Bridget Bishop
Bridget Bishop, "a singular character, not easily described," was
born sometime between 1632 and 1637. Bishop married three
times. Her third and final marriage, after the deaths of her first
two husbands, was to Edward Bishop, who was employed as a
"sawyer" (lumber worker). She appears to have had no children
in any of her marriages.
Although Bishop had been accused by more individuals of
witchcraft than any other witchcraft defendant (many of the
accusations were markedly vehement and vicious), it was not so much her
"sundry acts of witchcraft" that caused her to be the first witch hanged in Salem,
as it was her flamboyant life style and exotic manner of dress. Despite being a
member of Mr. Hale's Church in Beverly (she remained a member in good
standing until her death), Bishop often kept the gossip mill busy with stories of
her publicly fighting with her various husbands, entertaining guests in home
until late in the night, drinking and playing the forbidden game of shovel board,
and being the mistress of two thriving taverns in town. Some even went so far as
to say that Bishop's "dubious moral character" and shameful conduct caused,
"discord [to] arise in other familes, and young people were in danger of
corruption." Bishop's blatant disregard for the respected standards of puritan
society made her a prime target for accusations of witchcraft.
In addition to her somewhat outrageous (by Puritan standards) lifestyle, the fact
that Bishop "was in the habit of dressing more artistically than women of the
village" also contributed in large part to her conviction and execution. She was
described as wearing, "a black cap, and a black hat, and a red paragon bodice
bordered and looped with different colors." This was a showy costume for the
times. Aside from encouraging rumors and social disdain, this "showy costume"
was used as evidence against her at her trial for witchcraft. In his deposition,
Shattuck, the town dyer mentions, as corroborative proof of Bishop being a
witch, that she used to bring to his dye house "sundry pieces of lace" of shapes
and dimensions entirely outside his conceptions of what would be needed in the
wardrobe of a plain and honest woman. Fashionable apparel was regarded by
some as a "snare and sign of the devil."
On April 18, 1692, when a warrant was issued for Bishop's arrest for witchcraft,
she was no stranger to the courthouse. In 1680 she had been charged (but
cleared) of witchcraft, and on other occasions she had ended up in the courthouse
for violent public quarreling with her husband. Bishop had never seen or met
any of her accusers until her questioning. While several of the afflicted girls cried
out and writhed in the supposed pain she was causing them, John Hathorn and
Jonathan Corwin questioned her, although there was little doubt in either of
their minds as to her guilt:
Q: Bishop, what do you say? You stand here charged with sundry acts of witchcraft by you done or
committed upon the bodies of Mercy Lewis and Ann Putman and others.
A: I am innocent, I know nothing of it, I have done no witchcraft .... I am as innocent as the child unborn. ....
Q: Goody Bishop, what contact have you made with the Devil?
A: I have made no contact with the Devil. I have never seen him before in my life.
When asked by one of her jailers, Bishop claimed that she was not troubled to
see the afflicted persons so tormented, and could not tell what to think of them
and did not concern herself about them at all. But the afflicted girls were not
Bishop's only accusers. Her sister's husband claimed that "she sat up all night
conversing with the Devil" and that "the Devil came bodily into her." With a
whole town against her, Bishop was charged, tried, and executed within eight
days. On June 10, as crowds gathered to watch, she was taken to Gallows Hill
and executed by the sheriff, George Corwin. She displayed no remorse and
professed her innocence at her execution.
Bishop's death did not go unnoticed in Salem. The court took a short recess,
accusations slowed down for a time, more than a month passed before there were
any more executions, and one of the judges, Nathaniel Saltonstall resigned,
having become dissatisfied with the court's methods. Even Governor Phips had
doubts about the methods of the court and went to Boston to consult the
ministers there as to what should be done with the rest of the accused.
Unfortunately for the eighteen others who would be hanged as witches (in
addition to the one pressed to death and the several who died in prison), the
ministers decidedly and earnestly recommended that the proceedings should be
"vigorously carried on," and so they were. Less than a year after her death,
Bishop's husband married Elizabeth Cash, and several of those who had testified
against her, in deathbed confessions claimed that their accusations were "deluted
by the Devil." –KS
Sarah Good
Sarah Good was the daughter of a prosperous Wenham innkeeper, John Solart.
