Curious what plants were well-known by the 17th-century Massachusetts Bay colonists, I delved into Michael Brown’s new book, Medieval Plants and Their Uses. Planting and harvesting were essential to the survival of communities. Besides food and medicinal purposes, though, could …
A review of the book, Teaching Witchcraft: A Guide for Students and Teachers of Wicca, by Miles Batty.
In January 2023, the Peabody Essex Museum’s Phillips Library returned 527 Salem witch trials (SWT) documents to the Judicial Archives at the Massachusetts State Archives facility in Boston. Established in 1692 after the dismissal of the Court of Oyer and …
For almost 10 years, Thomas Carrier lived unobtrusively in Billerica, Massachusetts. And then he met Martha—and his life dramatically changed. In May 1674, 47-year-old “Thomas Carrier, vulgarly called Thomas Morgan, of Billerikey” confessed to fornication with Martha Allen, daughter of …
Timeline of Elizabeth Johnson Jr.’s conviction to exoneration for the Salem witch trials of 1692.
Want to learn more about Charter Street Cemetery? Pick up If These Stones Could Speak: The History and People of the Old Salem Burying Point by Daniel Fury. Learn about the people who lived and died in Salem. Black-and-white grave …
By Tony Fels On July 28, 2022, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts formally exonerated the last innocent victim of the infamous 17th-century Salem witch hunt. Elizabeth Johnson Jr., known to her contemporaries as Betty, was a 22-year-old resident of Andover, Massachusetts, …
What Elizabeth Johnson’s exoneration teaches about the Salem witch hunt Read more »
On 26 May 2022, the Massachusetts State Senate passed Amendment 842, part of the process to clear the name of Elizabeth Johnson Jr., the last convicted witch from the Salem witch trials. Now it will go to a conference committee …
While Massachusetts Bay ministers were lamenting the lack of devotion to the Puritan ideal and dwindling numbers of covenanted members in the late 17th century, everyday people were struggling with forces beyond their control. Between 1645 and 1715, the Little …
