1 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 1: It wasn't the sort of gathering one would have expected 2 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: in Salem Village, especially after months of intense fear, public executions, 3 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,840 Speaker 1: and personal betrayal. It was the sort of thing you 4 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: might have expected the year prior, or many years later, 5 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: just not now, Not on October, after nine months of 6 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 1: devoting every ounce of attention and energy toward the Witchcraft trials. 7 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 1: It was a baptism, two actually, from two different local families, 8 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: and they all gathered in the Salem Village meeting house 9 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: to partake in that essential tradition that put their children 10 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 1: on the path toward membership. It was a ceremony that 11 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: was meant to feel special and encouraging. It was a 12 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 1: sign of health and growth, and honestly it was normal, 13 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 1: and maybe everyone in the village needed a bit of 14 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: normalcy for a change. But there was a darkness surrounding 15 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: this baptism because both families had recently experienced death and 16 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: the pain was still fresh worse yet, each of those 17 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: families blamed the other for their loss. So while the 18 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: baptisms were meant to signify a new beginning, each of 19 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: them was more likely to be consumed with the past. 20 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: The first of these families was Thomas and and Putnam. 21 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: We know them as the parents of Annie Putnam, one 22 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: of the most vocal afflicted girls. Over the course of 23 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 1: the trials, Annie and her mother Anne had both provided 24 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: mountains of spectral evidence for the courts, while Thomas had 25 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: been working with the court to bring as many witches 26 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: to justice as he could. But through all of that, 27 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: And had been pregnant with their newborn daughter, Abigail, through 28 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: all of the fits and seizures, through the chaos inside 29 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: her own household, through countless days in court giving testimonies 30 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: against the accused. Maybe it was religious piety that drove 31 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: them all to do it, or maybe it was something 32 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: much more personal, because three years prior, Thomas and Anne 33 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,519 Speaker 1: had to endure the death of their daughter, Sarah, who 34 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,800 Speaker 1: was barely six weeks old at the time. It was 35 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: a tragedy that no parent should have to go through, 36 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: and it happened without reason or obvious cause. That is 37 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,679 Speaker 1: until their daughter Annie gave testimony in court one day 38 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 1: in claiming to see the ghost of John Willard, the 39 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 1: escaped constable who was captured, brought back, and later executed. 40 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: Annie told the court that he confessed to her that 41 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: he was the one who had killed little Sarah. He 42 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: whipped her to death with a spectral lash. So, as 43 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 1: you can imagine, Thomas and and Putnam were upset, even 44 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 1: if they were a bitness guy did. And while it 45 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: might not make sense right now, it's important to know 46 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 1: that they blamed the other family for Sarah's death, a 47 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 1: family that you've never heard of before, the Tarbells, who 48 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 1: were present at the baptism with their own son, Jonathan. 49 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: Little Jonathan Tarbell was older than the Putnam's newborn. He 50 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: had been born in the spring, just as the witchcraft 51 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: panic had begun to pick up speed. But his parents, 52 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: John and Mary Tarbell had experienced their own portion of 53 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:32,519 Speaker 1: loss over the months between his birth and baptism. Mary, 54 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: you see, was the daughter of Rebecca Nurse, and the 55 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: Putnam's had been instrumental in her arrest and conviction. And 56 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: yet despite those intents and passionate differences, they were standing 57 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,839 Speaker 1: together in the Salem Village meeting house. Reverend Paris had 58 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: to have known how awkward things were between the two families, 59 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: and yet there was nothing he could do about it. 60 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 1: This innocent event was a small dem straation of a 61 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: much larger truth life was never going to be the 62 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: same in Salem. This is unobscured. I'm aaron Manky. Passionate 63 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: people are capable of enormous amounts of work. If you 64 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: believe in something deeply enough, that belief can act like 65 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: a fuel that drives the car forward. But how that 66 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 1: power is used is entirely up to the person, and 67 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: Thomas and Ann Putnam spent months focusing theirs into the 68 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 1: destruction of the lives around them. In the first few 69 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:11,039 Speaker 1: weeks of the witchcraft trials, Thomas Putnam filed eight complaints 70 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: with the magistrates against a total of twenty one people. 