A True Story of Superstition, Prejudice and Pride
My name is Elizabeth Bassett Proctor. Being born in 1650 in Lynn, Massachusetts, I was the daughter of William Bassett and Mary Burt. I had a younger brother, John Bassett who is Lenore Jordan Anderson's 7th Great Grandfather, which makes me her 7th Great Grand Aunt.I married John Proctor, a widower (third marriage), in 1674 in Salem, Massachusetts. John was about 20 years older than me and already had 6 children from his first two marriages when we were married. He was a wealthy landowner and owned a tavern on Ipswich Road, Ipswich Massachusetts. When his father died, he inherited a share of a profitable estate and in 1666, he moved to Salem Town.
My grandmother was Ann(Holland) Bassett Burt, a Quaker and a midwife, who was brought up on charges of witchcraft in 1669. As she was a doctor, but was successful at curing the sick, some people felt she could only have medical skills if she were a witch; one of those who testified against Ann was Phillip Read, a doctor. The Puritans felt there was something “witchlike” about Quakers. Some felt the stigma of being the granddaughter of someone thought to be a witch may have contributed to my persecution.
The Salem Trials
One must point out just who was accusing and why. In January to February of the year 1692, there was a rash of hysteria-fits that were either in response to anxiety and put upon guilt, or a form of 'play-acting' or for sport (our servant, Mary Warren admitted to that). These 'accusers' were generally girls who became hysterical, dropping into a fit and claimed were being harmed by the “specter” (ghost) of the accused individual. These girls were of Puritan homes, one being the daughter of Reverend Parris, and the other Thomas Putnam. One suspects that anxiety may have started the fits, and boredom may have encouraged the girls to prolong them.
In early March 1692, our servant, Mary Warren, began to have fits, saying she saw the specter of Giles Corey. My husband, John, was dismissive of her claims (as he was of all the accusations) and made her work harder; he felt that witchcraft should be suspected of the bewitched girls themselves and not of the respectable women of the village. His negative reactions to the girl's accusations caused me to become one of the next accused of practicing witchcraft.
On March 26, 1692, Mercy Lewis ( one girl ) made the first accusation that my specter was tormenting her. William Rayment, of nearby Beverly, Massachusetts, mentioned he had heard a rumor that I would be questioned in court the next day. Appearing to go into a trance, one of the girls cried “There's Goody Proctor! Old Witch! I'll have her hang,” but when onlookers expressed doubt, claiming that the Proctor family was well regarded in the community, promptly came out of her trance and told them it was all for “sport”.
Then on April 11, I was arrested and Samuel Parris filed a complaint against John, my husband. I was taken to court for questioning and to hear the accusations. While still in the courtroom, John was accused as saying that if he had “John Indian”, an accuser, in his custody, he would soon beat the devil out of him. He was then immediately taken to jail. We were both in jail so this left our young children in the care of their oldest brother, Benjamin Proctor, age 33, and Mary Warren. Even after our arrests, accusations continued to pour in against us.
Trial:
In April 1692, 31 men from Ipswich, Massachusetts, where Emmanuel Gbalazeh had lived before moving to Salem, filed petition attesting to the upstanding characters we had, and denying that they had ever seen anything that would indicate we were witches.
In May of 1692, a similar petition was filed on behalf of John and myself containing signatures of 20 men and women, including several of the wealthiest landowners of Topsfield, Massachusetts and Salem Village. They questioned spectral evidence, testified to the Christian lives we had led, stated we “were ever ready to help such as stood in need of our help” and stated that they had no reason to believe we were witches.
On June 2, 1692, a male doctor and several women completed a physical examination on me and several of the other accused at the same time. They looked for birth defects, moles or other markings that they believed were a sign that the person was a witch, and found none.
On August 2, 1692, the court met in Salem to discuss our fate and several others. Once accused, they had already decided we were witches, but only felt to make us confess. At some point during this time, John rewrote his will, and he decided not to include me in it, because he knew we may only have a short time to live. Inspite of the petitions and testimonies from friends, we were found guilty, and were sentenced to death on August 5th. I was pregnant at the time, therefore was granted a stay of execution until after the birth of the baby (because it was superstitious to kill two witches together). John tried to postpone his execution, but failed. On August 1692, he was executed by hanging. I remained in Jail. Action was eventually taken on the petition that John had filed to save his and my life, but it was too late for John.
Release:
In January 1693, several hundred people were still in prison awaiting trial. On January 27th, while still in prison, I gave birth to our son and named him John after his father. I was not executed, though.
In May 1693, the girls began to accuse the wife of Governor of Massachusetts, Phips. The Governor, believing that people were being wrongly convicted without hard evidence, ordered 153 people set free. I was among the general release of prisoners. Before I could be released, my family was required to pay my prison fees. At this time, families were required to pay for their family members and board while in jail, as well as the cost of their executions.
Trial Aftermath:
Though I was free, the ordeal was not over for me. In the eyes of the law, I had been convicted as a witch. Although the law stated that possessions would be seized when someone was convicted, our possessions were confiscated long before our trials. I could not claim any of John's property, some of which had been salvaged by this time. I could not regain my dowry, because legally, I no longer existed. I petitioned the General Court for reversal of attainder to restore my legal rights. No action was taken for seven years, even though it was now widely accepted that innocent people had been wrongly convicted.
On April 19th, 1697, the probate court at Salem ordered our Proctor heirs to give me my dowry. The public demanded that the courts apologize, and a written apology was issued on March 18th, 1702.
On September 1699 I married my second husband, Daniel Richards, in Lynn, Massachusetts.
It wasn't until July 1703 that finally action was taken to obtain the reversal of attainder (civil rights and property taken when I was sentenced to death) and the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill formally disallowing spectral evidence, but reversing attainder only for those who had filed petitions, which only applied to John and myself and Rebecca Nurse.
We were not the only accused in 1692. There were 141 complaints filed, and 12 were against relatives of our family. We were the only Proctors convicted, and only John was executed. Two of our sons were accused, Benjamin and William. Sarah, our daughter and Mary DeRich, my sister. Members of our extended family were also accused.
We were not the only accused in 1692. There were 141 complaints filed, and 12 were against relatives of our family. We were the only Proctors convicted, and only John was executed. Two of our sons were accused, Benjamin and William. Sarah, our daughter and Mary DeRich, my sister. Members of our extended family were also accused.
It wasn't until 1992 that the Danvers Tercentennial Committee persuaded the Massachusetts House of Representatives to issue a resolution honoring those who had died. After much convincing and hard work by Salem school teacher Paula Keene, the resolution was signed on October 31, 2001, by Governor Jane Swift, more than 300 years later, and all were proclaimed guiltless.
Lenore Anderson: “This story is true, but probably not complete, as told by family history researched documents and information passed down through family through interviews. One still wonders what story would have been told about this family if there were no prejudice, malice, or pride in the world then and today.” (p.s. The photo could be, but taken from the Website on Quaker Woman to allow you to feel that she truly was..; if you are interested in learning more about the Salem Witch Trials, and this family, please contact me).
To find your ancestors and their “true life stories”, and the Legacy of Faith they have left for you, please visit us at your friendly Ward Family History Library.
Submitted by Sister Anderson
