THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS Increase Mather Preacher and Teacher in Salem, Massachusetts June 21, 1639 - August 23, 1723 Enter your search terms Submit search form   Web gardenofpraise.com

This is not a story about witches. This is a story of the devastating effect rumor can have on the lives of the accused. The events of the Salem witch trials show what can happen when false accusations are made and people start blindly following those who are contributing to the hysteria.

It is hard to find a hero in this story. We decided to concentrate on Increase Mather even though at first he favored the witch trials and did not condemn the judges who happened to be his friends. He apparently changed his mind when his wife along with other prominent figures were accused of witchcraft. "It were better," Mather admonished his fellow ministers (including his son Cotton), "that ten suspected witches should escape than one innocent person should be condemned."

Unfortunately, it sometimes takes the targeting of a high profile person before action is taken.

Increase Mather was born in 1639. His parents had joined other Puritans in coming to America to settle in New England. There were six boys in the family, and five of them became ministers. Increase was the youngest son.

His parents encouraged scholarship, and Increase was a good student. He entered Harvard at the age of 12 and graduated on his eighteenth birthday. He would later return to become the president of Harvard.

He spent four years in England advocating* for the colony and was able to secure a new charter. When Mather and the new governor, Sir William Phips returned to New England in May of 1692 the country was embroiled* in the events surrounding the Salem witch hunts.



It all started in January of that year when some young girls began playing a fortune-telling game. They would gather in the home of the minister Parris and listen to stories told by his slave Tituba (tih TOO buh). Some of the girls fell ill, and the village physician decided the girls were bewitched. Advised by Mary Sibley, a member of the congregation, Tituba and her husband John Indian, another servant in the house, baked a "witch cake" to persuade the girls to tell who was bewitching them. They began to identify certain people as those who were responsible. They named Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne. The two women along with Tituba were arrested.

Others who were arrested over the next few months were Rebecca Nurse, John Proctor, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe, Sarah Wildes, and Rev. George Burroughs. Bridget Bishop was arrested and tried in June, and she was the first to be hanged. Sarah Osborne would die in prison, but the others were hanged on Gallows Hill in Salem.

Sarah Good's five-year-old daughter had been imprisoned with her, and when her mother was hanged, the child still remained in prison for months because she had told them she had a pet snake and they found a mark on her finger which they said was a "devil's mark". After she was released from prison she became an unmanageable child.

Supposedly a witch would not be able to recite the Lord's Prayer. Although George Burroughs recited it perfectly while he was standing on the gallows, they hanged him anyway.

Another man Giles Corey refused to stand trial and was pressed to death when they put heavy rocks on him until he could no longer breathe.

And what about Tituba, what happened to her? It is believed that in 1693 she was sold to another owner for the price of her prison fees.

Twenty people died as a result of the Salem Witch Trials. In 1694 the courts declared that witchcraft was no longer an offense in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Many of those responsible recanted* and expressed contrition* for their part in the deaths of all those innocent people. Some of the families sued for money to recompense* for the death of their loved ones, but they only got a meager amount; 578 English pounds to be distributed among the survivors.

Could Increase Mather have done more to stop the witch trials? Possibly. Even though he argued against using spectral* evidence in the trials, he could have had more influence had he not defended the judges of the trials. (Let it be noted that he didn't speak out against the use of spectral evidence until his wife had been accused of being a witch.)

Spectral evidence was testimony that the accused witch's spirit (i.e. spectre) appeared to the witness in a dream or vision. The dream or vision was admitted as evidence. Source: Wikipedia

Mather's first wife died and he remarried, but he became ill and finally died on August 23, 1723.

Salem Witch Museum

From these tragic events we can learn lessons of tolerance and understanding. We have seen the results of rumor, superstition*, and false accusation. Lives are devastated and families are torn apart when these things prevail. If you are ever in the New England area you can visit the Salem Witch Museum in Salem, Massachusetts and learn more about the witch trials that occurred in 1692.

Increase Mather at Wikipedia Increase Mather biography by Mathew Madden The Story of the Witch Hunt video from Discovery.com The Witch Trials from Discovery School Salem Witch Trials Salem Witchcraft Hysteria from National Geographic Salem Witch Museum Salem Massachusetts Salem Witchcraft Trials 1692 Salem Witch Trials 1692 Eyewitness to History.com Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases online essay by Increase Mather, edited by George L. Burr Salem Witch Trials online work by Increase Mather at the University of Virginia Ten New England Leaders online book by W.Walker. See page 173 for Mather

Puritans vs. Witches - Audiobook on CD By The Vision Forum, Inc Perhaps the most godly group of Christians to populate North America were the Puritans of New England. Yet no group has been more ruthlessly villified by modern historians, and no subject more misrepresented than their infamous Salem Witch Trials. In this brilliant, scholarly presentation, Dr. Paul Jehle goes beyond the popular rhetoric to expose the truth. He reveals both the wisdom and the failures associated with the Trials, and he makes the case that God used them to lay the foundation for the greatest revival in American history - the Great Awakening. 1 CD. 64 minutes.