71 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: He saw it as his duty to put a stop 72 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: to the activity of the witches before the village was 73 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:23,280 Speaker 1: overwhelmed by the devil's forces, and I drove him to action. 74 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 1: By the time the baptism of his daughter Abigail rolled 75 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: around in October, Thomas and his family were responsible in 76 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,919 Speaker 1: some way or another for the prosecution of at least 77 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: fifty eight individuals. That's more than one third of the 78 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 1: entire collection of accused and arrested. Throughout the trials, Thomas 79 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:47,280 Speaker 1: Putnam was a busy man. One of the most significant 80 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,359 Speaker 1: moments for the Putnam family was when Thomas's daughter Annie 81 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: testified that George Burrows Specter had bragged to her about 82 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,479 Speaker 1: his efforts to advance the Devil's kingdom in Maine. She 83 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: claimed he told her he had recruited a great many 84 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,560 Speaker 1: witches into his army and they were coming for them all. 85 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:07,599 Speaker 1: But Thomas and Annie weren't alone in their efforts to 86 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 1: fight the witchcraft epidemic. Despite being pregnant and willingly threw 87 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:15,159 Speaker 1: herself into the fray. In fact, she was one of 88 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 1: the very few adults who joined the afflicted girls in 89 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: the courtroom displays of spiritual warfare and spectral visions. And 90 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 1: that was a bold claim from such a well respected 91 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: member of the Salem village community. So when Rebecca Nurse 92 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,159 Speaker 1: had stood trial, it was Ann Putnam's testimony that rose 93 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,919 Speaker 1: above all the others. Remember, Rebecca had been a full 94 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: member in good standing in the church. She was loved 95 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:45,239 Speaker 1: and respected by many, and lived a generous and humble life. 96 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: The word of a few young teenagers wasn't going to 97 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:52,719 Speaker 1: be enough to convict her. That's why, and Putnam added 98 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: her own voice. Today, some historians believe that Thomas and 99 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,480 Speaker 1: and Annie, along with their households, servant girl Mercy Lewis 100 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,920 Speaker 1: were responsible for more than one hundred sixty witchcraft accusations. 101 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: They were waging a war against an entire coven of witches, 102 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: and that somehow made John Willard, Rebecca Nurse and all 103 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: the others responsible for the death of their daughter Sarah 104 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: three years before. The Tarbells begged to differ. Yes, they 105 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: might have been related to Rebecca Nurse by blood, but 106 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: they had done an admirable job of staying out of 107 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: the spotlight all year long, and honestly, who could blame them? 108 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: They watched as Mary's mother and aunts were rounded up 109 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: and arrested, and by late October two of them had 110 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: been executed. John Tarbell only appears in the court documents once. 111 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: In March of that year, when accusations were pointed at 112 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: his mother in law, Rebecca Nurse. John actually went to 113 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: the home of Thomas Putnam and demanded to know who 114 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: had been the first to accuse her. Mercy Lewis said 115 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: it was Anne, and of course said it was Mercy. 116 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 1: None of them would admit to who slipped young Annie 117 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: Putnam Rebecca's name, though, and the matter en did there, 118 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: allowing her arrest and conviction. To move forward, Mary and 119 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: John Tarbell would have been front row witnesses to the 120 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: destruction caused by the witchcraft trials. They rented farmland from 121 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: Mary's parents and were close to her family, including her 122 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 1: aunt's Sarah Klois and Mary Esty. As the accusations flew 123 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 1: like bullets and struck member after member of their family, 124 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: it would have been easy for them to see who 125 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:38,720 Speaker 1: was firing the shots, the Putnam's. But despite this, Mary's 126 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:41,960 Speaker 1: family wasn't the only one hit so hard. Sure, the 127 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: high profile hangings of Rebecca Nurse and Mary Esty, alongside 128 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,200 Speaker 1: other families like the Proctors and the Corries, are the 129 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: ones we tend to remember. But as the witchcraft trials 130 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 1: wore on through the summer and fall, bigger numbers began 131 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: to add up in nearby and Over, and they told 132 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 1: a frightening story. Through August and September, the number of 133 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: accused witches in Andover had exploded to more than forty 134 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 1: six individuals. That's more than Salem Town and Salem Village combined, 135 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 1: and it highlighted a dark fact. However much the Putnam's 136 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 1: attacked and harmed the Nurse family, there was another clan 137 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: in town that suffered the most. According to historians, this 138 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:28,520 Speaker 1: single family represented eleven percent of all suspects across the trials. 