From June 1692 to March 1693, hysteria swept through the Massachusetts Bay Colony, leading to the execution of twenty-five men, women, and children. Your instructor will guide you through a series of activities using some of the following resources. Just the usual suspects. Though adult womenand a few menaccused their neighbors of witchcraft in 1692, the core group of accusers were girls. The big discussion was whether the devil could impersonate somebody with or without their permission. ), The Depotion of Elizabeth Balch of Beverly Aged aboute Eight & thirty years & wife unto Benjamin Balch ju'r This Deponant Testifieth hereby & saith that she being at Salem on the very Day that Cap't Georg Curwin was buried & in the evening of s'd Day Cominge from s'd Salem unto s'd Beverly on horse back with her sister then known by the name of Abigaile Woodburie now Abigaile Waldon Living in Wenham wife unto Nathaniell Waldon Rideing behinde her & as they were Rideing as befour & were Come soe far as Crane River Common soe Called Edward Bishop & his wife over tooke us (on horse back) who are both now in prison under suspition of witchcraft & had some words of Difference it seemed unto us. The court heard the cases, found 18 guilty people, and hanged them, even though they did not do anything wrong. Three women were taken into custody on March 1. 32, 450, Family History Library. At 20, Mary Warren worked as a servant in the household of John and Elizabeth Proctor. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Five more were hanged in August and eight in September. Soon after that, Warren herself was accused of witchcraft. After the trials, Hubbard disappears from the historical record. In January 1692, a doctor was called to the home of Reverend Samuel Parris, the Puritan minister of Salem Village (present-day Danvers, Massachusetts), after his nine-year-old daughter, Betty, and her 11-year-old cousin, Abigail Williams, began exhibiting strange symptoms, such as convulsing, barking and speaking unintelligible words. But when they got to Andover, the magistrates were really good at interrogating people in private. 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. At the time of the Salem witch trials, an older Edward Bishop also lived in Salem. Soon, others were accused and the courtrooms filled with people believed to be witches. They escaped from the Boston jail for a short time. 5Rasmussen, James A., "Edward Raynsford of Boston," NEHGR 139:4 (Oct 1985) (New England Historic, Genealogical Society. 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 . 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. The law of the Salem Witch Trials is a fascinating mix of biblical passages and colonial statutes. After their trial their son, Samuel Bishop recovered their property. sustained by him in the year 1692. by reason Increase Mather, president of Harvard College (and Cottons father) later joined his son in urging that the standards of evidence for witchcraft must be equal to those for any other crime, concluding that It would better that ten suspected witches may escape than one innocent person be condemned.. The afflicted girls soon accused several local women of bewitching them, read more, In January 1692, a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts became consumed by disturbing fits accompanied by seizures, violent contortions and bloodcurdling screams. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Betty later married a shoemaker and had five children; she died in 1760. 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. The girls complained of bites, contorted their bodies, threw things, and fell into trances. 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. 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. Re: Salem Witch Trials and the Balch Family. 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. Children from this marriage were: + 159 F i. She is a former faculty member of the Humanist Institute. 19 people executed, were hanged, one pressed with rocks to death and few more died in jail within a year from 1692-1693. 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. An illustration depicting an officer leading away an elderly woman accused of witchcraft. 1Derby, Perley, John Woodbury and Some of His Descendants (Salem, Massachusetts: s.n., 1900. 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. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. READ MORE: Salem Witch Trials: Who Were the Accusers? Though she began showing signs of affliction early in the crisis, she apparently recovered after John Proctor, an outspoken critic of the witch trials, threatened to beat her. Salem Village had a very colorful history before the famous witch trials. In all, 19 were hanged, one pressed to death, and five others died in jail. Mary Easty: Hanged as a Witch in Salem, 1692, Rev. In his petition he wrote: To The Honourable Committee The humble representation Willm. Girls started saying they were getting the devil. 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. Presided over by Chief Justice William Stoughton, the court was made up of magistrates and jurors. Boyer, Paul, Stephen Nissenbaum, and United States. Note: Bishop is sometimes spelled Bushop or Besop in the records. Salem-Village Witchcraft: A Documentary Record of Local Conflict in Colonial New England. 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). In May, the new Massachusetts governor, Sir William Phips, established a special court to try the witchcraft cases, presided over by William Stoughton. It is hosted by the University of Virginia, but the Project Staff is international. The Archive's historical maps of Salem Village, Salem, and Andover show the locations of the houses of many of the people involved in the trials. And then there is the 1692 Witch Trials. Two years before the witchcraft hysteria arrived in Essex County, David Balch, grandson of the patriarch John Balch, was ill and bedridden in this house. 