Genealogies of the victims of the 1692 witch hunt

Hanging of Bridget Bishop

Here's a quick genealogy of the victims of the 1692 Salem Witch Hunt. 

Bishop, Bridget (Playfer) (Wasselbee) (Oliver) (-1692). Daughter of __ Playfer. Married 1660 Samuel Wasselbee (d. 1665); m2. 1666 Thomas Oliver; m3. before 1680 Edward Bishop (d. 1705). Salem, MA. Hanged 10 June 1692.

Burroughs, Rev. George (c1650-1692). Son of Nathaniel and Rebecca (Stiles) Burroughs. Harvard College, class of 1670. Minister at Salem Village 1680-1683; minister in Wells, Maine, in 1692. Married, first, Hannah Fisher (1653-1681); m2. Sarah Ruck (d. 1689/90); m3. Mary (--). Wells, Maine. Hanged 19 August 1692.

Carrier, Martha (Allen) (-1692). Daughter of Andrew & Faith (Ingalls) Allen. Married 1674 Thomas Carrier alias Morgan (d. 1735). Andover/Billerica, MA. Hanged 19 August 1692.


Corey, Giles (1619?-1692). Married, first, Margaret (--); m2. 1664 Mary Brits/Britz (d. 1684); m3. by 1690 Martha (--) (d.1692). Salem Farms, MA. Pressed to death, 19 September 1692.


Corey, Martha (--) (-1692). Married by 1690 Giles Corey (1619?-1692). Salem Farms, MA. Hanged 22 September 1692.


Easty, Mary (Towne) (1634-1692). Daughter of William & Joanna (Blessing) Towne. Married by 1656 Isaac Easty (1627-1712). Sister of Rebecca Nurse and Sarah Cloyce. Topsfield, MA. Hanged 22 September 1692.


Good, Sarah (Solarte) (Poole) (c1654-1692). Daughter of John & Elizabeth Solart of Wenham, MA. Married, first, Daniel Poole; m2. William Good. Salem Village, MA. Hanged 19 July 1692.


Howe, Elizabeth (Jackson) (-1692). Daughter of William & Joan Jackson. Married 1658 James Howe. Ipswich, MA. Hanged 19 July 1692.


Jacobs Sr., George (1609?-1692). Married --; m2. Mary (--). Salem, MA. Hanged 19 August 1692.


Martin, Susannah (North) (1621-1692). Daughter of Richard & Joan (Bartram) North. Married 1646 George Martin (1618-1686). Amesbury, MA. Hanged 19 July 1692.


Nurse, Rebecca (Towne) (1621-1692). Daughter of William & Joanna (Blessing) Towne. Married 1644 Francis Nurse (1618-1695). Sister of Mary Easty and Sarah Cloyse. Salem Village, MA. Hanged 19 July 1692.


Parker, Alice (--) (-1692). Married John Parker. Salem, MA. Hanged 22 September 1692.


Parker, Mary (Ayer) (c1631-1692). Daughter of John & Hannah Ayer. Married c1652 Nathan Parker (d.1685). Andover, MA. Hanged 22 September 1692.


Proctor, John (c1632-1692). Son of John & Martha (Harper) Proctor. Married c1652 Martha White or Jackson; m2. 1662 Elizabeth Thorndike (d.1672); m3. 1674 Elizabeth Bassett. Salem Farms, MA. Hanged 19 August 1692.


Pudeator, Ann (Greenslade) (-1692). Married Thomas Greenslade (d.1674); m2. Jacob Pudeator (d.1682). Salem, MA. Hanged 22 September 1692.


Redd, Wilmot (--) (-1692). Married Samuel Redd/Reed (1635/40-1716). Marblehead, MA. Hanged 22 September 1692.


Scott, Margaret (Stephenson) (-1692). Daughter of __ Stephenson/Stevenson. Married 1651 Benjamin Scott (d.1671). Rowley, MA. Hanged 22 September 1692.


