Mary Estey's Witchcraft Trial

Mass. & Me. Families, Towne, FTM CD194, pg 502,507: "Mary (Towne) Esty, wife of Isaac Esty "was executed for witchcraft on Sept. 22, 1692, her petition to the court being the outstanding note of high fortitude and understanding charity which has come down to us from Salem's black days. "

From HISTORY OF SALEM, by C. B. Gillespie and records of William B. Towne, of Milford,N.H.: BRIEF SKETCH OF THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT

Salem, the place of the witchcraft origin in 1692, is the second oldest town in New England and the second to become a city in Massachusetts. In its early history it was called the "City of Witches." Here more than one hundred and fifty persons (guilty of nothing save being in advance of the age in which they lived: were accused as witches, who were believed to be in league with Satan, and thrown into prison. After brief trials, twenty-seven persons suffered death by hanging on what is now known as "gallows Hill." But let us go back to an earlier date. There is an old Roman maxim that has been approvingly quoted through many centuries that the "voice of the people is the will of God." Is it? Let us see. It was the voice of the people which instigated and kept alive, in the fourteenth century, that "witchcraft crusade" which continued through the next three centuries and caused the death of thousands of innocent persons. This persecution was started by the most reputable citizens. Its most zealous promoters were the highly educated men of their time. In no city of Europe did the witch fires flame more fiercely than at Bonn, the medieval seat of art and learning. There was a general feeling at this time that in the movement the voice of the people was the voice of God, and that he himself inspired these murderous moods and frenzies. Popular superstition and ignorant fanaticism continued, with the highest intelligence and the most fervent piety, to heighten this fearful storm. Its origin in this country was in the family of the Rev. Mr. Parris, a clergyman of Salem Mass., and it seemed likely at one time to be very destructive of human life. The first suspicion or imagination of anything unusual was in the incantations practiced bye the two Indian servants of Rev. Mr. Parris, John and Tituba, in connection with the opinion of a physician that they were bewitched; and at the same time two little girls, a daughter and a niece of Mr. Parris, ten and eleven years old, began to conduct themselves (as was imagined) in a singular manner. The next quest was who bewitch them. Tituba's incantations rendered her an object of suspicion; and being accused, she was scourged by her master until she acknowledged herself to be a witch. The demon of superstition was now let loose, and accusations and commitments followed each other in quick succession till more than one hundred were in prison and in chains at one time, and room was wanted for many more. Those who confessed themselves witches remained in prison, while a special court convened to try those who maintained their integrity and declared their innocence, and among those who were brought to the bar not one escaped from the scaffold. Knowing that there was but one way of escape, confessions became numerous; and the larger the number of confessions, the greater the frenzy, till it arrived at such a point of desperation that wives testified against their husbands, children against their parents, the nearest and dearest relations in life were severed, and one minister of the gospel, the Rev. George Burroughs, was hurled into eternity through the influence of his fellow minister, and he was questioned the propriety of what was transpiring speedily prepared his neck for the gallows. Mr. Burroughs was carried through the streets in a cart to execution. When upon the scaffold, he made a speech declaring his innocence of any crime and concluded with a prayer of such seriousness and fervency of spirit and so affecting that it drew tears from many of the spectators, and it seemed at the time as though they might hinder the execution. But Cotton Mather, who was present on a horse, addressed