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Showing Original Post only (View all)Salem Witch Trials documents and other records [View all]
Last edited Sat May 1, 2021, 01:39 PM - Edit history (1)
Every once in a while, I feel the urge to once again snoop on my ancestors to see what they were up to. The easiest ones to check on are my dad's paternal ancestors, several of whom were involved in the Salem witch trials, as accusers and accused.
Here's where I find the best stuff, not only about the witch trials, but about other goings on in the American colonies in and around that time.
http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/home.html
This morning I decided to see what my distant great-grandfather Symon Tuttle was up to back then, so I went to the section Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County and found quite a lot of interesting court cases described in which he was the defendant. (Once, he was charged with stealing a mare, but it was his mare, and Symon was stealing it back from his neighbor.)
Here, in 1664 (Volume III), Symon ended up with a big fine and a prison term for shooting off his mouth. It was 100 years before the Revolutionary War, but Symon was raring to go:
I find myself reading about cases that didn't involve any of my ancestors, because it's like watching a soap opera on TV - only better.
This entry (Volume VI 1675-1678) mentions Symon, but its focus is John Hathorne, who later became the judge in the witch trials. It appears he was an imposing figure even before the witch trials, and determined to have his own way. Somewhere I read about a living "witch" descendant living near the cemetery where Hathorne is buried who takes her little dog for walks every morning and lets the dog piss on his grave.
Anyway, I just thought some of you here might also enjoy snooping into the past.
EDITED to add:
The famous author Nathaniel Hawthorne changed the spelling of his name from Hathorne to Hawthorne because he was ashamed of his witch-trials judge ancestor, John Hathorne.
(Wiki) Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 May 19, 1864) was an American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion.
He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, the only judge from the Salem witch trials who never repented his involvement.