Wardwell, Samuel (1643-1692). Son of Thomas & Elizabeth (Woodruff) Wardwell. Married c1672 Sarah (Hooper) Hawkes. Andover, MA. Hanged 22 September 1692.


Wilds, Sarah (Averill) (1627-1692). Daughter of William & Sarah Averill. Married 1663 John Wilds (c1620-1705). Topsfield, MA. Hanged 19 July 1692.


Willard, John (-1692). Married c1687 Margaret Wilkins. Salem Village, MA. Hanged 19 August 1692.

Other Victims Who Died

Dustin, Lydia (--) (1613-1693). Married Josiah Dustin. Reading, MA. Tried, not guilty, but died in Cambridge jail March 10, 1693, before release.


Foster, Ann (Alcock?) (-1692). Daughter of __ Alcock? Married c1639 Andrew Foster Sr. Andover, MA. Died in Salem jail December 3, 1692.


Good, infant daughter (1691-1692) Daughter of William and Sarah (Solart) (Poole) Good of Salem Village, MA. Died in Boston jail previous to mother’s hanging on July 19, 1692.


Osburn, Sarah (Warren?) (Prince) (-1692). Daughter of __ Warren? Married 1662 Robert Prince; m2. Alexander Osburn (d. c1703). Salem Village, MA. Died in Boston jail May 10, 1692.


Toothaker, Roger (c1634-1692). Son of Roger & Margaret Toothaker. Married 1665 Mary Allen. Known as folk healer, witch-finder. Salem/Billerica, MA. Died in Boston jail June 1692. 

Sources

Anderson, Robert Charles, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society).


Norton, Mary Beth, In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. 


Rosenthal, Bernard, ed., et al., Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt. 


Torrey, Clarence Almon, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Online 

Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society).
Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society).

The Devil is in the details: a timeline of the 1692 witch hunt

Witch statue at Salem Witch Village,
Salem, Mass.