the people, declaring that Mr. Burroughs was not an ordained minister, and that the devil had often been transformed into an angel of light; and the people were appeased and the execution went on. Thus a delusion which common sense ought not to have heeded was warmed into life by the superstition and willful, if not malicious, ignorance of Rev. Mr. Parris, Cotton Mather, and their associates, till there was no safety in the province for the person, property, or life of the most distinguished individual; and not until it had entered their own firesides and the blaze of their own fanning was likely to consume their own families did they seem inclined to listen to reason or abate the work of judicial murder in which they had lent their influence and aid. John Willard, who had been employed as an officer to bring in the accused, became dissatisfied with the actions of the people, declined further service, and he was thereupon accused, but made his escape to Nashua, N.H., about forty miles from Salem, where he was overtaken, returned, and executed, his trial being on the fifth of August and his execution on the nineteenth of the same month. During this excitement the wife of the Rev. Mr. Hale, the minister of Beverly, who had been engaged in promoting prosecutions, was accused, but they made their escape to New York. The wife of Philip English, the most wealthy merchant in the place, shared the fate of many others. Many of the people fled for their lives. Among the unfortunate persons who perished in this delusion were two daughters of William Towne and Joanna Blessing, who were among the first settlers of Salem. Usually we find only the ugly, the depraved, and the vicious of the human family suspected and accused of crime; but in connection with this delusion the condition if far otherwise, and it is a pleasure and satisfaction to know that these were women of the most reputable lives and maintained their integrity to the last, going on to the scaffold with a martyr's spirit, and sufficient evidence is left on the record to establish these facts beyond controversy. The first of these sufferers to be brought before the magistrates in the meeting house, on the twenty-fourth of March, was Rebecca, the wife of Francis Nourse. Rev. Mr. Hale, the minster of Beverly, opened the court with prayer, after which the accusations were read, all of which she denied, earnestly asserting her innocence of anything wrong; but, not-withstanding, she was committed to prison, where she remained till June 30, when she was tried, convicted, and executed July 19. At this execution the Rev. Mr. Noyes tried to persuade a Mrs. Good to confess, by telling her she was a witch and that she knew it, to which she replied, "You are a liar. I am no more a witch than you are, and if you take my life God will give you blood to drink." Tradition says the curse of this poor woman was verified, and that Mr. Noyes was actually choked to death with his own blood. After the condemnation of Rebecca, the governor saw cause to grant a reprieve, which, when known to her accusers, they renewed their outcries against her insomuch that the governor was prevailed upon by Salem gentlemen (said to be a committee whose business it was to carry on prosecutions) to recall the reprieve, and she was executed with the rest. The communion day previous to her execution, she was taken in chains to the meeting house and there formally excommunicated by her minister, Mr. Noyes. "But [says a writer] her life and conversation had been such that the remembrance thereof in a short time after wipe off all the reproach occasioned by the civil and ecclesiastical sentence against her," and in 1712 the church to which she belonged reversed its censure by blotting out the record of her excommunication, that it might not be a reproach to her memory and an occasion of grief to her children. A historical account of her says: "The testimonials of her Christian character and behavior, both in her life and at her death, and her extraordinary care in the education of her children and in setting them good examples, were so numerous that for want of space they were omitted."