139 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: We don't know when Edmund and Ann Ingalls moved into 140 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: the area. They were part of a larger migration of 141 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: settlers who moved into the colony decades before the witchcraft trials, 142 00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: putting down their roots in the town of Lynn. Those 143 00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: roots grew into a mighty tree over the years, and 144 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:48,080 Speaker 1: I'm going to try my best to give you a 145 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:52,840 Speaker 1: quick tour of all the branches hold on tight. Edmund 146 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:57,079 Speaker 1: and Anne had at least three children that we know of, Henry, Elizabeth, 147 00:09:57,200 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: and Faith, all of whom seemed to have moved north 148 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: to and Over. Henry had three sons, Henry Jr. Samuel, 149 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:08,960 Speaker 1: and John. Elizabeth married the Andover minister Francis Dane, and 150 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,960 Speaker 1: Faith married into the Allen family. Simple so far right, 151 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: Families grow, the kids get married, and they have kids, 152 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:19,320 Speaker 1: and on and on it goes. But the Ingles family 153 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:22,440 Speaker 1: had a long road ahead of them. You see, two 154 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:26,440 Speaker 1: of Faith's daughters were familiar to us already, Martha Carrier 155 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: and Mary Toothicker. Martha, of course, was known as the 156 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 1: Queen of Hell, and by the time the October baptisms arrived, 157 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 1: she had already been executed. Mary, on the other hand, 158 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,840 Speaker 1: still sat in a jail awaiting her own trial and 159 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: possible conviction, having already lost her husband, Roger, who died 160 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: in jail months before. The Carriers weren't doing much better. 161 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 1: Martha was hanged on August nine, and we've already covered 162 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: that in an earlier episode. What I haven't mentioned is 163 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 1: that her two children, seven year old Sarah and ten 164 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 1: year old Thomas, were also arrested and examined in August. 165 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:07,320 Speaker 1: The accusations of Thomas Putnam had cut straight through the 166 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:12,680 Speaker 1: Carrier family, and the pain was powerful. Elizabeth Ingalls, as 167 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: I said before, married the Andover minister Francis Dane, but 168 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 1: despite being a solid and respected minister's family, two of 169 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:24,319 Speaker 1: their daughters, five of their grandchildren, and one daughter in 170 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:28,360 Speaker 1: law were all accused of witchcraft. In fact, historians think 171 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 1: it was because of Francis that the accusations happened at all, 172 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:35,400 Speaker 1: due to how outspoken he was about his disapproval of 173 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:40,440 Speaker 1: which trials in general. But family ties were incredibly significant 174 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:46,079 Speaker 1: and incriminating during the events of and guilt by association 175 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: was a deadly reality for many. The Ingles family and 176 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:55,440 Speaker 1: their widespread of branches suffered through those attacks more than most. Thankfully, 177 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: though they made it out alive. Some of them, at 178 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,840 Speaker 1: least one of their descendants would eventually move west by 179 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 1: the way. He and his family would live in a 180 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,079 Speaker 1: little house on a big open prairie, and his daughter 181 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:11,480 Speaker 1: Laura would go on to write a series of books 182 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 1: about growing up as a pioneer family in early America. 183 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:19,840 Speaker 1: Considering what Laura Ingalls Wilder's ancestors went through, her tails 184 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:25,199 Speaker 1: suggest that life can get better. Sadly, though there were 185 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:34,760 Speaker 1: some in Salem who didn't want that to happen. Thomas 186 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: Putnam might have earned top marks as a citizen watchdog 187 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 1: during the Salem trials, but thankfully he wasn't in a 188 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 1: position of power. Given enough authority, Putnam might actually have 189 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:48,960 Speaker 1: done worse. Sadly, there was someone else in a position 190 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:53,760 Speaker 1: to do just that, William Stoughton. He had been in 191 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: charge of the examinations almost from the very beginning, and 192 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: he was the driving force behind the Oyer and terminer 193 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,840 Speaker 1: its sessions. He was even the one petitioning Governor Phipps 194 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:06,840 Speaker 1: for the chance to keep going to run his violent, 195 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: biased witch hunt to the very end. Because of that, 196 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: he developed a reputation for breaking families over his knee 197 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:19,640 Speaker 1: like a bundle of dry sticks. Stowton lived for power 198 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 1: and prestige. He was known to entertain all of the 199 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: most influential and powerful people from Boston at extravagant parties 200 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:30,040 Speaker 1: in his home. He had money and he liked showing 201 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,720 Speaker 1: it off, even importing chocolate as a treat for his guests. 