Charter Street Cemetery, Salem, Massachusetts, photo by Frank Cousins
With the new Welcome Center now open inside the circa 1665 Samuel Pickman house and after the major restoration work on headstones, box tombs, and landscaping at the Charter Street Cemetery, let’s look back at this historic burying ground through the eyes of Frank Cousins (1851-1925).
In 1868, Cousins opened a general store at 170-174 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts. Besides the necessities of local Salemites, his shop carried photo postcards and other knickknacks for tourists. At first, he bought other photographers’ images, but then he became interested in photography and sold his own images. (He also was interested in the colonial architecture of Salem and wrote a book about it.)
The Old Burying Point (or Charter Street Cemetery) was first used in 1637, though the earliest surviving gravestone dates to 1673.
Just inside the Charter Street gate.In the center of this photo, you can see the box tomb of Governor Simon Bradstreet (1604-1697). He was acting governor at the beginning of the witch accusations until May 1692, when Rev. Increase Mather returned from London with the new Massachusetts charter and the new governor, William Phips.The plaque on Governor Simon Bradstreet’s box tomb. At the time of Nathaniel Mather’s death at age 19 in 1688, his father Rev. Increase Mather (1639-1723) was in London lobbying the king for the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter. Increase first visited his son’s grave while in Salem for the 1692 witch trials.At two years old, Samuel Shattock (1678-1695) suffered from fits and catatonia. By 1692, his health issues were unresolved. During the Salem witch trials, people said he was bewitched. His parents, Samuel and Sarah Shattock, testified against accused witch Bridget Bishop. Mary Corey was the second wife of accused witch Giles Corey. In 1678, she was charged with cursing & swearing, being drunk, and using abusive speech. She died in 1684, aged 63 years. Giles and his third wife Martha were executed as witches in 1692, Giles by peine forte et dure (stone weight torture) and Martha by hanging.This dual headstone, featuring a death head and an urn, is for William Hollingsworth (1655-1688) and his mother Eleanor (1630-1689). Eleanor’s daughter Mary married the prosperous merchant Philip English (1651-1736) in 1675. Mary and Philip English were arrested for witchcraft in 1692. They escaped from the Boston jail and returned home after the trials were over. This is my favorite Frank Cousins’ image from Charter Street Cemetery, and not because it’s the gravestone for Col. John Hathorne (1641-1717). This stone was encased in cement after being seriously damaged many years ago. (I’d guess the damage happened in the 1930s, based on a postcard.) Hathorne was the magistrate who handled the early arrests of accused witches and depositions of their accusers. He also became a judge on the Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692.
No convicted witches executed at Proctor’s Ledge in 1692 are buried at Charter Street Cemetery. Their remains were taken from the shallow graves near the gallows and buried in secret by their family and friends. Their burial locations remain unknown. Requiescat in pace.
2 Comments on “Salem’s Old Burying Point: Old photos by Frank Cousins”
My great grandmother was Elizabeth Jackson How. We had it verfied by the Essex Institute in 1992, from our well researched family tree. I wish there was some way of knowing where she was finally laid to rest!! She was one of the first 5 women hanged on July 19th, 1692. I copied 11 pages of her court transcripts from the Salem Witch papers, when I was there. Where was she and the other 4 women hanged?
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Elsie,
Convicted witches were hanged at Proctor’s Ledge, an area bounded by Proctor and Pope streets in Salem. The Gallows Hill Team spent five years researching data and analyzing topography to pinpoint the site where 19 victims of the 1692 witch hunt were executed. In 2017, a memorial was dedicated at the location at Proctor’s Ledge.
Although they had private burials and unmarked graves, the victims’ bodies were taken from Proctor’s Ledge and buried by family and friends. We know this from numerous family stories. Also, from records we know the gravediggers only dug shallow graves (probably in anticipation that families would take their dead) and that no bones were found at Proctor’s Ledge. Rest assured that these victims were buried—during such a tumultuous time—so that they could rest in peace, undisturbed by those who believed they were witches. They may have been buried on family property or at relatives and friends’ private burial places. And while you cannot visit (or find) those secret burial places, Salem, Danvers, and other towns have created memorials so you can show your respects to and mourn the victims of the 1692 Salem witch trials.
For the 300th anniversary of the witch-hunt, Topsfield Historical Society placed a stone on the town common commemorating its three victims.
In memory of three women of Topsfield Parish
Mary Esty
Elizabeth How
Sarah Wildes
Victims of the Witchcraft Delusion of 1692.
My great grandmother was Elizabeth Jackson How. We had it verfied by the Essex Institute in 1992, from our well researched family tree. I wish there was some way of knowing where she was finally laid to rest!! She was one of the first 5 women hanged on July 19th, 1692. I copied 11 pages of her court transcripts from the Salem Witch papers, when I was there. Where was she and the other 4 women hanged?
Elsie,
Convicted witches were hanged at Proctor’s Ledge, an area bounded by Proctor and Pope streets in Salem. The Gallows Hill Team spent five years researching data and analyzing topography to pinpoint the site where 19 victims of the 1692 witch hunt were executed. In 2017, a memorial was dedicated at the location at Proctor’s Ledge.
Although they had private burials and unmarked graves, the victims’ bodies were taken from Proctor’s Ledge and buried by family and friends. We know this from numerous family stories. Also, from records we know the gravediggers only dug shallow graves (probably in anticipation that families would take their dead) and that no bones were found at Proctor’s Ledge. Rest assured that these victims were buried—during such a tumultuous time—so that they could rest in peace, undisturbed by those who believed they were witches. They may have been buried on family property or at relatives and friends’ private burial places. And while you cannot visit (or find) those secret burial places, Salem, Danvers, and other towns have created memorials so you can show your respects to and mourn the victims of the 1692 Salem witch trials.
For the 300th anniversary of the witch-hunt, Topsfield Historical Society placed a stone on the town common commemorating its three victims.
In memory of three women of Topsfield Parish
Mary Esty
Elizabeth How
Sarah Wildes
Victims of the Witchcraft Delusion of 1692.
See image here:
http://topsfieldtimes.pbworks.com/w/page/71492917/Witchcraft%20Hysteria%20Commemorative%20Stone