Solart took his own life in 1672 when Sarah was 17, leaving an estate of 500
pounds after debt. After testimony of an oral will, the estate was divided between
his widow and her two eldest sons, with a portion to be paid to each of the seven
daughters when they came of age. However, Mrs. Solart quickly remarried, her
new husband came into possession of her share and the unpaid shares of the
daughters, and as a result, most of the daughters never received a portion of the
Solart estate.
Sarah married a former indentured servant, Daniel Poole. Poole died sometime
after 1682, leaving Sarah only debts, which some sources credit her with creating
for Poole. Regardless of the cause of the debt, Sarah and her second husband,
William Good, were held responsible for paying it. A portion of their land was
seized and sold to satisfy their creditors, and shortly thereafter they sold the rest
of their land, apparently out of dire necessity. By the time of the trials, Sarah and
her husband were homeless, destitute and she was reduced to begging for work,
food, and shelter from her neighbors.
Good was one of the first three women to be brought in at Salem on the charge of
witchcraft, after having been identified as a witch by Tituba. She fit the
prevailing stereotype of the malefic witch quite well. Good's habit of scolding and
cursing neighbors who were unresponsive to her requests for charity generated a
wealth of testimony at her trials. At least seven people testified as to her angry
muttering and general turbulence after the refusal of charity. Particularly
damaging to her case, was her accusation by her daughter. Four- year-old
Dorcas Good (Sarah's only child) was arrested on March 23, gave a confession,
and in so doing implicated her mother as a witch. At the time of her trial, Good
was described as "a forlorn, friendless, and forsaken creature, broken down by
wretchedness of condition and ill-repute." She has been called "an object for
compassion rather than punishment."
The proceedings against Good were described as "cruel, and shameful to the
highest degree." This remark must have been due in part to the fact that some of
the spectral evidence against Good was known to be false at the time of her
examination. During the trial, one of the afflicted girls cried out that she was
being stabbed with a knife by the apparition of Good. Upon examination, a
broken knife was found on the girl. However, as soon as it was shown to the
court, a young man came forward with the other part of the knife, stated that he
had broken it yesterday and had discarded it in the presence of the afflicted girls.
Although the girl was reprimanded and warned not to lie again, the known
falsehood had no effect on Good's trial. She was presumed guilty from the start.
It has been said that "there was no one in the country around against whom
popular suspicion could have been more readily directed, or in whose favor and
defense less interest could be awakened."
Good was executed on July 19. She failed to yield to judicial pressure to confess,
and showed no remorse at her execution. In fact, in response to an attempt by
Minister Nicholas Noyes to elicit a confession, Good called out from the
scaffolding, "You are a liar. I am no more a witch than you are a wizard, and if
you take away my life God will give you blood to drink." Her curse seems to have
come true. Noyes died of internal hemorrhage, bleeding profusely at the mouth.
Despite the seemingly effectiveness of her curse, it likely just further convinced
the crowds of her guilt.
Although he clearly deserved nothing, since he was an adverse witness against his
wife and did what he could to stir up the prosecution against her, William Good
was given one of the larger sums of compensation from the government in 1711.
He did not swear she was a witch, but what he did say tended to prejudice the
magistrates and public against her. The reason for his large settlement was his
connections with the Putnam family. Although Good's daughter was released
from prison after the trials, William Good claimed she was permanently
damaged from her stay in chains in the prison, and that she was never useful for
anything. –KS
Now compare the biographies of Rebecca Nurse, John Proctor, and
Giles Corey. Create a Venn diagram and answer the following
questions:
1.What do they have in common? 2.How are they alike or different from
the first two defendants? 3. Can we draw any conclusions about what
things could get one accused of witchcraft in Salem in the fifteenth
century?
Rebecca Nurse
"The Trial of Rebecca Nurse"
Rebecca Nurse was the daughter of William Towne, of Yarmouth, Norfolk
County, New England where she was baptized Feb. 21, 1621. Her sister Mary
(also accused and put to death for witchcraft) married Isaac Easty. Another
sister, Sarah Cloyce, was also accused of witchcraft. Nurse's husband was
described as a "traymaker." The making of these articles and similar articles of
domestic use was important employment in the remote countryside. He seems to
have been highly respected by his neighbors, and more often than anyone else
was called in to settle disputes. Nurse had four sons and four daughters.