202 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: Back in September of six, Stowton had actually officiated a 203 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:43,120 Speaker 1: wedding and the gathering was a who's who of Massachusetts 204 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 1: power players. The groom was none other than John Richards, 205 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 1: one of the judges on the Court of Oyer and Terminer, 206 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 1: and as bride was Annie Winthrop. She was the granddaughter 207 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:57,080 Speaker 1: of Massachusetts founder John Winthrop, as well as sister to 208 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:01,840 Speaker 1: wait Still Winthrop. Yet another of the judges, even Judge 209 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 1: Samuel Sewell, was there. And I think this autumn wedding 210 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:09,119 Speaker 1: celebration shows off just how insulated many of the powerful 211 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: people were from the witch trials. Families like the Tarbells 212 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:16,120 Speaker 1: and Putnam's couldn't attend their own baptisms without bumping into 213 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: reminders of their loss and grief. But Stowton and his 214 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 1: friends could retreat to their circles of power and pretend 215 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:26,960 Speaker 1: nothing was going on outside their beautiful walls. And this 216 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 1: was the life that Stouton wanted. He was a colonial 217 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 1: power broker, celebrating and raising a glass of Burgundy or 218 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 1: Canary wine to the good health of his friends, with 219 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 1: himself at the center of it all. But inside we 220 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 1: know Stowton was thinking about other issues, and it wasn't 221 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,360 Speaker 1: a simple thing to leave it all outside the wedding. 222 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,400 Speaker 1: That very day, September one, was the day that the 223 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 1: Wardwell family had been pulled from their home and arrested, 224 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: four of them at once. In fact, they were thrown 225 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 1: into a cart headed to the Salem jail, along with 226 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: two other named teenage boys. The surge in accusations and 227 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 1: arrests and andover had begun to peak, and Stowton would 228 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:12,000 Speaker 1: have been reveling in it. William Stoughton wanted the trials 229 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 1: to continue. He believed in them. He was passionate about them. 230 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:18,120 Speaker 1: I think if there was a candidate for the one 231 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,600 Speaker 1: person who might have actually enjoyed them, Stoughton would be 232 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:25,040 Speaker 1: that person. So when Governor Phipps finally struck down the 233 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,640 Speaker 1: court of oyer and terminal, Stowton would have taken that 234 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 1: as a personal slight, which of course Phipps knew. That's 235 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: why he waited for Stowton to leave the General Court 236 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:39,120 Speaker 1: meeting before making his decision. The tide was turning, and 237 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 1: Stowton knew it. Yes, there were still some who believed 238 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 1: the trials were necessary and that there was a satanic 239 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: plot against their Bible commonwealth and they needed to confront 240 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 1: it head on. But there were many more who believe 241 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:54,920 Speaker 1: that the trials had relied too heavily on spectral evidence 242 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 1: and forced false confessions out of the accused, and the results, 243 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 1: they feared was damaged that was impossible to undo. The 244 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 1: tension between Stowton and Phipps was just one example of 245 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: that divide. Back in Salem Village, Thomas Putnam was still 246 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:14,200 Speaker 1: firm in his position that there was a spectral threat, 247 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: but his younger half brother was balancing out the scales. 248 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:21,640 Speaker 1: Joseph Putnam had married into the Porter clan and made 249 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: an enemy of his own kin by openly opposing the trial, 250 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: and that was a risky position to take in There's 251 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 1: a Putnam family legend that Joseph kept one of his 252 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:36,440 Speaker 1: horses saddled and ready for over six months during the 253 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:40,080 Speaker 1: witchcraft panic, and even carried a pistol. Also he could 254 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 1: be ready to defend himself and flee should the need arise. 255 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: Thomas might have wanted to round up more victims, but 256 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 1: his brother Joseph clearly wanted it all to end. One 257 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,960 Speaker 1: thing I want to point out, though, no matter what 258 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: side of the fence most colonists fell on whether they 259 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:00,880 Speaker 1: believe the court was just or unjust, they were still 260 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:04,440 Speaker 1: in agreement about the truth of the subject matter. They 261 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: still believed that the Puritan community was under spiritual attack. 262 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:11,560 Speaker 1: They still believed that the devil could use sinful people 263 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 1: from among them to undermine their mission. And they still 264 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:20,439 Speaker 1: believed in the power and existence of witches. If we 265 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:22,960 Speaker 1: want proof of that, we need look no further than 266 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,679 Speaker 1: the week after Phipps decided that the court of Oyer 267 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:28,360 Speaker 1: and Terminer must come to an end. That was when 268 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 1: more accusations popped up in the town of Gloucester, just 269 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,320 Speaker 1: up the coast, Just as with and over a few 270 00:17:34,359 --> 00:17:37,920 Speaker 1: of the afflicted girls from Salem. Elizabeth Hubbard among them 271 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:42,919 Speaker 1: traveled there to provide witch finding services. Over the course 272 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,920 