The Witchcraft of Salem Village By Shirley Jackson / Random House, Inc Stories of magic, superstition, and witchcraft were strictly forbidden in the little town of Salem Village. But a group of young girls ignored those rules, spellbound by the tales told by a woman named Tituba. When questioned about their activities, the terrified girls set off a whirlwind of controversy as they accused townsperson after townsperson of being witches. Author Shirley Jackson examines in careful detail this horrifying true story of accusations, trials, and executions that shook a community to its foundations.

Salem Witch Trials Word Search


Salem Witch Trials Crossword Puzzle


Salem Witch Trials - Word Scramble

Online Crossword Puzzle

Online Word Search


Increase Mather Study Sheet


Worksheet

Excerpts from Ten New England Leaders

Work a Jigsaw Puzzle

From Word Central's Student Dictionary
by Merriam - Webster
(Pronunciation note: the schwa sound is shown by &)

spectral
'spek-tr&l
Function: adjective
of, relating to, or suggesting a specter : GHOSTLY

advocate
Pronunciation: 'ad-v&-kate
Function: verb
to speak in favor of : argue for

embroil
im-'broi&l
Function: verb
1 : to throw into disorder or confusion
2 : to involve in conflict or difficulties

recant
rih-'kant
Function: verb
to take back publicly an opinion or belief

contrite
k&n-'trIt
Function: adjective
feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for a wrong that one has done

contrition
Pronunciation: k&n-trish-&n
Function: noun
the state of being contrite

recompense
Pronunciation: 'rek-&m-pen(t)s
Function: verb
to pay for or pay back

superstition
'soo-p&r-'stish-&n
Function: noun
1 : a belief or practice resulting from ignorance,
fear of the unknown, or trust in magic
2 : an unreasoning fear of nature, the unknown,
or God resulting from superstition

Biographies in this Series

Presidents of the United States	George Washington 1st U.S. President	John Adams 2nd U.S. President	Thomas Jefferson 3rd U.S.President
	James Monroe 5th U.S. President	Andrew Jackson 7th U.S. President	Abraham Lincoln 16th U.S.President
	Franklin D. Roosevelt 32nd U.S. President	John F. Kennedy 35th U.S. President	James Madison 4th U.S. President
	Theodore Roosevelt 26th U.S. President
American Patriots	Benjamin Franklin patriot and statesman	Francis Scott Key Star Spangled Banner	Deborah Sampson woman soldier in the Revolutionary War
World Leaders	Constantine Roman Emperor	Alexander the Great conqueror	Winston Churchill British Prime Minister
Inventors	Alexander Graham Bell telephone	Johann Gutenberg printing press	Cyrus McCormick mechanical reaper
	The Wright Brothers first airplane	Henry Ford Automaker	Thomas A. Edison electric light bulb
	Sequoyah Cherokee alphabet	Nikola Tesla 700 patents	.
Explorers	Christopher Columbus explorer	Meriwether Lewis explorer	Robert Peary Arctic explorer
	John Muir Naturalist	Matthew Henson Arctic Explorer	Sir Edmund Hillary Mr.Everest
	Kit Carson Indian agent	"Johnny Appleseed" orchardist	.
Women who made a difference	Clara Barton founder of the Red Cross	Helen Keller overcame blindness & deafness	Florence Nightingale founder of nursing profession
	Joan of Arc religious and military leader	Amelia Earhart Aviator	Annie Oakley sharpshooter
	Susan B. Anthony Suffragette	Elizabeth Keckly Seamstress	Harriet Tubman deliverer of slaves
	Anne Frank Diarist	Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian	.
Scientists	George Washington Carver botanist and educator	Sir Isaac Newton explained gravity and properties of light	Marie Curie scientist, physicist
	Louis Pasteur Biologist	Albert Einstein physicist, genius	Galileo Astronomer, physicist
Educators	Noah Webster writer of dictionary	Booker T. Washington leader and educator	Aristotle Greek philosopher
Physicians	Hippocrates father of medicine	Walter Reed discovered cause of yellow fever	Albert Schweitzer humanitarian
Religious Leaders	Increase Mather Salem witch trials	.
Athletes	Lou Gehrig baseball player	Wilma Rudolph Olympic gold medal winner	Tiger Woods golfer
Civil Rights Leaders	Martin Luther King civil rights leader	Rosa Parks bus desegregation	Sojourner Truth Former slave
	Frederick Douglass Abolitionist	Mary Ann Shadd Cary Civil rights leader	James Forten Inventor, abolitionist
Composers	Beethoven composer
Artists	John James Audubon artist and naturalist	Gutzon Borglum sculptor, Mount Rushmore	Ansel Adams photographer

Home


Back to Famous Leaders



Puzzles courtesy of Armoured Penguin


Photos courtesy Wikipedia