The other daughter of William Towne who suffered on the scaffold in the perilous times before referred to was Mary, the wife of Isaac Estey. She was arrested April 22, tried September 9, and executed September 22, and during the five months that she was in prison her husband came from Topsfield twice every week to render his injured by deserving companion the trifling comfort his means would allow. Before their execution both sisters sent a petition to the court. The one sent by Mary follows, which will be read with unqualified admiration by every one who has sympathy for those in trouble. A modern writer says: "Mary Esty was a woman of great strength of mind and sweetness of disposition. After he condemnation she sent a petition to the court, which, as an exhibition of the noblest fortitude, united with sweetness of temper, dignity, and resignation, as well as of calmness toward those who had selected so many from her family is rarely, if ever equaled. When it is remembered that confession of sin or crime (or whatever it may be called) was the sure and only means of obtain favor of the court, this petition must be regarded as a most affecting appeal by an humble and feeble woman, about to lay down her life in the cause of truth and who, as a wife and mother in circumstances of terrible trail, uttered no word of complaint, but met her fate with a calmness and resignation which excites the wonder of all who read her story."

MARY'S PETITION TO THE COURT:

To the honorable judge and bench now sitting in Salem, and the Rev. Minister, this petition showeth that your humble, poor petitioner, being condemned to die, doth humbly beg of you to take it into your judicious and pious consideration that your petitioner, knowing my innocence, and blessed be the Lord for it, and seeing the wiles and subtlety of my accuser, by myself cannot but judge charitably of others who are going the same way as myself, if the Lord step not mightily in. I was confined a whole month on the same account that I am now condemned, and then cleared, as your honors know, and in two days' time I was cried out upon again and have been confined and am now condemned to die. The Lord above know my innocence then, and likewise does now, as at the great day will be known by men and angels. I petition to your honors not for my own life, for I know I must die, and the appointed time is set, but if it be possible, that no more innocent blood be shed, which undoubtedly cannot be avoided in the way and course you go in. I question not but your honors do to the utmost of your powers in the discovery and detection of witchcraft and witches and would not be guilty of innocent blood for the world, but by my own innocence, I know you are in the wrong way. The Lord in his infinite mercy direct you in this great work, that innocent blood be not shed. I humbly beg of your honors that you would be pleased to examine some of those afflicted persons and keep them a part sometime, and likewise try some of those confessing witches, I being confident several of them have belied themselves and others, as will appear, if not in this world, in the world to come, wither I am going, and I question not but your honors will see an alteration in these things. * They say myself and others have made a league with the devil. We cannot confess. I know and the Lord knows, as will shortly appear, that they belie me, and I question not but they do others. The Lord above knows, who is the searcher of all hearts, as I shall answer at the tribunal seat, that I know not the least thing of witchcraft, therefore cannot, I dare not belie my own soul. I beg your honors not to deny this my humble petition for a poor, dying and innocent person, and I question not but the Lord will give a blessing on your endeavors. Mary Estey

*And they did "see an alteration in these things" and bitter were the lamentations of the community for their rashness and delusion. A righteous indignation drove Parris from their midst. Noyes asked for their forgiveness of all, and consecrated his life to deeds of charity and mercy, and was forgiven. Judge Sewall and the jurors circulated declarations of regret for the part they had taken in these insane enormities. Another judge who had condemned many to be hanged acknowledged his error and guilt, and implored the pardon of God and man for his great sin. Sarah, another sister, narrowly escaped death, but records do not state how. It must be borne in mind, in justice to most of the Salem people, that the judges who presided at the trials of the accused were acting under English rule and English laws, and that but few who took an active part in the Salem trials were Salem people. It is not generally known that a monument to the memory of these two unfortunate women has been erected and dedicated near their old homestead. It is eleven feet high and cut from Rockport and Quincy granite, and finely lettered and polished.

The below is quoted for it's historical significance, since these people were involved in the witchcraft trials and eventual hanging of two of William Towne's daughters (Rebecca Nourse (Nurse) and Mary Esty: "OUT OF THE CAULDRON" Written by Bernice Kohn in Chapter 7 and page 64 the following account of THE WITCHES OF SALEM.:

The witchcraft of Europe came to America when the Europeans came. The American Indians, like primitive peoples everywhere, had many beliefs and practices that were common to pagan religions, but the colonists had little interest in - or knowledge of - Indian religious rites. White people, however, were observed by their neighbors and then as now, unusual behavior was usually found suspicious. Settlers were arriving in the New World during the most frenzied period of the witch hunts in Britain and Europe. Perhaps it was inevitable that they brought their European attitudes with them. In 1641 a Massachusetts law for witchcraft was on its books, a similar law in Connecticut a year later. There were a few scattered witch killings here and there over a period of years. Then suddenly, in the year 1692 ........ SALEM, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was a quiet little town. Most of the residents were faithful churchgoers and their Congregationalist minister was the REVEREND SAMUEL PARRIS. Rev. Samuel Parris lived with his wife, his 9 year old daughter Elizabeth , and an 2 year old niece, Abigail Williams, and a West Indian servant, Tituba. The children listened eagerly to the exciting tales of witchcraft that Tituba had brought from her native island. West Indies witchcraft has its roots in African practices, and Tituba's stories must have fascinated the girls. On the other hand, Tituba must have been just as excited by the kind of witch gossip the children heard from their elders. The stories all blended together and stimulated everyone's imagination. One day, after a particularly vivid conversation about witches, the girls began to act very oddly. They said things that made no sense, rolled on the floor, and stood in strange postures. For Puritan girls who had been brought up very strictly, this was extremely peculiar behavior. And especially in the home of the Minister! The neighbors came to see, and it didn't take them long to decide that the girls were having fits. The girls named Tituba as their tormentor. When questioned, Tituba confessed that she was a member of a coven, that she had signed the devil's book and that the devil had ordered her to afflict the girls. It was rumored that Tituba's confession was "encouraged" by several beatings from the Reverend Parris. Later Tituba admitted that she had been beaten, but by then, it was all quite complex. By this time, the two bewitched girls were the center of attraction in the village. But they could not long hold the center of the stage without competition. They were soon joined in their antics by 9 or 10 other girls. The entire group behaved particularly disgracefully in church, yelling, falling down, rolling in the aisle, and interrupting prayers. Clearly this could not be allowed to continue and, in an effort to put an end to it, all of those whom the girls or Tituba had named as witches were immediately called to trial.