Speaker 1: of three days, they identified three local women who had 273 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:49,359 Speaker 1: been attacking their neighbors with witchcraft, and they were summarily 274 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:53,199 Speaker 1: arrested on November five. This was a week after Phipps 275 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:56,160 Speaker 1: had called for no more arrests, and it didn't stop. 276 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,200 Speaker 1: There new accusations in the town of Wenham pointed the 277 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:02,320 Speaker 1: finger at the wife of Beverly minister John Hale, one 278 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:05,120 Speaker 1: of the few ministers who had been helpful to Samuel 279 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: Paris throughout the spring. In response, Hale got on his 280 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,240 Speaker 1: horse and rode to the accuser's house. I assume he 281 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,919 Speaker 1: had intended to make the accusations go away, or to 282 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 1: get to the bottom of why that person believed his 283 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,199 Speaker 1: wife would be a witch. But all we know is 284 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:25,280 Speaker 1: that he came away shaken by the experience. He later wrote, 285 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,639 Speaker 1: what grief of heart. It brings to a tender conscience 286 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:34,320 Speaker 1: to have been unwittingly encouraging the sufferings of the innocence. Hale, 287 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 1: it seems, had finally seen the error of his ways 288 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: and the destruction it had helped cause. But others were 289 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:44,760 Speaker 1: much less open to change. In growth and at the 290 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:47,119 Speaker 1: center of it all was one figure who held the 291 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:50,199 Speaker 1: movement in his hands and yet refused to bring it 292 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 1: to an end. William Stoughton would not be swayed. How 293 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,560 Speaker 1: however misguided William Stoughton might have been, you can't deny 294 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,720 Speaker 1: his commitment to the moment. It didn't matter what sort 295 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:09,040 Speaker 1: of wind blew at him. He would not be pushed 296 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:13,000 Speaker 1: off course, Not by petitions from the accused before their deaths, 297 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 1: not by the please of the innocent from their friends 298 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:20,320 Speaker 1: and neighbors. Certainly not by ministers who attempted to undermine 299 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:24,240 Speaker 1: the court by using scripture and Puritan custom against his 300 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:30,280 Speaker 1: own command of English law. Stoughton was unshakable, and he 301 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:33,760 Speaker 1: was also fully aware of his power. All he had 302 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,040 Speaker 1: to do was look inside the jails of the area 303 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:39,960 Speaker 1: around Salem to see its influence. Over fifty people were 304 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:43,199 Speaker 1: still in jail awaiting their own trial for witchcraft, and 305 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:45,479 Speaker 1: a handful were just waiting for the date of their 306 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:49,359 Speaker 1: execution to be announced. Elizabeth Procter was waiting for the 307 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,200 Speaker 1: birth of her unborn child so that she too could 308 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:57,400 Speaker 1: be taken to the gallows and hanged. On October thirty one, 309 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:00,640 Speaker 1: Stoughton had returned to the legislative meeting that were still 310 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,879 Speaker 1: going on in Boston. The Upper House was continuing to 311 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:07,200 Speaker 1: discuss the establishment of permanent courts, and he was part 312 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:11,199 Speaker 1: of that conversation. It was all Hallow's Eve, but the 313 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:16,000 Speaker 1: Puritans didn't celebrate Halloween. But let's be honest. Seeing a 314 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 1: man as twisted and bloodthirsty as William Stoughton exercise his 315 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:23,680 Speaker 1: influence over the formation of a new government was probably 316 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:28,480 Speaker 1: frightening enough to the people around him. The Upper House 317 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 1: spent the rest of November on setting out the terms 318 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:34,280 Speaker 1: by which the colony would operate, everything from the rights 319 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,159 Speaker 1: and duties of the local governments across the area, to 320 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,840 Speaker 1: a proposed public works tax that would be used to 321 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:42,760 Speaker 1: build bridges and care for the poor, and of course 322 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 1: what laws would be complete without penalties for crimes such 323 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:50,520 Speaker 1: as counterfeiting. It wasn't sexy stuff, but it was the 324 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,400 Speaker 1: essential work of a new government, and there are little 325 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:56,800 Speaker 1: hidden gems in their work. For example, the Upper House 326 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:01,200 Speaker 1: seriously discussed a limitation on mackerel fishing, as well as 327 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: options for how they might regulate trade in pickled fish, 328 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: because there was apparently a lot of scandal in that industry. 329 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,840 Speaker 1: Those crazy fishermen, always trying to pull one over on 330 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:16,440 Speaker 1: the government. Right, the pieces fell into place. On novembery 331 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,400 Speaker 1: the judicial system was officially re established and dates were 332 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:23,159 Speaker 1: set for the convening of the courts. They voted to 333 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:26,359 Speaker 1: determine who would serve in the various roles from Justices 334 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: of the Peace and constables, two judges serving across all 335 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:33,320 Speaker 1: the courts, and of course that meant the Superior Court 336 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,919 Speaker 1: as well. You'd actually be amazed at how many member 337 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:42,080 Speaker 1: names you'd recognize on the newly elected Superior Court. Wait still, Winthrop, 338 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:46,560 Speaker 1: Samuel Sewell, John Richards, all of whom had served on 339 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 1: the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The man elected Chief 340 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: Justice of the Superior Court was you guessed it, William Stowton. 