Abbie Weeks - Essay - Morgan County
Item
Title
Abbie Weeks - Essay - Morgan County
Description
The Salem Witch Trail
Abstract
In October 1692, in Salem Massachusetts the bloodiest part of the Salem witch trials were happening. To summarize what all happened we will start with Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, her cousin.
Betty was the daughter of the minister at the Salem village church. Betty and Abigail began to bend their necks, backs and arms in unhuman like ways, as they would call it fits. They had a doctor called upon them because no matter what, the fits always came back. They'd mainly start when they were around people. When the doctor came to see them, even he didn't know what was happening and when the doctor didn't know what was going on they would diagnose witchcraft. There was a case similar to the girls; 4 children with the surname Goodwin would have fits similar to the girls. How we know this is because of a man named
Cotton Mather and writer who wrote about them in a book. The 4 children accused a servant of theirs Goody Glover she was found guilty in November 1688 and was hanged in Boston Massachusetts. The same thing would soon happen to one of the servants of Samuel Parris Betty's father. Samuel pressured the girls to name the person that was doing this to them because if it had gone on any longer without an answer the girls could have been accused of witchcraft themselves. The girls named Tituba as the witch that was doing it to them. No one could place Tituba under arrest or charge her with anything until an adult accused her.
A girl named Mercy Lewis was a servant of the Putnum family. When she was 4 her village in York Massachusetts was attacked by a native American tribe named Wabanaki's they slaughtered many people mainly the people in her family but after that there was a 10-year truce with the natives. There were raids in a near by village and when Mercy found out she began to have fits to along with Ann Putnum, her mom, and Mary Wolcott Ann's cousin. The girls also accused Tituba of being the one who was bewitching them. Mercy would play a crucial part in helping accuse potential witches. With the girls' accusations Tituba was taken to the towns jail. Tituba's preliminary examination was conducted by John Hathorne who was only there to get confessions out of the people accused. Tituba first told them she was not a witch and that she did nothing to the girls. After that the girls then started having a fit. Tituba tried to reason with Mr. Hathorne but she soon realized that if she did not confess her slave owner Samuel Parris would have her beat half to death, she then confessed to being a witch and that she never intended to hurt the girls and she began to name the names of the other witches in the town.
During the climax of the witch trials 20 people were hanged for witchcraft and if most, if not all of them, never confessed to being witches. One of them Goody Osborn was one of the people Tituba said was a witch. She was found guilty due to Mercy Lewis confessing she has seen her in astral form. Goody Osborn was the first of many unconfessed people to be hanged. Her husband was also accused of being a witch. He denied it from the very beginning and did not cooperate at all. So, they tried to squeeze a confession out of him literally. They had him lay on the ground and put tons of rocks on him for two days he never confessed and ended up dying from the pressure of the rocks. George Burrows was accused of being the head of the witch group even though he was the towns old minister. He also never confessed to being a witch. He was sentenced to be hanged. While he had the lose rope around his neck, he resisted the lord's prayer. It was thought no witch could resight the lord's prayer accurately. Cotton Mather came from Boston to see the hanging and reassured all the people there that George burrows was no ordinary witch and that he was never ordained. He was hanged anyways even though he resisted the lord's prayer accurately.
After George Burrows was hanged many people started to doubt the church and the law. Many more people died because they would not confess and give names of any more witches in the town. The people in the village started to fight back and tried to stop the trials from happening anymore and eventually the trials ended with 20 people hanged for not confessing to be witches all the people who confessed to being a witch got to live and go free as they pleased. In 1703 the general court of the Massachusetts bay colony throws out most of the evidence used in the witch trials. 1706 Ann Putnum jr. one of the girls that had the fits and accused many people during the time of the trials made a formal apology to her church and the families of those she accused. 1711 colony begins to give money to the families of the executed.
