The Salem Witch Trials Salem Village 1689 Samuel

The Salem Witch Trials Salem Village 1689

Samuel Parris • Known as the man most responsible for instigating the witchcraft accusations, and for the panic that followed • He was obsessed with sinfulness and Satan, with proving his own importance and maintaining his status • He was rigid, cruel, and merciless

The Parris Family • He lived with his wife, Elizabeth – She was not in good health • Three children • An 11 year-old niece, Abigail – She lived with the family for three years • The family also owned a slave couple, Tituba and John Indian

The Setting : The Winter of 1692 • Salem Village was isolated and small – Separated from Salem Town by a river and a 2 -3 hour walk • Extremely cold winter • Typical Day: – Rise early in the morning and eat breakfast by candlelight – After breakfast, the girls began sewing, spinning, cooking, cleaning, and washing. – At midday, they ate the large meal of the day, dinner. – In the evening, they ate supper. – Then there were prayers. – Then it was time for bed. – If the weather was warm enough, the girls might walk a few hundred yards to visit 17 -year-old Mary Walcott, or a half mile to see 17 -yearold Elizabeth Hubbard, or 12 -year-old Ann Putnam and 17 -year-old Mercy Lewis a mile away at Thomas Putnam's.

• The only break in the weekly routine was on Sundays. • Instead of work, there was church for three hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. – There was no heat in the church. – On the coldest days, the shutters were kept closed and candlelight was used to light the room. Parishioners were allowed to bring blankets, pans of hot coals, hot bricks, and even well-behaved dogs for heat. • The rest of the day was set aside for religious reading, contemplation, and prayer. Observance of these Sunday activities was enforced by law.

Children The only books in the village were religious ones. No fairy tales or stories No art or theatre Children past the age of 4 or 5 were not allowed to play; they were treated as small adults • Boys could enjoy hunting, fishing, trapping, carpentry, and crafts • Girls had no outlet • •

The Parris Children • The children spent their days with Tituba and John Indian • Parris engrained his ideas into the children: absolutes of good or evil, sin or saintliness, heaven or hell. – An evil thought is as bad as an evil action— repression was in order

The Accusers • Betty Parris, 9 years old, daughter of pastor Samuel Parris. • Abigail Williams, 11 years old, niece of Samuel Parris. • Mary Walcott, 17 years old, daughter of Captain Jonathan Walcott. • Elizabeth Hubbard, 17 years old, great-niece of Dr. and Mrs. Griggs. • Ann Putnam, 12 years old, daughter of Thomas Putnam. • Mercy Lewis, 17 years old, servant of Thomas Putnam.

The Beginning • Abigail and Betty relieved their boredom by dabbling in fortunetelling with Tituba: they would break an egg into a glass of water and watch the shape of the white. • Gradually, they also invited their friends to join them. One day, one of the girls, asking about a future husband's calling, saw the shape of a coffin. • This sent Abigail into an hysterical fit. Both Abigail and Betty began behaving strangely: getting into holes, creeping under chairs and stools, using odd postures, uttering "foolish" speeches.

A Few of the Accused • Tituba • Sarah Good, a local, aggressive beggar • Sarah Osbourne, an enemy of John Putnam, Ann's • • great-uncle Dorcas Good, the daughter of Sarah Good Bridget Bishop Rebecca Nurse Giles and Martha Cory

Salem Prison • Held in dungeons which were always dark, bitterly cold, and so damp that water ran down the walls. • They reeked of unwashed bodies and excrement. • They were infested with water rats, and were a breeding ground for disease. • The prisoners were kept hungry and thirsty. • They were manacled to the walls and treated with deliberate cruelty.

The End • Accused Mrs. Thatcher, the mother-in-law of magistrate Jonathan Corwin; two sons of former governor Simon Bradstreet; the wife of Reverend Hale; and the wife of Sir William Phipps, governor of the province. • Essay was published denouncing the hysteria by Increase Mather, an influential clergyman • On October 29, the court was formally dissolved.

Where are they “now”? • Samuel Parris was fired in September 1697 – He went to live in Stowe, Massachusetts, but failed there after a year, as well. – But he had married a woman with money by then, who supported him during his subsequent ventures as shopkeeper, schoolmaster, minister, farmer, and property speculator. – He died in 1720. • Betty Parris married and had children, as did several of the other accusers, and eventually left Salem Village. • Abigail Williams probably died young (the records are unclear), and was probably mentally ill. • Mary Walcott also married and had children. • Tituba was sold by Parris to another family to pay her jail fees. • Ann Putnam remained unmarried and stayed in Salem Village. When she was 26, she made a public apology to the church, and especially to the Nurse family, for her actions. She died at age 37.

References 1. Hill, Frances. A Delusion of Satan: the Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials. 2. Karlson, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England. 3. Ann Warren, L. A. Harbor College