1620: Plymouth Colony settled by Pilgrims.
1626: Roger Conant founded Salem, Massachusetts.
1641: Massachusetts passed a statute making witchcraft a felony, punishable by death. According to surviving court records, more than 120 people were accused of witchcraft by 1691 in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire—and at least 10 were executed.
1672: Salem Village allowed to organize own parish church.
1675-1678: Indian wars in Massachusetts and what is now Maine.
1680-1683: Rev. George Burroughs minister at Salem Village.
1684: King Charles II revoked the Massachusetts Charter, putting the existing government of the colony in question.
1686: Sir Edmund Andros named governor of New England.
1688: Four Goodwin children are “afflicted” in Boston and accuse “Goody” Glover of being a witch; Glover is hanged. Wars began again with Wabanaki Indians in Maine.
1689: Governor Andros deposed and imprisoned by Colonists. Rev. Samuel Parris became minister in Salem Village. 
1691: Sir William Phips named governor of Massachusetts by the new English monarchs, William & Mary (who ousted King James II).
1692 January: Betty Parris, age 9, Abigail Williams, about age 11, and Ann Putnam Jr., 12, exhibit strange behavior in Salem.
1692 February: Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne are arrested as witches.
1692 May: The Court of Oyer and Terminer is established by Governor Phips to hear witchcraft cases. The court consisted of nine judges: Lt. Governor William Stoughton, Nathaniel Saltonstall, Wait-Still Winthrop, Peter Sergeant, John Richard, Samuel Sewall, Bartholomew Gedney, John Hathorne, and Jonathan Corwin. In June, Saltonstall resigned over the issue of spectral evidence; he was later accused of being a witch.
1692 June: Bridget Bishop tried, convicted, hanged. Rev. Cotton Mather and other ministers question the use of spectral evidence.
1692 July: Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Sarah Wildes, Sarah Good, and Elizabeth How hanged.
1692 August: George Jacobs, Martha Carrier, Rev. George Burroughs, John Proctor, and John Willard hanged.
1692 September: Giles Corey pressed to death for refusing to answer in court to charges of witchcraft. It took two days of piling stones on his prone body for the old man to die. Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Margaret Scott, Wilmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell, and Mary Parker hanged.
1692 October: Rev. Increase Mather speaks against spectral evidence. Governor Phips dissolved Court of Oyer and Terminer. Some prisoners were released on bail, if they paid for their confinement, food, and the shackles they wore.
1693 January: Witch trials began again. Some guilty verdicts were reached but Governor Phips did not allow judges to hang convicted witches.
1697 January: By order of the General Court of Massachusetts, there was a day of fasting and prayer for all the calamities that had befallen the colony. Judge Stoughton signed the proclamation, but would not allow references to the witch trials as part of its wording. Judge Samuel Sewall publicly admitted his “guilt” for his part in the witchcraft trials by having a statement read at the South Church in Boston. Twelve men who had been jurors during the witch trials asked pardon of God, of “the living sufferers,” and of “all whom we have justly offended” in Salem.
1697: Rev. Joseph Green became minister at the church in Salem Village, which starts the healing process in this fractured community.
1699: War with Wabanaki Indians ended.
1703: Salem Village church rescinded excommunication of Martha Corey. Massachusetts legislature acquitted Abigail Faulkner and “sundry persons” of their convictions during the witch trials.
1706: Ann Putnam Jr. was received into full communion at the Salem Village Church after she confessed to being deluded by Satan in accusing innocent people of the crime of witchcraft.
1711: Reversal of Attainder nullified all witch trial judgments against George Burroughs, John Proctor, George Jacobs, John Willard, Giles and Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, Elizabeth How, Mary Easty, Sarah Wildes, Abigail Hobbs, Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, Martha Carrier, Abigail Faulkner, Ann Foster, Rebecca Eames, Mary Post, Mary Lacy, Mary Bradbury, and Dorcas Hoar. The government also paid reparations totaling 578 pounds to the victims or their families. Money was only given to those who asked to be reimbursed for expenses related to the trials and confinement.
1712: The Salem church reversed the excommunication of Rebecca Nurse and Giles Corey.
1757: Salem Village incorporated as the town of Danvers.
1957: The Massachusetts General Court declared the innocence of Ann Pudeator “and certain other persons” for witchcraft.
1992: On the 300th anniversary of the witch trials, Salem and Danvers built memorials to the victims.
2001: Massachusetts resolution cleared the names of Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Wilmott Redd, and Margaret Scott, all of whom had not been specifically named in previous reversals of attainders. 

Witch-hunting facts through the ages

There are only eight occurrences of the word “witch” in the King James Bible. However, its words are very explicit: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Exodus 22:17-19).

After the Bible, one of the most popular books in 16th- and 17th-century Europe was the Malleus Maleficarum (also known in English as The Hammer of Witches), written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, priest of the Dominican Order who was authorized as Inquisitor of the Catholic Church to persecute witches. The book was written as a manual to help identify, prosecute, and convict witches.

Maleficium is a Latin term to describe malicious acts of magic or evildoing, such as harming another person's health, family, animals, or property.

In Europe, 12,000 people are known to have been tried and executed as witches, though estimates of deaths are as high as 100,000 during the period from 1480 to 1700.

New England Witches

In 1642, the General Court of Massachusetts passed a statute making witchcraft a felony, punishable by death. More than 40 people were accused of witchcraft before 1692 in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire—and at least 10 are executed.

During the 1692 Salem witch trials, more than 150 people were arrested and imprisoned for witchcraft; 29 were convicted by the courts and of those, 14 women and 5 men were hanged; and one man who refused to enter a plea was crushed to death.

In total, more than 200 people were accused and jailed for witchcraft in 17th-century New England; at least 30 were executed.

R.I.P.

Before the 1692 witch hunt in Essex county, Massachusetts, other people were hanged as witches. These people include:

Margaret Jones (d. 1648)
Alice Lake (d. 1650)
Joan Carrington (d. 1651)
John Carrington (d. 1651)
Lydia Gilbert (d. 1652)
Anne Hibbens (d. 1655)
Mary Barnes (d. 1662)
Nathaniel Greensmith (d. 1662)
Rebecca Greensmith (d. 1662)
Goody Glover (d. 1688)

For victims of the 1692 witch hunt, see Genealogies of the victims of the 1692 witch hunt.

