Blog – Page 75 – History of Massachusetts Blog

"The House Where Witchcraft Started," photo of the Salem Village Parsonage, home of Samuel Parris, Danvers, Mass, published in Witchcraft Illustrated by Henrietta D. Kimball, circa 1892. This house is actually just an addition that was added to the parsonage house in 1734. The original parsonage house was torn down in 1784 and this addition was then moved to Sylvan Street in Danvers.

Reverend Samuel Parris: Was He to Blame for the Salem Witch Trials?

Reverend Samuel Parris was the minister at Salem Village during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Samuel Parris was born in London, England, in 1653. In the late 1650s, his… Read more »

"Martha Corey and her persecutors," illustration published in Stranger's Guide to Boston and its Suburbs, circa 1883

The Witchcraft Trial of Martha Corey

Martha Corey, wife of Salem Village farmer Giles Corey, was accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Martha Corey, whose maiden name was Panon, had a controversial… Read more »

Illustration of the hanging of Bridget Bishop

The Salem Witch Trials Victims: Who Were They?

The Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem in the Province of Massachusetts Bay between 1692 and 1693. Historians believe the accused witches were victims of mob mentality, mass hysteria,… Read more »

"Ann Putnam House, Danvers" illustration published in the New England Magazine Volume 5, circa 1892

Ann Putnam, Jr: Villain or Victim?

Ann Putnam, Jr, was one of the afflicted girls during the Salem Witch Trials and the daughter of the witch trials ringleader Thomas Putnam. Born on October 18, 1679, in… Read more »

St. Botolph's Church, Boston, England, print circa 1890-1900

Reverend John Cotton: Puritan Reformist

John Cotton was a clergyman from England who moved to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1633. John Cotton’s Early Life: Cotton was born on December 4, 1585, in Derby, England,… Read more »