Nurse was one of the first "unlikely" witches to be accused. At the time of her
trial she was 71 years old, and had "acquired a reputation for exemplary piety
that was virtually unchallenged in the community." It was written of Nurse:
"This venerable lady, whose conversation and bearing were so truly saint-like,
was an invalid of extremely delicate condition and appearance, the mother of a
large family, embracing sons, daughters, grandchildren, and one or more greatgrand children. She was a woman of piety, and simplicity of heart."
That her reputation was virtually unblemished was evidenced by the fact that
several of the most active accusers were more hesitant in their accusations of
Nurse, and many who had kept silent during the proceedings against others,
came forward and spoke out on behalf of Nurse, despite the dangers of doing so.
Thirty-nine of the most prominent members of the community signed a petition
on Nurse's behalf, and several others wrote individual petitions vouching for her
innocence. One of the signers of the petition, Jonathan Putnam, had originally
sworn out the complaint against Nurse, but apparently had later changed his
mind on the matter of her guilt. (LINK TO DOCUMENTS RELATING TO NURSE TRIAL)
Unlike many of the other accused, during the questioning of Nurse, the
magistrate showed signs of doubting her guilt, because of her age, character,
appearance, and professions of innocence. However, each time he would begin to
waiver on the issue, someone else in the crowd would either heatedly accuse her
or one of the afflicted girls would break into fits and claim Nurse was tormenting
her. Upon realizing that the magistrate and the audience had sided with the
afflicted girls Nurse could only reply, " I have got nobody to look to but God."
She then tried to raise her hands, but the afflicted girls fell into dreadful fits at
the motion.
At Nurse's trial on June 30, the jury came back with a verdict of "Not Guilty."
When this was announced there was a large and hideous outcry from both the
afflicted girls and the spectators. The magistrates urged reconsideration. Chief
Justice Stoughton asked the jury if they had considered the implications of
something Nurse had said. When Hobbs had accused Nurse, Nurse had said
"What do you bring her? She is one of us." Nurse had only meant that Hobbs
was a fellow prisoner. Nurse, however, was old, partially hard of hearing, and
exhausted from the day in court. When Nurse was asked to explain her words
"she is one of us," she did not hear the question. The jury took her silence as an
indication of guilt. The jury deliberated a second time and came back with a
verdict of guilty. Shocking as it seems today, it was not uncommon in the
seventeenth century for a magistrate to ask the jury to reconsider its verdict. Her
family immediately did what they could to rectify the mistake that had caused
her to be condemned, but it was no use. Nurse was granted a reprieve by
Governor Phips, however no sooner had it been issued, than the accusers began
having renewed fits. The community saw these fits as conclusive proof of Nurse's
guilt.
On July 3, this pious, God fearing woman was excommunicated from her church
in Salem Town, without a single dissenting vote, because of her conviction of
witchcraft. Nurse was sentenced to death on June 30. She was executed on July
19. Public outrage at her conviction and execution have been credited with
generating the first vocal opposition to the trials. On the gallows Nurse was "a
model of Christian behavior," which must have been a sharp contrast to Sarah
Good, another convicted witch with whom Nurse was executed, who used the
gallows as a platform from which to call down curses on those who would heckle
her in her final hour. It was not until 1699 that members of the Nurse family
were welcomed back to communion in the church, and it was fifteen years later
before the excommunication of Nurse was revoked. In 1711, Nurse's family was
compensated by the government for her wrongful death.--KS
John Proctor
Proctor was originally from Ipswich, where he and his father before him had a
farm of considerable value. In 1666 he moved to Salem, where he worked on a
farm, part of which he later bought. Proctor seems to have been an enormous
man, very large framed, with great force and energy. Although an upright man,
he seems to have been rash in speech, judgment, and action. It was his
unguarded tongue that would eventually lead to his death. From the start of the
outbreak of witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Proctor had denounced the whole
proceedings and the afflicted girls as a scam. When his wife was accused and
questioned, he stood with her throughout the proceedings and staunchly
defended her innocence. It was during her questioning that he, too, was named a
witch. Proctor was the first male to be named as a witch in Salem. In addition, all
of his children were accused. His wife Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's sister and sisterin-law, also were accused witches. Although tried and condemned, Elizabeth
avoided execution because she was pregnant.
