Salem Witch Persecutions Cast, Who Was Who
Kings, Accusers, Victims, Clergy, Judges, Ordinary People Involved…
Sep 22, 2008
Colonial Massachusetts witchcraft case is, in all probability, the most well-known, complex, written about and meticulously documented of all. This is a list of people who played major roles to be used as a reference, if needed, in what is a series of articles about what happened in Salem from 1692-1693.
Kings Who Paved the Way for Salem Witch Persecutions
They were James I who, as King James VI of Scotland, was responsible for the North Berwick Witches' Persecution. He detested and persecuted witches. Charles I, James’ son who enacted a law declaring witchcraft a capital crime and Charles II, James' grandson who decreed the Colonies couldn’t be self-ruled.
Salem's Witch Accusers Were Called “The Afflicted”
Children were capable of making allegations that innocent people were witches. One of the earliest documented cases is Witchcraft-Bilson & Leicester Boys. In Salem, they were Betty Parris, cousin Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam Jr., the first to exhibit behavior thought to be caused by bewitchment. Accused Tituba, Sara Good and Sara Osborne, Mercy Lewis, Mary Warren, Elizabeth Booth, Susannah Sheldon, Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Walcott, and Sarah Churchill, the trio’s friends soon followed.
Afflicted adults were Ann Putman Sr., Ann’s mother who took part in later condemnations and was motivated by revenge and John Indian, Tituba’s husband
Salem's Accused Witches
Before the frenzy was over, 19 people were hanged, one pressed to death and four died in prison. Only the notable of the 114 accused and those who lost their lives are listed. * indicates victims hanged on Gallows Hill.
- Tituba: One of first three victims of the Salem hysteria, along with Osborn and Good. Imprisoned and released.
- Sarah Osborne: Died in jail before trial.
- Sara Good*
- Sarah Wilds*
- Susannah Martin*
- Rebecca Nurse*
- Elizabeth How*
- John Willard *
- George Jacobs*
- Martha Carrier*
- Reverend George Burroughs: Acquitted in first trial. He had been the Salem church’s minister and made many enemies, including Ann Sr. He was, later, accused and convicted of being the coven’s leader. He shocked onlookers by saying the Lord’s Prayer before his execution because it was believed witches couldn’t repeat it.*
- Bridget Bishop*
- John Proctor: tavern-keeper, vociferous opponent of the persecutions*
- Janet Proctor: John’s wife, granted stay of execution due to pregnancy
- Martha Corey: Gile’s wife*
- Mary Esty*
- Alice Parker*
- Mary Parker*
- Margaret Scot*
- Ann Pudeater*
- Samuel Wardwell*
- Wilmott Redd*
- Giles Corey: pressed to death by rocks because he refused to acknowledge the court had a right to try him.
- Lydia Dustin: died in prison before trial
- Dorcas Good: four years old, imprisoned
- John Alden: respected ship’s captain, son of John and Priscilla. Escaped to New York.
Ministers Involved in Salem's Witch Persecutions
Samuel Parris was Betty’s father and the one who brought the girls’ hysterics to others’ attention. He owned slaves Tituba and John Indian. Cotton Mather,fanatically involved with hunts and persecutions, who wrote Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions in 1689 that may have helped lay the foundation for the Salem events. Increase Mather: Cotton’s father who wrote An essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences, which influenced the mania that would grip Salem.
Judges of Salem's Accused Witches
Magistrate Major William Hathorne, one of the chief prosecutors, is, possibly, noteworthy only because one of his descendents, author Nathaniel Hawthorne, was said to have changed the spelling of his surname because he violently opposed what his great-great grandfather did.
Related article:
Salem's Witch Hunts and Mass Hysteria
Sources:
The Dark World of Witches, Eric Maple, (Castle Books, 1964)
The Encyclopedia of Witches & Witchcraft,Rosemary Ellen Guiley, (Facts on File, Inc., 1999)
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