned though many were killed in other ways and burned after death. The Salem witch trials started with two girls having unexplainable fits. The community was divided between those who supported the new reverend and those who didn't. There is also a memorial marker for Wilmot Redd located on Old Burial Hill. Jealousy was one of the main causes of the Salem witch trials. As stated byHistory, it is believed that the girls were playing a fortune-telling game with an egg when they began acting strangely. Because of this fear, witch hunts were depicted in the text. In history, the United States has never known a government cover-up. Sibley herself repented and was never charged with witchcraft. Your email address will not be published. Jess Blumberg It was later also the home of Judge Samuel Holten, a physician, statesman and judge, who was a signer of the Articles of Confederation and served in the Continental Congress in the 1770s and 1780s. He was accused in April of 1692 during his wife Elizabeth Proctors examination. Sarah Good was one of the other two women that Abigail and Betty accused of witchcraft. They could have acted strangely because they were afraid of a fortune-telling game, according to some sources. Most vistors think that present day Salem is where it all happened when it really didnt ! Abner Cheney Goodell purchased the structure of the old jail and remodeled it into a home. The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. Im glad you liked it. What really happened in the 1692 Salem witch trials? This proximity to the Native Americans led to a lot of fear and paranoia among the settlers. However, even some who believed in witchcraft felt that using spectral evidence to get a conviction was a mistake. The majority of those accused of witchcraft in Salem were killed on a ledge below Gallows Hill. The Salem witch trials were a time of hysterical horror in history. The farm stayed in the Nurse family until it was inherited by the Putnam family in 1784. As a result, eight were imprisoned or exiled from the colony. The hysteria started in January 1692 when Reverend Parris' daughter Elizabeth and niece Abigail started to experience "violent contortions and uncontrollable outbursts of screaming. Ct. Oyer & Terminer 1692-1693, Beginning in 1621 Puritans moved from England to settle in the American colonies, particularly in the area of New England. Ingersoll Tavern:Address: 199 Hobart Street, Danvers, Mass. Mary Perkins Bradburys GraveAddress: Salisbury Colonial Burying Ground, Beach Road, Salisbury, Mass. Both men were jurors in the Salem Witch Trials and both men reportedly signed a confession of error in 1697 stating that they were sadly deluded and mistaken during the trials. Visit this site's About page to find out more about Rebecca. She believed the only way to counter witchcraft's effects was a different type of magic: a witch cake. Instead, they seemed to react to specific stimuli, like seeing the "witch" or touching religious items. During the trials held in Salem town in Essex County, the accused were slandered with little recourse and denied rights that should have been granted under English common law. In their sermons, ministers warned about the constant temptations that the devil would present to even good and holy people. The events in that film are based on true testimony and documents from the time. In 1733, Phillip English donated a section of land, on the corner of Brown and St. Peter Street, to build a small wooden church called the St. Peters Episcopal Church. Site of Sarah Wildes HomeAddress: Triangular area between Perkins Row and Meetinghouse Lane, Topsfield, Mass. I am a 10 th generation descendant from Martha Carrier from her son Andrew. The Salem witch trials have become synonymous with religious fervor and paranoia leading to violence. As a result of the Salem Witch Trials, preliminaries attempted to uncover, recognize, and slaughter the entire population of witches, women, and men who practiced black magic. Also, on July 3, 1692, Rebecca Nurse was excommunicated by Reverend Nicholas Noyes at this meetinghouse as was Giles Corey in September. Known as King Williams War to colonists, the conflict ravaged regions of upstate New York, Nova Scotia and Quebec, sending refugees into the county of Essexand, specifically, Salem Villagein the Massachusetts Bay Colony. At the time of her arrest, Osbourn was living in this house, which was then located on Spring Street. The people of Salem were convinced that there were people doing the devil's bidding in their community, which left them with the task of figuring out who among them were witches. He came to the defense of John and Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse in 1692 when he signed a petition calling for their release from jail. William Murrays House:Address: 39 Essex Street, Salem, Mass. Sewall was buried here after he died on January 1, 1730 at the age of 78. Were going to look at an article from Newsweek, an American news magazine that is heavily Democratic. 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. Reverend John Hale was buried here after he died in 1700 at the age of 64. The people of Salem were affected by hysteria in a number of ways. What is the truth behind the "Salem Witch Trials?" Despite these concerns about the validity of dreams and visions, spectral evidence continued to be used in Salem against accused witches. Samuel Parris had a 9-year-old daughter Betty and an 11-year-old niece Abigail. The memorial was dedicated in May of 1992, during the Danvers Witchcraft Tercentennial Commemoration. All accused witches were subjected to brutal tests in Salem, including being stripped and examined for strange imperfections. Another reason is because Danvers is a small suburban town and the locations of the Salem Witch Trials sites in Danvers are spread out over miles. Before he was hanged, Burroughs said the Lord's Prayer. In 