Anatomy of a publication

A continuation of my publishing/writing series for genealogists. This article deals with the components that make up a book, monograph, article, etc.

Body copy: The main text in an article, excluding headlines, etc.

Byline: Credit given to author (by author name). Sometimes refers to author bio at end of article.

Call-out: Label used to identify parts of a photo, illustration, chart, etc. Sometimes with lines, arrows, or balloons tying call-out to a particular element, say identifying a building in a map.

Caption: Description of illustration, photo, chart, or graphical element, plus credit for the source.

Continuation head: Repetition of the headline (and jumpline) to identify continuation of article.

Deck (dek): One or more lines of text after headline and before body of article to expand the headline/topic.

End Sign: Dingbat or other symbol used to mark end of article.

Endnote: Reference citation or note placed at the end of an article, chapter, or book that is referred to in the body of text with superscript numbers.

Folio: A sheet of paper folded in half is a folio. A folio has four pages (two on each side). Several folios, one inside the other, make up a signature. Several signatures together make a book (or magazine), etc. Also known as a page.

Footer: Repeated text at the bottom of every page (or every other page of newsletter).

Footnote: Reference citation or note placed in the footer on the same page in which it is referred to in the body copy with superscript numbers.

Gridline: Non-printing line that helps with placement of text and graphics. Also known as guidelines.

Header: Repeated text at the top of every page (or every other page of newsletter). Also known as running head or standing head.

Headline: Article's name or title.

Jumpline: Continuation line, as in Continued on page 16 and Cont. from page 1.

Kicker: Short phrase set above a headline; as an intro or section heading for regular column.

Masthead: Publisher, staff, contact info, copyright, etc.

Nameplate: The banner on the cover that includes the publication's name; sometimes graphics or a logo, tagline; publication information including Volume and Issue or Date. May also be called masthead.

Page layout: Design or composition of the page. Also known as page composition, page design, desktop publishing.

Pull-quote: A phrase or sentence(s) from the article that is repeated in large type as a graphical element.

Recto: Right-hand page with odd number.

Running head: Repeated text, often the name of the publication, that appears on every page or every other page of newsletter. Also known as standing head or header.

Sidebar: Short article within an article that are sometimes placed within a box inside the main article, much like a graphical element.

Signature: Several folios, one inside the other, make up a signature.

Standing element: Page element that appears on every page of a publication in the same position and format. Also known as master page element or repeating element.

Standing head: Page element that appears on the top of every page of a publication in the same position and format.

Subhead: Phrase or short title that appears within the body of an article between paragraphs to break it into smaller sections.

Table of Contents (TOC): List of articles and their page numbers.

Template: A master guide, often with standing elements in place, to help design pages within a publication.

Title page: Title of publication and name of author (and illustrator). Sometimes includes publisher name and address, copyright information, ISBN, Library of Congress number, date of publication, etc.

Verso: Left-hand page with even number.

Broken Branch

I spent many, many months trying to fit another family from the same small-town cemetery in the Dakota Territory into my tree, only to discover there's no relation. It was just an odd coincidence that the other couple lived there and were married in another small town in Illinois where my third great-grandparents lived. 

Maureen, the wonderful person who posted the original Find a Grave entries, wrote: "There is a note in cemetery records, '$50 P.C. provided for in will of Mrs. W.F. Halfpenny (Graves 1-5).'" This clue was so helpful because I was able to connect my third great-grandfather Henry not only with his daughter-in-law, but with his great-granddaughter Dunkel, the daughter of Mrs. Halfpenny and her first husband. Prior to this clue, I had no idea my second great grand uncle had any children. Now I know he had at least four, including Mrs. Halfpenny. 

But I had two graves unaccounted for, or so I thought. And, conveniently, there were two young children surnamed Henry in the same cemetery—with no other family nearby. So I researched those two children, found their parents and many siblings, and grandparents, and great-grandparents, and...well, I admit, I was starting to think someone else's research into the earlier generations wasn't correct.

