Thursday, July 19, 2018

Salem Witch Trials - Did I have ancestors there?

I have just discovered, though I have NOT YET VERIFIED that *possibly* at two of my ancestors were hanged in Salem, Massachusetts, during the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692:

Hanged on June 10 - Bridget Bishop, Salem Town
Hanged on August 19 - John Proctor, Salem Village

(Note: Salem Town and Salem Village were political designations of two areas with differing opinions about life. This difference was one of the causes of the fear and animosity that gave rise to the Witch Trials.)

Many of the details so far match pretty well, but I have a lot of work to do before I know if these two are, indeed, my ancestors. I want to be sure; messing with this kind of fame is not something done lightly. There are many women named 'Bridget' and many men named 'John Proctor' in that time and in my own tree.






For a guy who used to think his entire ancestry was from England, Scotland, and Ireland, this amazes me. But this was a terrible time in our very young country; I have to figure out how I feel about this.

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