Mary Warren, the twenty-year-old maid servant in the Proctor house--who
herself would later be named as a witch--accused Proctor of practicing
witchcraft. It is believed by some sources that when Mary first had fits Proctor,
believing them to be fake, would beat her out of them. Even if it didn't actually
beat her, he certainly threatened beatings and worse if she didn't stop the fits. It
was this type of outspoken criticism of the afflicted that caused Proctor to be
accused.
Proctor was tried on August 5 and hanged on the 19th. While in prison on July
23, Proctor wrote a letter to the clergy of Boston, who were known to be uneasy
with the witchcraft proceedings. In his letter he asked them to intervene to either
have the trials moved to Boston or have new judges appointed. After the trial
and execution of Rebecca Nurse, the prospects of those still in prison waiting trial
were grim. If a person with a reputation as untarnished as hers could be
executed, there was little hope for any of the other accused, which is why Proctor
made his request. With the present judges, who were already convinced of guilt,
the trial would just be a formality. In response to Proctor's letter, in which he
describes certain torture that was used to elicit confessions, eight ministers,
including Increase Mather, met at Cambridge on August 1. Little is known about
this meeting, except that when they had emerged, they had drastically changed
their position on spectral evidence. The ministers decided in the meeting that the
Devil could take on the form of innocent people. Unfortunately for Proctor, their
decision would not have widespread impact until after his execution.
Proctor pleaded at his execution for a little respite of time. He claimed he was not
fit to die. His plea was, of course, unsuccessful. In seventeenth-century society, it
would not have been uncommon for a man so violently tempered as Proctor to
feel that he had not yet made peace with his fellow man or his God. In addition, it
is thought that he died inadequately reconciled to his wife, since he left her out of
the will that he drew up in prison. Proctor's family was given 150 pounds in 1711
for his execution and his wife's imprisonment.
Giles Corey
Giles Corey was a prosperous farmer and full member of the
church. He lived in the southwest corner of Salem village. In
April of 1692, he was accused by Ann Putnam, Jr., Mercy
Lewis, and Abigail Williams of witchcraft. Ann Putnam
claimed that on April 13 the specter of Giles Corey visited
her and asked her to write in the Devil's book. Later, Putnam
was to claim that a ghost appeared before her to announce
that it had been murdered by Corey. Other girls were to
describe Corey as "a dreadful wizard" and recount stories of
assaults by his specter.
Why Corey was named as a witch (male witches were
generally called "wizards" at the time) is a matter of speculation, but Corey and
his wife Martha were closely associated with the Porter faction of the village
church that had been opposing the Putnam faction. Corey, eighty years old, was
also a hard, stubborn man who may have expressed criticism of the witchcraft
proceedings.
Corey was examined by magistrates on April 18, then left to languish with his
wife in prison for five months awaiting trial. When Corey's case finally went
before the grand jury in September, nearly a dozen witnesses came forward with
damning evidence such as testimony that Corey was seen serving bread and wine
at a witches' sacrament. Corey knew he faced conviction and execution, so he
chose to refuse to stand for trial. By avoiding conviction, it became more likely
that his farm, which Corey recently deeded to his two sons-in-law, would not
become property of the state upon his death.
The penalty for refusing to stand for trial was death by pressing under heavy
stones. It was a punishment never before seen in the colony of Massachusetts.
On Monday, September 19, Corey was stripped naked, a board placed upon his
chest, and then--while his neighbors watched--heavy stones and rocks were piled
on the board. Corey pleaded to have more weight added, so that his death might
come quickly.
Samuel Sewall reported Corey's death: "About noon, at Salem, Giles Corey was
press'd to death for standing mute." Robert Calef, in his report of the event,
added a gruesome detail: Giles's "tongue being prest out of his mouth, the
Sheriff with his cane forced it in again, when he was dying." Judge Jonathan
Corwin ordered Corey buried in an unmarked grave on Gallows Hill.
Corey is often seen as a martyr who "gave back fortitude and courage rather
than spite and bewilderment." His very public death may well have played in
building public opposition to the witchcraft trials.