{"id":87589,"date":"2022-11-02T11:33:27","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T15:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=87589"},"modified":"2023-06-07T09:44:52","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T13:44:52","slug":"witchcraft-salem-witch-trials-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/witchcraft-salem-witch-trials-part-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Witchcraft: Salem Witch Trials, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry writes more about efforts in the Massachusetts Legislature to clear the names of the victims found guilty of witchcraft in the Salem trials of 1692-93. Melissa is a genealogist who has a blog, AnceStory Archives<\/a>, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Today I continue with the story about the efforts in the Massachusetts Legislature to clear the names of the victims found guilty of witchcraft in the Salem trials of 1692-93.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:<\/a>
Illustration: \u201cExamination of a Witch\u2019 by T. H. Matteson, 1853, inspired by the Salem witch trials of 1692-93. Credit: Peabody Essex Museum; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to a Smithsonian Magazine<\/em> article published in 2007, \u201cA Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials: One Town\u2019s Strange Journey from Paranoia to Pardon<\/a>,\u201d colonial authorities in 1711 pardoned most of the accused and compensated their families.<\/p>\n

However, there were a few victims whose families were not there to request a pardon. I found several articles in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> that covered the continuous effort to absolve the victims left out and to pass a bill to clear all the victims charged.<\/p>\n

There were two major concerns with overturning the convictions. First, some said it would be an empty gesture because the convictions occurred while the commonwealth was a colony of Great Britain. Second, some officials feared the financial burdens that might be placed on the state should the descendants seek damages.<\/p>\n

Additionally, some argued it would hurt the tourist trade in Salem.<\/p>\n

My last story<\/a> ended with the hearings held by the state\u2019s joint legislative committee on constitutional law in 1957, which included viewing a TV film from the CBS series Odyssey entitled \u201cSatan in Salem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Life Magazine<\/em> covered the hearings and published a story, \u201cNo Legal Switch to Clear a Witch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: hearing in 1957 on legislation to exonerate the Salem witches, State House, Boston, Massachusetts. Credit: Life Magazine, March 1957, \u201cNo Legal Switch to Clear a Witch,” page 50, public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

John B. Hatch, who spoke before the committeemen during the hearings, believed that justice could only be served via the English crown. Here is an article the Advocate<\/em> newspaper published in August 1960, but I can tell you Hatch was continually in the press over this fight to exonerate the Salem witches.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), 21 August 1960, page 43<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article reported:<\/p>\n

Hatch\u2019s eyes flash with zeal when he discusses his cause. \u201cI am not a descendant, I have no affiliation with any sect or group, and I am not trying to embarrass the United States Government or the Queen of England,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t stand to gain a thing. But someone has to try to get justice for these people. You can\u2019t just let a crime rest because it happened a long time ago.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Boston Herald<\/em> covered the legislative hearings in 1957.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Boston Herald (Boston, Massachusetts), 14 February 1957, page 38<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I quoted from this article in my last story, but here are some more details:<\/p>\n

Judge Robert W. Hill of Marblehead, another backer [of the legislation to exonerate the witches] offered two revisions: That the convictions be reversed \u201cinsofar as the Legislature has the power to do it\u201d; and that no damage claims by descendants will be recognized.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should think,\u201d said Sen. William E. Hays of Waltham, committee chairman, \u201cthat the statute of limitations should apply on that by now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judge Hill pointed out that the six [accused witches] were not exonerated in a mass action of 1711 only because they had no relatives to ask that their names be cleared. Something over 579 pounds [English currency] were paid in damages to heirs of the others at that time.<\/p>\n

The white-haired jurist placed the Essex Institute, the Essex County Tourist Council, the Salem Garden Club, and H. Vance Greenslit, a descendant of Ann Pudeator, on record for the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome Salem people are a little ashamed,\u201d Dr. Walter Merrill, director of the Essex Institute, told the committee. \u201cBut Massachusetts was the first state to make witchcraft a non-triable offense. We should add to that distinction by clearing all the witches. Let right be done by these dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

John R. Serafini, Salem city councilor speaking for the council, deplored the fact that in certain quarters \u201cthis is taken very lightly\u201d and urged legislators to remember that the Salem \u201cwitches\u201d died \u201cbecause they valued their own integrity above life \u2013 because they would not recant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Col. Don J. Anderson of the Essex County Tourist Council declared, \u201cThe righting of a wrong never hurt anybody. It will be difficult to explain to Essex County tourists why you have not taken action to vindicate these people. I beseech you to clear them.\u201d<\/p>\n

A direct descendant of Rebecca Nurse [also spelled Nourse], hanged as a witch, later cleared and rewarded through her heirs with the payment of 25 pounds, Rep. William F. Nourse (R-Medfield) urged that \u201cjustice be done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ralph C. Fitts of Myrtle Street, who described himself as the descendant of witch Susanna Martin, of certain jurors and of some witnesses in the trials, said: \u201cI am very sure they (the victims) would want this bill passed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill, an evergreen, was killed in one form or another in 1946, 1950, 1953, and 1954.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It appears that by September of that year the matter was resolved, and the six remaining uncleared witches were given their just desserts \u2013 right on time for tourist season.<\/p>\n

The headline story \u201cWitches No Longer,\u201d written by Joy Miller, appeared in several newspapers. Here is one from the Tulsa World<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Tulsa World (Tulsa, Oklahoma), 15 September 1957, page 80<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article reported:<\/p>\n

For 265 years Bridget Bishop<\/a> and five others remained branded as witches.<\/p>\n

Late last month in a legislative resolve signed by Gov. [John Foster] Furcolo, she was, for all practical purposes, cleared of charges that included murdering a few neighbors, consorting with the devil, and causing a farmer\u2019s cart to be stuck in a hole that later vanished.<\/p>\n

Bridget owes her restored good name to Ann Pudeator<\/a>, one of the last witches hanged and an upright woman who more than likely in her lifetime had very little good to say for the flashy tavern-keeper.<\/p>\n

A dozen years ago H. Vance Greenslit, a descendant of Ann Pudeator \u2013 who had been Ann Greenslade before her marriage to Jacob Pudeator \u2013 looked up his genealogy. He was jolted to find a witch in the family.<\/p>\n

Most of the witchcraft convictions had been reversed in 1711, but apparently no relatives were around then to speak up for Ann, Bridget, or Wilmot Redd, Susanna Martin, Alice Parker, and Margaret Scott.<\/p>\n

Greenslit wrote to Robert W. Hill, a Salem lawyer now retiring as district judge after 37 years, to see what could be done about clearing their names.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got me interested,\u201d Judge Hill recalls. \u201cIt seemed a simple matter. I said, \u2018Sure, I\u2019ll go ahead.\u2019 I drew up a bill for a petition and State Sen. J. Elmer Callahan filed it with the clerk of the Massachusetts senate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t pass. One prominent legislator argued we were trying to rewrite history. So I\u2019d put in the bill for a few years, lay off, put it in again. Some people said I was silly, but \u2013 and I never charged Greenslit a cent \u2013 I was just finishing a job. No one was going to be a whit different if it passed or not, but it would be correcting a wrong on the record.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Much debate followed, in committee hearings such as mentioned above, going back and forth. Finally, A Resolve To Reverse The Attainders, Judgments And Convictions For Witchcraft Of Ann Pudeator And Others<\/a> was passed in 1957.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit the Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> Witchcraft trial at Salem Village. The central figure in this 1876 illustration of the courtroom is usually identified as Mary Walcott. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial. <\/a><\/p>\n

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