Last convicted Salem witch exonerated
Timeline of Elizabeth Johnson Jr.’s conviction to exoneration for the Salem witch trials of 1692.
Tag: Samuel Sewall
Creating a spectacle at Proctor’s Ledge
Giles Corey pressed to death. Unknown artist.
Giles Corey’s punishment during the Salem witch trials.
Richard Francis: From Sewall biographer to Salem witch trials storyteller
No doubt Samuel Sewall never anticipated his private diaries would be widely read and quoted by historians and others interested in the minutiae of his life. As a family man, merchant, and part-time judge, Sewall faced common challenges that rocked …
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Pirates, a prelude to the Salem witch trials
Massachusetts Bay Colony had numerous issues with pirates, from Dixey Bull to Blackbeard. During the interim (post-Andros, pre-Phips) government, the Court of Assistants ruled on a piracy case involving several men from Salem. The final verdicts would reverberate throughout the …
Capitalizing on seasonal interest in the Salem witch trials
Every October it’s inevitable that new publications on the Salem witch trials are published. It’s odd because the witches of our Halloween imaginations have nothing to do with the innocent people hanged in 1692. This time one of the new …
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The Salem witch trials and the Body of Liberties laws
When the witch hunt started in Salem Village in February 1692, the Massachusetts colonists were waiting for Rev. Increase Mather to return home from England with a new governor, Sir William Phips, and joint monarchs William & Mary’s new charter. …
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