There is many conflicting evidence on both sides of the cases and it is up to you to choose what side of the story you believe the girls that had been bewitched by the women in the town or the accused witches that confessed to being not guilty.
Betty was the daughter of the minister at the Salem village church. Betty and Abigail began to bend their necks, backs and arms in unhuman like ways, as they would call it fits. They had a doctor called upon them because no matter what, the fits always came back. They'd mainly start when they were around people. When the doctor came to see them, even he didn't know what was happening and when the doctor didn't know what was going on they would diagnose witchcraft. There was a case similar to the girls; 4 children with the surname Goodwin would have fits similar to the girls. How we know this is because of a man named
Cotton Mather and writer who wrote about them in a book. The 4 children accused a servant of theirs Goody Glover she was found guilty in November 1688 and was hanged in Boston Massachusetts. The same thing would soon happen to one of the servants of Samuel Parris Betty's father. Samuel pressured the girls to name the person that was doing this to them because if it had gone on any longer without an answer the girls could have been accused of witchcraft themselves. The girls named Tituba as the witch that was doing it to them. No one could place Tituba under arrest or charge her with anything until an adult accused her.
A girl named Mercy Lewis was a servant of the Putnum family. When she was 4 her village in York Massachusetts was attacked by a native American tribe named Wabanaki's they slaughtered many people mainly the people in her family but after that there was a 10-year truce with the natives. There were raids in a near by village and when Mercy found out she began to have fits to along with Ann Putnum, her mom, and Mary Wolcott Ann's cousin. The girls also accused Tituba of being the one who was bewitching them. Mercy would play a crucial part in helping accuse potential witches. With the girls' accusations Tituba was taken to the towns jail. Tituba's preliminary examination was conducted by John Hathorne who was only there to get confessions out of the people accused. Tituba first told them she was not a witch and that she did nothing to the girls. After that the girls then started having a fit. Tituba tried to reason with Mr. Hathorne but she soon realized that if she did not confess her slave owner Samuel Parris would have her beat half to death, she then confessed to being a witch and that she never intended to hurt the girls and she began to name the names of the other witches in the town.
During the climax of the witch trials 20 people were hanged for witchcraft and if most, if not all of them, never confessed to being witches. One of them Goody Osborn was one of the people Tituba said was a witch. She was found guilty due to Mercy Lewis confessing she has seen her in astral form. Goody Osborn was the first of many unconfessed people to be hanged. Her husband was also accused of being a witch. He denied it from the very beginning and did not cooperate at all. So, they tried to squeeze a confession out of him literally. They had him lay on the ground and put tons of rocks on him for two days he never confessed and ended up dying from the pressure of the rocks. George Burrows was accused of being the head of the witch group even though he was the towns old minister. He also never confessed to being a witch. He was sentenced to be hanged. While he had the lose rope around his neck, he resisted the lord's prayer. It was thought no witch could resight the lord's prayer accurately. Cotton Mather came from Boston to see the hanging and reassured all the people there that George burrows was no ordinary witch and that he was never ordained. He was hanged anyways even though he resisted the lord's prayer accurately.
After George Burrows was hanged many people started to doubt the church and the law. Many more people died because they would not confess and give names of any more witches in the town. The people in the village started to fight back and tried to stop the trials from happening anymore and eventually the trials ended with 20 people hanged for not confessing to be witches all the people who confessed to being a witch got to live and go free as they pleased. In 1703 the general court of the Massachusetts bay colony throws out most of the evidence used in the witch trials. 1706 Ann Putnum jr. one of the girls that had the fits and accused many people during the time of the trials made a formal apology to her church and the families of those she accused. 1711 colony begins to give money to the families of the executed.
There is many conflicting evidence on both sides of the cases and it is up to you to choose what side of the story you believe the girls that had been bewitched by the women in the town or the accused witches that confessed to being not guilty.
Youth(s) First Name and Initial of Last Name
Abbie Weeks
Age Division
16
Category
Essay
County
Morgan