I located the cemetery spreadsheet on the town web site (oh, how convenient and forward-thinking!). After doing a plot number search, I found no other bodies using that plot location. A quick email last night resulted in a note from Heather at City Hall saying no one is buried in graves 2 and 4 next to my relatives in graves 1, 3, and 5. She also included the scan of the 1880s plot map. 

Had I emailed City Hall earlier, I still would have researched that other Henry family. Why? The probability of two intersecting locations in two small towns opened up possibilities, especially when my third great-grandparents had three sons, and I needed to follow the line to a conclusion. Now that I have my answers, I can move on, searching for more dead relatives. 

Publishing terms for genealogists

Copyright: Protection under United States law to the authors of “original works of authorship” such as articles, books, web sites, and other creative and intellectual property, whether published or unpublished, for a certain period of time. Get the copyright basics from the U.S. Copyright Office.

See also:
When Works Pass into the Public Domain chart by Lolly Gasaway
"Who Owns Genealogy? Cousins & Copyrights" article by Gary B. Hoffman

Editorial Calendar: Magazines often have an outline of topics planned for upcoming issues, such as the cover story or a special theme, in addition to the regular columns or departments in every issue. You may be able to pitch a story idea that would fit with a special section on immigration, for example, if you know about the theme in advance of the lead time. Or you'd know, based on the editorial calendar, that your story idea had been covered in a previous issue.

Fair Use: Part of the U.S. copyright law, fair use allows brief passages of copyrighted material to be quoted without infringing upon the copyright owner's rights.

Fulfillment: Shipping services. Some fulfillment companies stock inventory, handle orders, provide billing services and order tracking in addition to shipping.

Lead Time: A magazine staff needs time to select and edit articles, design and layout the pages, proofread, and finalize the issue before it goes to press. So, for example, articles for an issue may be due six months in advance of the issue sell date. Check writer's guidelines or with the editor for submission deadlines.

ISBN: International Standard Book Number, a unique identifying code for every published book.

Monograph: A printed booklet, about 30 to 100 pages long, for genealogical or historical projects that are too long for an article and too short for a book. Examples include extended biographies, transcriptions, and research in progress.

Print on Demand (POD): Typically, books are printed in quantity because the larger the print run (amount of books printed), the cheaper the cost per book. For the self publisher, the cheaper cost per book sounds great...until you lose storage space in your garage for all the unsold books you need to store. Print on Demand allows you to order exactly how many books you've sold in advance, and then print more as needed. Some POD companies have set minimums and upfront fees in addition to actual print charges, so check the requirements before you sign a contract.

Public Domain: Material that is not under copyright restrictions.

Publisher: a company that purchases an author’s work. See also Self Publishing, Vanity Press, Print on Demand.

Query Letter: A short letter that pitches an article or book to a magazine or book editor. Queries should be brief, businesslike, and to the point so that the editor can decide whether your subject matter and treatment fit into the company's future publishing plans.

Rights: Magazines purchase rights from the author to publish articles. Also applies to book publishers.

• All Rights means the magazine can use the article in any format and as many times as they wish, without restrictions and without additional payment to the author. For example, an article may be printed in the magazine and then appear on the publisher's web site, on a CD-ROM, and/or in a book. 
• First Serial Rights gives the magazine the right to publish a work for the first time in any periodical; after that, rights revert back to the author. 
• One-Time Rights allows the publisher to publish a work one time, after which the rights revert back to the author. 
• Reprint Rights allows a magazine to reprint an article after it has already appeared in another periodical.

Royalty: Percentage of a book's retail sales paid by the publisher to the author.

Self Publishing: The author handles the writing, editing, indexing, printing, marketing, and sales of a book instead of a publisher handling all the details and paying royalties to the author. See also Print on Demand, Vanity Publisher.

Slush Pile: Unsolicited manuscripts sent to publishers.