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. Edward and Sarah Bishop were found to have committed witchcraft against Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, and Abigail Williams. Between 1692 and May 1693, a series of investigations and persecutions caused 19 convicted "witches" to be hanged" and several others to be imprisoned. In June of 1692, the special Court of Oyer (to hear) and Terminer (to decide) sat in Salem to hear the cases of witchcraft. The initial accusers were Betty Parris (age 9) and . To understand the events of theSalem Witch Trials, it is necessary to examine the times in which accusations of witchcraft occurred. It wasnt so much whether specters existed, it was how you interpret it. Getty Images It's hard to imagine that the sleepy . His father was the leading merchant of Clayton, a neighboring parish. When Governor Endicott arrived in 1628, he incorporated Conant and his men into the new government. the mark of Abigail walden. Born: 13 August 1654, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA 164 F vi. In 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts, young girls suddenly developed odd symptoms. Matteson (1853), inspired by the Salem Witch Trials. 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 When pious men and women who were in good standing in their own churches were accused, there was pushback, says Burns. At the time, Edward was about 44 years old and Sarah Wildes Bishop was about 41 years old. A scene in the courtroom during The Salem witch trials of 1692. BOSTON (AP) 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 . Lewis, Jone Johnson. John Hale vs. Sarah Bishop witchcraft trial. Title/Occupation: Granddaughter of "Old Planter" of Massachusetts Bay John Woodbury/Woodbery. + 159 F i. Anna (4) Balch was born about 1675 in Beverly, Essex, MA and died on 23 Aug 1726 in Beverly, Essex, MA. Edward and Sarah Bishop were examined on April 22 by magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne, on the same day as Sarah Wildes, Mary Easty, Nehemiah Abbott Jr., William and Deliverance Hobbs, Mary Black, and Mary English. However, Sarah Bishop's year of birth is not known. The three women were thrown in jail to await trial for practicing witchcraft. This is not true. But they held them over.. Visitors can choose to mask or not. 2023 Copyright Witchcraft, History Matters. This presentation focuses on the European witch trials and the background leading to the Salem witch trials. We have modified our mask policy. ), p. 6, Los Angeles Public Library, 929.2 W881-2. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Edward and Sarah were jailed in Salem and then in Boston, and their property was seized. Picture Information. But the damage was done, and it was devastating. at a time when America was convulsed by a new epidemic of witchhunting, The Crucible brilliantly explores the threshold between individual guilt and mass hysteria, personal spite and collective evil." This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. of the sufferings of his family upon the account of supposed Witchcraft. She married Benjamin Balch (c. 1653 - Spring 1698) on October 11, 1674; he was the son of Benjamin Balch and Sarah Gardner. Roach opens her work with chapters on the history of the Puritan . 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). READ MORE: Before America Had Witch Trials, Europe Had Werewolf Trials. Our second exhibit, Witches: Evolving Perceptions, explores the meaning behind the word witch and evolution of the image of the witch over time. 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. Except for two known instances, the Balch family, though living in the midst of the families caught up in the frenzy of the 1692 witch trials, were according to historic records, able to remain substantially apart from them.). We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. The Salem Witch Trials (Graphic History) - Paperback By Martin, Michael J - GOOD . 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. They changed their verdict to guilty. In addition, this presentation discusses the emergence of the stereotypical witch and the phenomenon of witch-hunting. Born in Salem on July 4, 1804, Nathaniel Hawthorne took inspiration from his native streets. 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. They accused the majority of the victims in the . 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. 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. During the spring of 1692, the infamous Salem witch trials had begun where many innocent lives were ruined due to false accusation. Before America Had Witch Trials, Europe Had Werewolf Trials, Women Weren't the Only Victims of the Salem Witch Trials. Salem Witch Trials: Directed by Joseph Sargent. Because of the Salem Witch trials, the idea that stress, fear, and panic were to blame for mental illness was widely accepted. Summary. 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. (Note: this deposition was previously published in the Newsletter of the Balch House Associates in October 1979 incorrectly indicating that it referred to Bridget Bishop, the first 'witch' hanged at Salem Village. About Elizabeth Balch Elizabeth Woodbury was born 15 August 1654 in Salem. 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. John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin, the local magistrates, coerced a false confession out of Tituba. These people often displayed symptoms or signs then thought to be the results of witchcraft they claimed were brought on by the people they accused. "Edward Bishop and Sarah Bishop." The rear of the Balch House, seen from Cabot Street. 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. 2. 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