Sarah Good was one of the first women to be accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Good was the wife of William Good and, at the time of the Salem witch hysteria, was a poor, pregnant beggar who would often wander door to door in Salem…| History of Massachusetts Blog
The Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem in the Province of Massachusetts Bay between 1692 and 1693. Historians believe the accused witches were victims of mob mentality, mass hysteria, and scapegoating. The Salem Witch Trials began in January of 1692, after a group of girls began behaving strangely and…| History of Massachusetts Blog
John Hathorne was a judge in the Salem Witch Trials and the great-great-grandfather of author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hathorne was born in Salem on August 5, 1641, to William Hathorne and Anne Smith. He was the fifth of nine children. His father, William, was a local judge who came to the…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Elizabeth Proctor, wife of Salem Village farmer John Proctor, was accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. The Proctors were a wealthy family who lived on a large rented farm on the outskirts of Salem Village, in what is now modern-day Peabody, Massachusetts. Elizabeth, Proctor's third wife,…| History of Massachusetts Blog
The Salem Witch Trials accusers were a group of people who accused the Salem Witch Trials victims of witchcraft in 1692. The main accusers were a group of girls and young women from Salem Village who are often referred to as the “afflicted girls” because they claimed that witches were…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Jonathan Corwin was a judge in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. He was also Judge John Hathorne's brother-in-law and Sheriff George Corwin's uncle. The Corwin Family: Jonathan Corwin was born on November 14, 1640, in Salem, Massachusetts, to Captain George Corwin and Elizabeth Herbert. The Corwins (or Curwen, as…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Rebecca Nurse was a 71-year-old grandmother and wife of a local artisan when she was accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Nurse was also the sister of accused witches Mary Easty and Sarah Cloyce and the daughter of suspected witch Joanna Blessing Towne. Born in Yarmouth, England in…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Rebecca Nurse was such a beloved citizen of Salem Village that when she was arrested for witchcraft in March of 1692, thirty-nine Salem residents came to her defense and signed a petition asking to set her free. The actions of her friends and family were remarkable because, in signing the…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Tituba was a slave who worked for Samuel Parris during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The various documents and books about the Salem Witch Trials over the years often refer to Tituba as Black or mixed race, but the actual court documents from her trial refer to her as…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Reverend Samuel Parris was the minister at Salem Village during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Samuel Parris was born in London, England, in 1653. In the late 1650s, his father, Thomas Parris, moved his entire family to a sugar plantation that he had purchased in Barbados. Samuel Parris' Early…| History of Massachusetts Blog
George Burroughs was a minister who was accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. George Burroughs Childhood and Early Life: Burroughs was born in Suffolk, England in 1652 and migrated to the settlement of Roxbury in the Massachusetts Bay Colony with his mother when he was a…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Danvers is a historic town in Massachusetts. Located in Essex county, Danvers was originally a part of Salem when it was settled in the 17th century. Known as Salem Village, it was a rural farming village with a relatively small population. Danvers eventually separated from Salem in the 18th century…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Elizabeth “Betty” Parris was the first afflicted girl and one of the main accusers during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Born in Boston on November 28, 1682, Betty moved to Salem with her family and slave Tituba in November of 1689 when her father, Samuel Parris, was appointed the…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Abigail Williams was one of the first afflicted girls in the Salem Witch Trials. Despite the fact that she was one of the main accusers during the Salem Witch Trials, not much is known about Abigail Williams before or even after the trials ended. What historians do know is that…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Danvers, Massachusetts is a small historic town that is home to many historic sites. Most of these sites are related to Salem Village, which was located in Danvers in the 17th century, and the Salem Witch Trials, but some are also related to the Revolutionary War and the Industrial Revolution.…| History of Massachusetts Blog
The Salem Village meetinghouse was located near the corner of Hobart and Forest Streets in Danvers, Massachusetts. Originally built in 1672, the meetinghouse served as a place of worship and a general gathering place for civil and military matters. The land for the meetinghouse was donated by Joseph Hutchinson, who…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Ingersoll’s Tavern, also known as Ingersoll's Ordinary, is a historic house in Danvers, Massachusetts that once served as a tavern during the Salem Witch Trials. The tavern is a Colonial-style clapboard house located on Hobart Street. The oldest part of the house was built in 1670 for Nathaniel Ingersoll, lieutenant…| History of Massachusetts Blog
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a dark time in American history. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 were killed during the hysteria. Ever since those dark days ended, the trials have become synonymous with mass hysteria and scapegoating. The following are some facts…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Salem is a historic town in Massachusetts. The area was home to native people for thousands of years before being settled by the Massachusetts Bay colonists in the 17th century. Salem is most famous for the being the site of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 but also has a…| History of Massachusetts Blog
The Salem Village Parsonage archaeological site is the location of the Salem Village parsonage during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. The parsonage is where Reverend Samuel Parris, his wife Elizabeth Parris, their three children, including daughter Betty Parris, their niece Abigail Williams and their slaves, Tituba and John Indian,…| History of Massachusetts Blog