341 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,520 Speaker 1: But Thomas dan fourth was also elected, and that might 342 00:21:57,560 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 1: have turned out to be a decision that changed the 343 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:04,360 Speaker 1: course of history. Let me try and explain why dan 344 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:06,480 Speaker 1: fourth was one of the few men who could put 345 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 1: his service record right beside Stowton's and hold his head 346 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 1: up with pride. His resume was impressive. He served as 347 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 1: the treasurer of Middlesex County and then Treasurer and steward 348 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:21,399 Speaker 1: of Harvard University. After that, he held positions on the 349 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: Massachusetts General Court before heading north to serve six years 350 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 1: as the president of the Province of Maine. While he 351 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,520 Speaker 1: was there, dan Forth led troops in battle, negotiated land 352 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:34,360 Speaker 1: deals with the Wabanaki, and even dabbled in a bit 353 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 1: of city planning by drawing up the original street plans 354 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: for the town of Falmouth. And while he was on 355 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:43,040 Speaker 1: the front line serving his people, his own son died 356 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:47,920 Speaker 1: doing the exact same thing in Rhode Island. Back in Boston, 357 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:50,879 Speaker 1: he served a total of ten years as deputy governor, 358 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:55,119 Speaker 1: some of it before the botched Androws administration and some after. 359 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:59,800 Speaker 1: And remember Andros was a crown appointed Anglican governor over 360 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:02,600 Speaker 1: a Puritan colony. That would be sort of like electing 361 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 1: a Russian politician to the office of President of the 362 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,840 Speaker 1: United States. During the time Andros was in power, some 363 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:13,080 Speaker 1: people compromise their Puritan beliefs to advance their career. Stowton 364 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: was one of those men. Dan Fourth, however, wasn't, and 365 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,879 Speaker 1: that meant something to a lot of people. At seventy 366 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,600 Speaker 1: years of age, Dan Fourth was also eight years older 367 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:26,480 Speaker 1: than Stowton, giving him a bit more seniority over the 368 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:29,440 Speaker 1: fiery man, and as if all of that weren't enough, 369 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:32,640 Speaker 1: just a year before the Salem panic had erupted, Dan 370 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:35,440 Speaker 1: Fourth served over a witchcraft trial of a woman named 371 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:38,440 Speaker 1: Martha Sparks, who he had arrested and thrown in jail. 372 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,480 Speaker 1: At it all up and Dan Fourth was a powerhouse. 373 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 1: He was experienced, trusted and willing to do the right thing, 374 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:49,159 Speaker 1: and rather than allow the fear and panics surrounding the 375 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,600 Speaker 1: witchcraft accusations to cloud his judgment, he had shown he 376 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:56,160 Speaker 1: could be restrained and level headed. Stowton didn't even come 377 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,880 Speaker 1: close to that sort of reputation, and now the two 378 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 1: of them were partner together on the Superior Court. Dan Fourth, however, 379 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 1: was reluctant to accept the position. Not only would he 380 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:10,159 Speaker 1: have to work with Stowton, but the younger man was 381 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,159 Speaker 1: the chief justice, which meant that he was calling the shots. 382 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:15,800 Speaker 1: That didn't sound like an attractive place to be for 383 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 1: a man with a backbone and very different opinions. He 384 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,520 Speaker 1: was just the sort of man they needed on the court, though, 385 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:25,359 Speaker 1: so some of the others decided to convince him to 386 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:28,920 Speaker 1: take the job. Samuel Sewell, the judge who had previously 387 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 1: asked dan Forth about his position on the Salem Trials. 388 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:35,520 Speaker 1: After hearing from Thomas Brattle that he didn't approve, invited 389 00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 1: dan Forth to dinner there Sewell and a pair of 390 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:42,439 Speaker 1: ministers that included Increase Mather urged the old leader to 391 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:46,040 Speaker 1: stick around and serve on the court. I don't know 392 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:49,159 Speaker 1: how long he deliberated over that decision, but I can 393 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,360 Speaker 1: imagine it was a difficult one to make. He probably 394 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:54,239 Speaker 1: felt that he was just a bit too old for 395 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 1: divisive politics, and endless fighting with Stoughton was the least 396 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:01,480 Speaker 1: attractive thing he could think of. At the same time, 397 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,520 Speaker 1: though sometimes you have to be divisive to put a 398 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:09,000 Speaker 1: stop to evil. True tolerance includes being intolerant of people 399 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:12,040 Speaker 1: with the destructive message, and this was his chance to 400 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:16,520 Speaker 1: make a difference. But he made a decision, and thankfully 401 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:20,040 Speaker 1: for us at least it was the right one. Thomas 402 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:23,119 Speaker 1: Danforth would serve on the Superior Court and try to 403 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 1: balance out the hatred of William Stoughton. That was the 404 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,480 Speaker 1: plan on paper anyway. In practice, though it would be 405 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:39,560 Speaker 1: much more difficult. There was one individual missing from the 406 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:43,200 Speaker 1: Superior Court, though at least that's how he viewed it. Himself. 