Separating fact from fiction: A conversation with Marilyn Roach, Rachel Christ-Doane, and Tricia Peone. What role did Cotton Mather really play in the infamous Salem witch trials, and how have his involvement and his writings on witchcraft impacted his legacy …
History Camp is a casual conference that brings together adults from all walks of life. The weekend includes 50 history camp sessions; tables for authors/history organizations and vendors; and special events (Friends Reception, historic site tours). Some of the witchcraft-related …
Colonial New Englanders were prolific imbibers, drinking roughly three times as much alcohol as modern Americans. Drinking was not only a means of physical and emotional survival but also the driving force behind the growing popularity of taverns that played …
Fox’d and Fuddled: The History of Colonial Drinking! Read More »
Daniel A. Gagnon will explore why 1692 Witch-Hunt victim George Jacobs Sr.’s grave was left unmarked, while Rebecca Nurse’s purported grave was memorialized, how Danvers (Salem Village) confronted its legacy of the witch-hunt, and why the bones of a man …
Skeletons in the Closet: The Life & Afterlife of George Jacobs Sr. Read More »
Join Historic Beverly for a remembrance event at Hale Farm as we honor the voices of resistance that transcended the injustices of the Salem witch trials. September 22nd was the largest execution day of the Salem witch trials; eight people …
Mary Estey’s story is often overshadowed by her sister, Rebecca Nurse, in the history of the 1692 Salem witch trials. This presentation will encompass Mary’s life from her humble beginnings in Great Yarmouth, her family life, border disputes, through to …
Mary Estey: Her Life, Execution, and Her Historic Legacy Read More »
The tyranny of Charles I, royal prerogative and decrees, arbitrary taxation, entrenched inequality - all this and more the Puritans tossed overboard as their ships set sail not just for what was for them a new world, but a new …
What They Left Behind: The English Politics the Puritans Rejected Read More »
Fiction has portrayed witch-suspects jailed in buildings ranging from castle-like prisons of dressed stone to flimsy chicken coops, but what was the reality for over 160 people accused of witchcraft and crowded into four jails in three counties during 1692? …
Suburbs of Hell: Jail Conditions During the 1692 Salem Witch Trials Read More »
What better time than twilight in October to grab a flashlight and join us for a walk through this historic First Parish Burying Ground, final resting place of some of Old Newbury's first European settlers? To add to the intimacy …
Twilight Amongst the Tombstones: Night Walk in First Parish Burying Ground Read More »
Have you heard the expression, “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure”? Become an archaeologist at the historic John Balch house with this program focusing on excavations performed at the house in 1998. Examine a selection of objects found during …