Vanity Publisher or Subsidy Publisher: A publisher that charges the author all costs of printing book. Sometimes offers distribution/fulfillment services for a fee too.

Top 10 genealogy writing tips

How do you turn your genealogical research into something that people want to read? Try these suggestions:

• Read the top genealogical journals. Besides the articles, check the book reviews to see what the reviewers consider to be well-done genealogies and follow their suggestions for your own article or book.  

• Cite your sources! Provide full source citations in footnotes and bibliographies. That way readers and researchers can follow up on the materials and references you've used to reach your conclusions. For proper citations, check out Elizabeth Shown Mills’ Evidence Explained:Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace 2nd Edition and Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian. These two books go beyond the earlier Cite Your Sources: A Manual for Documenting Family Histories and Genealogical Records by Richard S. Lackey.

• Use standard numbering systems, such as the Register System (NEHGS), the NGS Quarterly Numbering System, the Henry System, and the Sosa Stradonitz System for genealogies.

• For grammar and composition questions, follow the The Chicago Manual of Style. 

• Develop an interesting story, not just a list of begats. Include transcriptions of family letters, journals, Bibles, and other records—if you have them. If not, read histories of the time and place so you can create a setting for your people. 

• Use photographs (with captions and whereabouts of originals) of people, places, and things. Use maps or other graphics to illustrate a story, such as migration patterns or land holdings.

• Protect information about the living. You should not give out personal information and vital statistics. Beware of sharing skeletons in the closet, especially if they may hurt, offend, upset, shock, or embarrass your family members.

• Have an editor edit and proofread your work carefully. Double-check all your facts and citations.

• Know how copyright affects your publication.

• Create a complete index of people and place names. 

There are lots of books for would-be writers, including a bunch specifically for genealogists and family historians.

Top 10 genealogy projects to publish

Have you thought about publishing?

Ask yourself: What research have you done or what materials do you have access to that other people would be interested in?

• family history/genealogy, for example, the award-winning More Lasting than Brass: A Thread of Family from Revolutionary New York to Industrial Connecticut by Peter Haring Judd (2004)
• profile of an ancestor or family group, such as Salem Witch Judge: The Life and Repentance of Samuel Sewall written by his descendant, Eve Laplante (2007)
• surname dictionary (such as a One-Name Study)
• photo book of a person, couple, or family (use a digital photo service to create a hardcover photo book)
• history of a location
• photo history of a location
• house history
• transcriptions of cemeteries, business ledgers, personal letters, journals, Bibles, family memorabilia, etc.
• abstracts of wills, probates, newspapers, etc.
• indexes for obituaries, old town/county histories, court cases, etc.

Top 10 reasons to publish your research

As genealogists, most of us have stacks and stacks of papers related to our family history. Vital records, census records, pensions, land grants, ship manifests, immigration papers, old photographs, and other treasures—all of these pieces of information give us the essential data to create a family tree.

At some point, we always plan to publish our findings, whether it’s just within immediate family members or to the world at large. Here’s some incentive to get you started:

• Doing research with the idea that you're going to publish an article or book helps you to focus the direction of your research.
• No one can make more sense of your research than yourself, regardless how neatly you've arranged your file folders or family history charts and how accessible your databases are. So collecting dead relatives isn't enough, you have to tell their stories and publish their lineages.
• You'll feel a sense of accomplishment when your article or book is in print, above and beyond any money you make off the deal. 
• Researchers will quote you in their footnotes and bibliographies!
• You'll find other people related to your family lines, and one of them may have the long-sought-after family Bible, photos, or other precious memorabilia to share.
• Your new-found relatives may have different hypotheses or additional information about your lines that will further your research.
• If you submit your book for review, you may learn ways of improving it for the second edition.
• You can submit your work to win an award. (For example, NGS, ISFHWE, and ASG awards)
• You'll have a published article or book to pass on to future generations.
• You're not getting any younger!

Honorable mention

In the March 2011 issue of Family Tree Magazine, I'm mentioned in the pull-out section of the Boston City Guide for providing cemetery links. Thanks, Sunny!