407 00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: Remember back to the very first Oyer and Terminer session 408 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:51,080 Speaker 1: and a judge named Nathaniel salt Install. Remember how he 409 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:53,920 Speaker 1: quit after that first session went in a dark direction 410 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:57,560 Speaker 1: and ended with the execution of Bridget Bishop Well. He 411 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:01,080 Speaker 1: was still upset about that. Most people don't know that. 412 00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:04,159 Speaker 1: Salt Install returned home to Haverll after his first and 413 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:07,160 Speaker 1: only session on the Court. In the weeks that followed, 414 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,199 Speaker 1: four women in his town were accused of witchcraft, and 415 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:13,960 Speaker 1: they were brought to him for examination, but he refused 416 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,720 Speaker 1: to hold hearings about it. He flat out refused to 417 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:19,800 Speaker 1: play along with the witch trials. In the end, those 418 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:24,160 Speaker 1: four women were taken to andover and examined. There in 419 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:26,879 Speaker 1: his mind he had stood up against the court. He 420 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:29,399 Speaker 1: had put his foot down and declared it a farce 421 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:32,399 Speaker 1: and a gross injustice. While the rest of the world 422 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:35,800 Speaker 1: around him screamed for more blood and more names. He 423 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 1: had reached the opinion in June that most everyone else 424 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:42,000 Speaker 1: was only just now reaching at the beginning of December. 425 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:45,840 Speaker 1: He was an early adopter, so to speak. So there's 426 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:48,520 Speaker 1: this story from the day that judges for the Superior 427 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:52,040 Speaker 1: Court were selected. Samuel Sewell recalled how he was leaving 428 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:55,439 Speaker 1: the Assembly building when he found salt Install sitting on 429 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,560 Speaker 1: a bench in the room, drunk and upset that he 430 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:01,800 Speaker 1: had been overlooked by the courts. He had assumed, now 431 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:04,080 Speaker 1: that Phipps and the others were in agreement that the 432 00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 1: trials had gotten out of hand, that he would be 433 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:10,359 Speaker 1: a logical choice for the Superior Court. When he wasn't. 434 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,600 Speaker 1: He went out and got blitzed and then showed up 435 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:16,360 Speaker 1: to complain about it. I mean, you've got to admire 436 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,920 Speaker 1: the man's initiative, even if his methods were a bit uncouth. 437 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,160 Speaker 1: I bring this up because we can learn something from 438 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:26,520 Speaker 1: how Sewel tried to reassure salt Install. He made it 439 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 1: clear to the man that he had no part in 440 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 1: influencing Phips to pass over him, and that he didn't 441 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:35,879 Speaker 1: think it signified anything else about the overlook judge's future prospects. 442 00:27:36,359 --> 00:27:39,720 Speaker 1: Sewell seemed to be communicating to his friend that while 443 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:43,000 Speaker 1: he had played along with Stoughton for months, his allegiances 444 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:47,560 Speaker 1: were finally changing, and Samuel Sewell's opinions weren't the only 445 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:50,840 Speaker 1: things that were changing. I mentioned earlier that Stowton still 446 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:54,199 Speaker 1: had over fifty people in local jail's awaiting trial, but 447 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,880 Speaker 1: that was beginning to shift as well. Prisoners were slowly 448 00:27:58,119 --> 00:28:01,399 Speaker 1: leaking back out into the community. Some did it the 449 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:04,679 Speaker 1: legal way, while others might have skirted around the rules 450 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,840 Speaker 1: just a bit. One young man, Benjamin Procter, the oldest 451 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:12,760 Speaker 1: son of executed John Proctor, actually walked out of prison 452 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:16,960 Speaker 1: and headed home. On November, two women were set free 453 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:19,919 Speaker 1: from the Boston jail, and another paid her bonds on 454 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,639 Speaker 1: December three and left the Cambridge jail that she had 455 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:27,239 Speaker 1: been stuck in. One prisoner, Abigail Faulkner, had already been 456 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:30,000 Speaker 1: condemned to be hanged and was waiting to give birth 457 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:33,679 Speaker 1: before that sentence could be carried out. She petitioned Governor 458 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 1: Phipps for her own release, stating that the only evidence 459 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:39,480 Speaker 1: used to convict or had been spectral, and he let 460 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:42,440 Speaker 1: her go free. It was something that had been unthinkable 461 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:46,840 Speaker 1: just a month earlier, and now it was happening. The 462 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:50,880 Speaker 1: trickle soon became a flood. On December six, the eight 463 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,560 Speaker 1: men from and Over petition Phipps to ask that their 464 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:57,280 