The Salem witchcraft papers : verbatim transcipts of the legal documents of the Salem witchcraft outbreak of 1692 / compiled and transcribed in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, under the supervision of Archie N. Frost ; edited and with an introduction and index by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum:

(Complaint of John Putnam, Jr. and Benjamin Hutchinson) Salem May the 20th 1692

There being Complaint this day made before mee by John put- nam Jun'r. and Benjamin Hutcheson both of Salem Village, for them- selfes and also for theire Neighbours, in behalfe of theire Majesties against Marah Easty the wife of Isaac Easty of Topsfield for sundry acts of witchcrafts by her Committed yesterday and this present day of the date hereof upon the bodys of Ann putnam Marcy Lewis Mary Walcot and Abigail Williams of Salem village to the wrong and Injury of theire bodys therefore crave Justice. *John putnam Jun *Benjamin Huchinson

( Essex County Archives, Salem -- Witchcraft Vol. 1 Page 117 ) (Warrant for Arrest of Mary Easty)

To the Marshall of the County of Essex or dept or Constables of Salem You are in theire Majest's names hereby required to appre- hend and forthwith bring before mee at the house of mr. Thomas Beadles in Salem the Body of Mary Easty the wife Isaac Easty of Topsfeild to be Examined Relateing to sundry acts of witchcraft by her Committed yesterday and this present day according to Com- plaint aboves'd and hereof you are not to faile Dated Salem May 20th 1692

May 20th: 1692 *John: Hathorne. Assist p order of the Councill. I have taken the body of the above named Mary Estiee and brought her att the time and place above named Pe me *Geo: Herrick Marshall of Essex

( Essex County Archives, Salem -- Witchcraft Vol. 1 Page 117 ) (Examination of Mary Easty) The Examination of Mary Eastie . At a Court held at Salem village . Apr. 1692 By the Hon. John Hathorne & Jonathan Corwin. At the bringing in of the the accused severall fell into fits. Doth this woman hurt you? Many mouths were stopt, & several other fits seized them Abig: Williams said it was Goody Eastie, & she had hurt her, the like said Mary Walcot, & Ann Putman, John indian said her saw her with Goody Hobbs. What do you say, are you guilty? I can say before Christ Jesus, I am free. You see these accuse you. There is a God -- Hath she brought the book to you? Their mouths were stopt. What have you done to these children? I know nothing. How can you say you know nothing, when you see these tor- mented , & accuse you that you know nothing? Would you have me accuse my self? Yes if you be guilty. How far have you complyed w'th Satan whereby he takes this advantage ag't you? Sir, I never complyed but prayed against him all my dayes, I have no complyance with Satan, in this. What would you have me do? Confess if you be guilty. I will say it, if it was my last time, I am clear of this sin. Of what sin? Of witchcraft. Are you certain this is the woman? Never a one could speak for fits. By and by Ann Putman said that was the woman, it was like her, & she told me her name; It is marvailous to me that #[she] you should sometimes think they are bewitcht, & sometimes not, when severall confess that they have been guilty of bewitching them. Well Sir would you have me confess that that I never knew? Her hands were clincht together, & then the hands of Mercy Lewis was clincht Look now you hands are open, her hands are open. Is this the woman? They made signes but could not speak, but Ann Putman after- wards Betty Hubbard cryed out Oh. Goody Easty, Goody Easty you are the woman, you are the woman Put up her head, for while her head is bowed the necks of these are broken. What do you say to this? Why God will know. Nay God knows now. I know he dos. What did you think of the actions of others before your sisters came out, did you think it was Witchcraft? I cannot tell. Why do you not think it is Witchcraft? It is an evil spirit, but wither it be witchcraft I do not know, Severall said she brought them the Book & then they fell into fits. Salem Village March 24'th. 1691/2. Mr Sam'l parris being desired to take in wrighting the Examina- tion of Mary Eastie hath delivered itt as aforesaid Upon heareing the aforesaid, and seeing what wee then did see, togeather with the Charge: of the persons then present Wee Committed s'd. Mary Easte to theire Majest's Goale *John Hathorne *Jonathan. Corwin } Assists

