Reading Samuel Sewall’s diaries
Thomas Danforth and his role in the Salem witch trials.
Category: History
What Elizabeth Johnson’s exoneration teaches about the Salem witch hunt
Examination of Elizabeth Johnson Jr.
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, …
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Forces behind Salem witch trials
Rev. John Higginson grave in Salem, Massachusetts
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 …
Civics in action: Exonerating Elizabeth Johnson Jr.
On 10 August 1692, 22-year-old Elizabeth Johnson Jr. of Andover, Massachusetts, was arrested for witchcraft. Probably influenced by 7-year-old Sarah and 10-year-old Thomas Carrier’s confessions, she told Justice Dudley Bradstreet that she too was baptized by Martha Carrier and participated …
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Salem’s Old Burying Point: Old photos by Frank Cousins
Charter Street Cemetery, Salem, Massachusetts, photo by Frank Cousins
After the major restoration work on headstones, box tombs, and landscaping at the Charter Street Cemetery, Salem, Massachusetts, let’s look back at this historic burying ground through the photos of Frank Cousins, circa 1890-1920.
Confessions of accused witches, part 4
Examination of George Burroughs
A conversation between Tony Fels and Margo Burns about the confessions during the Salem witch trials. Read the original post, part 1, part 2, and part 3. Margo Burns responds: Tony: Thanks for your thoughtful reply, but I still don’t accept …
Confessions of accused witches, part 3
Indictment v. Candy for afflicting Mary Walcott
A conversation between Tony Fels and Margo Burns about the confessions during the Salem witch trials. Read the original post, part 1, and part 2. Tony Fels responds. Margo, I’m afraid you have posited a straw argument concerning the confessors …
Confessions of accused witches, part 2
Ann Foster examination, 1692
A conversation between Tony Fels and Margo Burns about the confessions during the Salem witch trials. Read the original post and part 1. Margo Burns responds. Tony, respectfully, it’s necessary to look at the historical data more closely—per case and …
Confessions of accused witches, part 1
Tituba's testimony, 1692
Tony Fels and Margo Burns discuss the meaning of the 1692 Salem witch-hunt confessions.
Traditional Understanding Overshadows Academic Explanations at Rebecca Nurse Commemoration
By Tony Fels On June 7, 2021, the NPR show, “Here and Now,” aired a segment on the 400th birthday of Rebecca Nurse, broadcast from the Rebecca Nurse Homestead in Danvers (formerly Salem Village), Massachusetts. Readers of Witches of Massachusetts …