1992, an unidentified body believed to be Jacobs was found on the property and moved to the Nurse homestead so the property could be sold. Several different versions of the Salem witch trials have been portrayed over the years, but The Crucible, which debuted in 1991, is most likely the best. Because of her exceptional state of mind, she was the most intelligent and informed witness in the first trial, as well as the most informed and observed of all witches. As Tituba discovered through her confession (via the Smithsonian), if neighbors and former friends began lying about someone and saying they were in league with the devil, sometimes the safest thing for the accused witch to do was to agree and ask forgiveness. In 1877, the building hosted Alexander Graham Bells first public demonstration of the telephone. The early events of the witch trials, particularly the first handful of accusations and pretrial examinations, occurred in Salem Village in March of 1692. Several ideas have been suggested for how to solve the problem, each with varying degrees of persuasiveness. Visiting these sites is a great way to experience the history of the trials firsthand. If he had been convicted of witchcraft, it would have been seized. This autumn marks an important anniversary in the Salem witch trials 325 years ago, Salem-area residents began harvesting a crop that launched a nightmare. He ultimately pardoned all the accused witches in prison. While he continued to have many supporters, there were vocal critics. Instead, in 1692, hanging was the preferred form of punishment. Old North Parish Burial GroundAddress: Academy Road, North Andover, Mass.Admission: Free admission. She was arrested and brought to Salem Village where she was examined by Judge John Hathorne and Judge Jonathan Corwin. All three women were brought before the local magistrates and interrogated for several days, starting on March 1, 1692. I am descended of the Feltons, Putnams and Bradburys. Salem Village Witchcraft Victims Memorial:Address: 176 Hobart Street, Danvers, Mass. The majority of the accused witches were held in the jail in Salem town (as well as jails in Ipswich and Boston). There is a drawing, different from the one you have, and the book states the Tavern was west of Daniels, across from now Washington Square East; then Thomas Beadles Lane. False accusations were made out of fear that any one could be a part of a conspiracy created by the devil. The trial of George Jacobs, one of 19 villagers who would meet their death at the gallows in 1692. Local legend says that English threatened to steal Corwins body and hold it for ransom. . They went alternately shaky and still. John Hathorne was a notorious judge in the Salem Witch Trials. She described a pair of cats, one black and one red, that had demanded she obey them. This led to a lot of finger-pointing and accusations, which often resulted in violence. It is believed some may have been guilty of actual crimes, but the majority were scapegoats. What were the Salem Witch Trials? When they wouldn't accept it, her story changed. In the years following the trials and executions, some involved, like judge Samuel Sewall and accuser Ann Putnam, publicly confessed error and guilt. Several wooden beams from the dungeon were recovered and donated to the Peabody Essex Museum. 02. Here are 10 things you need to know about the notorious witch trials. Redd was found guilty in September and was among the last victims of the witch trials when she was hanged on September 22, 1692. Parris would eventually ask forgiveness from the congregation. Ultimately the girls agreed on three names: Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba. Witchcraft has long been a contentious topic, as it challenges other religions beliefs and, in some cases, attacks Christianity. According to a former neighbor, Mary Eastey, the sister of Rebecca Nurse, had a ghost that visited one of her accusers. S. Perley, 1928. Because the villagers had such strong feelings about witchcraft, they accused it of being evil, causing a frenzy and false accusations. While Salem is often described as group hysteria which is an accurate description in many ways the process that the community used to accuse and execute witches was entirely legal. Over the following year many trials were held and many people imprisoned. Authorities examined the accusers in order for them to be found guilty of the allegations, which eventually resulted in a trial. Site of Philip Englishs Mansion:Address: 11 Essex Street, Salem, Mass. Her confession demonstrates how easily a child can be coerced into making false accusations. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The Puritans also believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible. The Salem Witch Trial was held at the Salem Village Meetinghouse in Salem, Massachusetts. In 1935, Goodalls son Alfred and his wife began offering tours of the home and the old dungeon underneath. People accused their neighbors, friends, and their own family members of joining forces with the devil. Privately owned land. The Salem Witch Trials cases were heard in the courthouse in Salem town located in the center of Washington Street about 100 feet south of Lynde Street, opposite of where the Masonic Temple now stands. As far as I know Im not related to anyone involved in the witch trials (although some of my ancestors, the Fitchs, lived in the area at the time and had the same last name as some of the accusers in Esther Elwells case so perhaps but I cant find any evidence of it.) John Proctor was found guilty on August 5 and executed on August 19, 1692 at Proctors Ledge in Salem. Former Site of Alice Parkers House:Address: English Street, Salem, Mass. This is a lesson from Salem. It could be that living in an insular and repressed community triggered these symptoms. Only a few of these sites still have the original buildings from that time period.