(Reverse) The Examination of Mary Eastie 22. Apr. 1692 ( Essex County Archives, Salem -- Witchcraft Vol. 1. Page 120 )

(Indictment v. Mary Easty, No. 1) Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England Essex ss Anno Regni Regis & Reginae Gullielmi et Mariae nunc Angliae &c: Quarto: Anno'qe Dom 1692

The Jurors for our Sovereigne Lord & Lady the King & Queen pr'sents That Mary Easty wife of Isaack Easty of Topsfield husband- man on the twenty third day of May in the fourth year of the Reigne of our Sovereigne Lord and Lady William and Mary by the Grace of God of England Scottland France and Ireland King & Queen De- fenders of the faith &c. and divers other Dayes and times as well before as After, certaine Detestable arts called Witchcrafts and Sorceries Wickedly and feloniously hath used Practised and Exer- cised at and within the Towneship of Salem in the County of Essex aforesaid in upon and against one Marcy Lewis of Salem Villiage Singlewoman by which said wicked Arts the said Marcy Lewis the Twenty third day of May in the year abovesaid and Divers other Dayes and times as well before as after, was and is Tortured Afflicted Pined Consumed wasted & Tormented ag't: the Peace of our Sover- eigne Lord and Lady the King and Queen and ag't. the form of the Statute in that case made and Provided -- Witnesses Marcy Lewis Jurat Ann Putman Jurat Eliz. Hubbard Jurat Mary Wolcott Jurat

(Reverse) Indictm't Mary Easty for bewitching Marsy Lewis No. ( I ) Billa No. I Ponet Se

( Essex County Archives, Salem -- Witchcraft Vol. 1 Page 118 ) (Indictment v. Mary Easty, No. 2) Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England Essex ss Anno Regni Regis et Reginae Gullielmi & Mariae nunc Angliae &c: Quarto Ano'qe Dom 1692

The Juro's for our Sovereigne Lord and Lady the King and Queen pr'sents That: Mary Easty wife of Isaack Easty of Topsfeild husbandman the twenty third day of May -- in the fourth year of the Reigne of our Sovereigne Lord and Lady -- William & Mary by the Grace of God of England Scottland France & Ireland King and Queen Defenders of the faith &c: and Divers other Dayes and times as well before as after certaine Detestable Arts called witchcrafts & Sorceries wickedly and felloniously hath used Practised and Exer- cised at and within the Towneship of Salem in the County of Essex afores'd: in upon and ag't one Elizabeth Hubbard of Salem Single- women by which said wicked Arts the said Elizabeth Hubbard the twenty third Day of May in the fourth year aboves'd: and Divers other Dayes and times as well before, as after was, and is, Tortured Afflicted Pined Consumed wasted and Tormented ag't. the Peace of our Sovereigne Lord and Lady the King and Queen and agt. the form of the Statute in that case made and Provided Witnesses Eliz: Hubbard Jurat Marcy Lewis Jurat Ann Putman Jurat

(Reverse) Mary Easty Indictm't for bewitching Eliz Hobard No. (2) Billa: Vera Ponet Se ( Essex County Archives, Salem -- Witchcraft Vol. 1 Page 118 )

Our dear ancestor Mary (Towne) Esty was hanged Sep. 22, 1692 and pardoned for her crimes 20 years later in 1712.