It is a common misconception that the people convicted of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials were burned at the stake. The convicted Salem witches were hanged by the neck by a rope tied to a tree. The victims were forced to climb a ladder that was propped up against…| History of Massachusetts Blog
As convicted witches, the Salem Witch Trials victims were not allowed a Christian burial in consecrated ground. As a result, it is not known where they were buried. After each victim was executed at Proctor's Ledge, their body was cut down and placed in a shallow grave in a rocky…| History of Massachusetts Blog
George Corwin was the high sheriff of Essex County during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. He was the nephew of Judge Jonathan Corwin and Judge Wait Winthrop and the grandson of John Winthrop the Younger, the Governor of Connecticut. George Corwin was born in Salem, Massachusetts on February 26,…| History of Massachusetts Blog
John Proctor was a successful farmer and the first male to be named a witch during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Proctor was born in Assington, England on October 9, 1631. He immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony with his parents, John Proctor, Sr, and Martha Harper Proctor, sometime…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Ann Putnam, Jr, was one of the afflicted girls during the Salem Witch Trials and the daughter of the witch trials ringleader Thomas Putnam. Born on October 18, 1679, in Salem, Ann Putnam Jr, was the oldest of 10 children born to Ann Carr Putnam and Thomas Putnam, a sergeant…| History of Massachusetts Blog
Samuel Sewall was a judge in the Salem Witch Trials and the only judge to apologize for his role in the trials. Sewall was born in Bishopstoke, England on March 28, 1652. His family had previously lived in the settlement of Newbury in the Massachusetts Bay Colony but temporarily returned…| 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
