Accusers in salem witch trials

Mercy Lewis was an afflicted girl from Salem Village. She was a year-old servant who had lost her parents in a Native-American raid in Maine in After being orphaned at 16 years of age, Lewis worked as a servant for Reverend George Burroughs until he decided to move his family to Wells, Maine and Lewis instead joined a group of refugees migrating to Salem Village where she eventually found work as a servant for Thomas Putnam.

After Lewis began showing symptoms of being afflicted, other villagers, such as John Walcott, Nathaniel Ingersoll, Thomas and John Putnam, filed complaints against various people suspected of bewitching Mercy Lewis. Mary Marshall was a year-old widow from Reading. In addition, Marshall also served as a witness against Elizabeth Colson.

Abigail Martin was one of the afflicted girls of Andover. Martin was the year-old daughter of Samuel Martin. Samuel Martin was the father of Abigail Martin. Sarah Phelps was from Andover and was the daughter of Samuel Phelps. Then, in September of , Phelps accused Mary Parker of afflicting her since the beginning of August. In addition, John Putnam Jr also testified that he was a part of a jury that viewed the body of Daniel Wilkins, whom John Willard was charged with afflicting, and believed him to be the victim of witchcraft.

Nathaniel Putnam was a lieutenant in the local militia and lived in Salem Village. Putnam also served as a witness against John Willard and Sarah Buckley. In addition, Nathaniel Putnam also testified that he was a part of a jury that viewed the body of Daniel Wilkins, whom John Willard was charged with afflicting, and believed him to be the victim of witchcraft.

Thomas Rayment was a yeoman from Salem Village. Susannah Sheldon was one of the afflicted girls of Salem Village. Sheldon was 18 years old at the time of the Salem Witch Trials. Martha Sprague was one of the afflicted girls of Andover. She was the year-old stepcousin of Rose Foster and the stepdaughter of Moses Tyler. In November of , Stevens invited the afflicted girls of Salem Village to come to Gloucester and investigate why Mary was ill.

According to the court records, William Stevens also served as a juror during Rebecca Jacobs trial in January of John and Robert Swan were the brothers of Timothy Swan and filed a complaint against Mary Clarke of Haverhill in August of for afflicting their brother. Moses Tyler was the year-old stepfather of Martha Sprague and lived in Andover. Mary Warren was one of the afflicted girls of Salem Village.

Mary Walcott was one of the afflicted girls of Salem Village. Walcott was the year-old daughter of Captain John Walcott. Captain John Walcott was a captain in the local militia and the father of Mary Walcott. Abigail Williams was one of the afflicted girls of Salem Village.

Simon Willard was a year-old former resident of Concord who later moved to Ipswich and then to Salem where he served as the deacon of the First Church or Salem and also as marshal of Essex county in In September of , Simon Willard filed complaints against the following people for afflicting the girls of Salem Village: Joseph Emmons.

Joseph Whipple was from Salem Village. Abigail, on the other hand, played a prominent role in the Salem witch trials, accusing a total of 57 people of witchcraft. She gave her last testimony before the court in early June , and no record exists of her life after the trials. After her parents died suddenly in , Ann Jr.

Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth was an orphan who worked as a maid in the household of her aunt, Rachel Griggs, and her husband, William Griggs, the doctor who first attended the afflicted girls in the Parris household. Elizabeth joined Betty, Abigail and Ann Jr. Known for her tendency to go into trances in the courtroom, she claimed frequently to be tormented by the specters of the accused. Compared with the Parrises and Putnams, Hubbard had little family or economic support, and faced an uncertain future as an orphaned domestic servant.

Historian Carol Karlsen has argued that Hubbard and some of the other accusers in similar circumstances may have wanted to "focus the communities' concern on their difficulties.

A witchcraft trial where Mary Walcott is shown as a witness. Perhaps predictably, Mary Walcott joined the core group of accusers by March , and went on to see numerous visions and suffer apparent afflictions at the hands of accused witches. Other times, she sat in the courtroom and knitted calmly while other afflicted girls had fits around her. Of the accused witches Walcott testified against, 16 were executed, one Giles Corey was pressed to death and another died in jail. Samuel Parris performed the ceremony.

She had six children, and died in , at the age of She is suspicious because Rebecca has not lost any of her children. Proctor criticizes Parris for preaching about money rather than God. She confesses because she is being whipped. She confesses to save her life. Her confession causes the women to begin accusing one another. Why did Abigail drink blood? Abigail drank blood to try to kill Elizabath Proctor. She loves John Proctor. Tituba was accused of witchcraft by Abigail.

Abby snatches the chicken away from Tituba and snaps its neck. They all dance around the cauldron. They see Reverend Parris approaching in the distance. Hover for more information. Abigail, Tituba, and the girls were dancing around a fire that was supporting a boiling pot. Mary tries to compel Abigail to confess to dancing and singing in the woods with Tituba in order to protect the entire group from accusations of worse activity.

Mary is afraid of telling the truth about Abigail because she thinks that Abigail will accuse her of witchery and then she will end up in jail awaiting a trial. Why does Elizabeth think Abigail wants to kill her?

Hail came out to question all accused persons for himself so that he would have some knowledge of the people before they appeared in court or Jail. There were two primary accusations, one from Abigail Hobbs who during her own confession to witchcraft named Giles and Martha Corey as fellow witches, and one from Exekiell Chevers and John Putnam, Jr. Historically, a confession was the single best way for the court to gain a conviction and an execution for charges of witchcraft.

The irony is that none of the accused Salem witches who confessed were convicted or executed but all 19 people who refused to confess were found guilty and executed. Situational irony You would think that the people that were accused of witchcraft would be the ones executed not the innocent. Because John had already confessed and he said that she had never lied. It also could have ended all of the trials is she had told the truth.

John Proctor refuses to sign a confession that he served the devil by practicing witchcraft because it is a lie. He has lost everything—his home, his family, his community—but he refusesd to give up his good name.

She believes that he did the right thing to save his family and that he dies with honor.