Speaker 1: wives and daughters be allowed bail. Winter was getting colder 465 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,000 Speaker 1: and more brutal, and jails were far from the safest 466 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 1: places to be during those frigid months. Some of the 467 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,640 Speaker 1: bails were set high, but they paid the price. Anything 468 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:10,600 Speaker 1: was better than the current conditions. Around the same time, 469 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:13,560 Speaker 1: Captain John Alden, the convicted witch who had fled the 470 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:16,000 Speaker 1: colony to spend time in the safety of New York, 471 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:20,040 Speaker 1: actually returned to Boston. Two of his good friends took 472 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:23,720 Speaker 1: him straight to Judge Jonathan Richards and paid his bond 473 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,959 Speaker 1: in full, setting him free. But if you were one 474 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 1: of the families that lacked the funds to buy your 475 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 1: loved ones freedom, December of two wasn't as encouraging as 476 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:37,200 Speaker 1: it seemed. For them. It was still a waiting game. 477 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 1: The new court system had been put together, but their 478 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: first trial under that new system hadn't been announced yet. 479 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:47,080 Speaker 1: I realized many had suffered through actual torture over the 480 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:50,120 Speaker 1: course of the witchcraft trials, But for the people left 481 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:54,719 Speaker 1: in the cold, unsanitary jails, this was pretty close. Staying 482 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:58,120 Speaker 1: in jail could be deadly, and it was for one 483 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:02,760 Speaker 1: person at least. The elderly and over woman and foster 484 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 1: passed away in jail on de summer ninth. She was 485 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:07,880 Speaker 1: the one who had been so frail. They had to 486 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,920 Speaker 1: carry her into the courtroom. After that, she had to 487 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,240 Speaker 1: endure the emotional trauma of hearing her daughter and granddaughter 488 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:17,520 Speaker 1: confess and accuse her of witchcraft. But even though her 489 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:20,560 Speaker 1: judgment had been swift, she had been left for weeks 490 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:25,120 Speaker 1: to wait for her execution. Instead, she died in jail. 491 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:28,520 Speaker 1: When her son Abraham visited the jail to claim her body, 492 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:30,120 Speaker 1: he was told that he would need to pay her 493 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 1: outstanding expenses and provision costs before her body would be 494 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:37,920 Speaker 1: handed over. He had just lost his mother, and yet 495 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,160 Speaker 1: he would have to scrape together the fees in order 496 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:44,960 Speaker 1: to take her home and grieve properly. There were bright 497 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:48,160 Speaker 1: spots though. On December tenth, a man in Salem named 498 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:51,040 Speaker 1: Samuel Ray showed up at the jail and paid the 499 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 1: full fifty pound bond for Dorothy good the little girl 500 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,400 Speaker 1: who had been jailed alongside her mother, Sarah good Way 501 00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:01,080 Speaker 1: back in March. Little Dorothy spent ten months in chains, 502 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:04,400 Speaker 1: a tragedy that no child should ever have to endure. 503 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 1: According to historians, it would shape the rest of her life. Finally, 504 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:12,360 Speaker 1: word went out that the next trial would take place 505 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:16,760 Speaker 1: in January, not another oyer and terminer like the past sessions, 506 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:20,400 Speaker 1: but a new trial by the Massachusetts Superior Court. It 507 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:23,320 Speaker 1: offered hope to those still waiting for a decision and 508 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:27,400 Speaker 1: praying for their release from captivity, perhaps even an occasion 509 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:31,320 Speaker 1: to celebrate before the trial date could arrive. Though the 510 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:33,880 Speaker 1: Governor declared December twenty nine to be a day of 511 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:37,400 Speaker 1: fasting and prayer across the colony. They were urged to 512 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:42,080 Speaker 1: consider the various and awful judgments of God continued upon 513 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:46,280 Speaker 1: the English nation and the dispersions thereof in their Majesty's 514 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:51,160 Speaker 1: several plantations by permitting witchcrafts and evil ages to rage 515 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:59,760 Speaker 1: against his people. Translation, judgment was coming, so pray for mercy. 516 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:07,640 Speaker 1: The Superior Court met in Salem's town meeting House on 517 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:12,920 Speaker 1: January three. Of It was cold, putting this new trial 518 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:15,640 Speaker 1: in stark contrast with the ones that had taken place 519 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:20,320 Speaker 1: over the sweltering summer. The jurors for the trial arrived early, 520 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:24,360 Speaker 1: and among them were some interesting choices, including Jacob Town 521 00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:27,240 Speaker 1: from Topsfield, who just so happened to be the nephew 522 00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:31,000 Speaker 1: of Rebecca Nurse. Another juror was Richard Reid, brother in 523 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:34,400 Speaker 1: law to Wilma Reid, who had been executed right alongside 524 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:38,760 Speaker 1: Martha Carrier back in September. The process of swearing in 525 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 1: the full jury took up the entire first day, apparently, 526 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:44,680 Speaker 1: so it wasn't until January four that the first case 527 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:47,640 Speaker 1: was brought forward to the judges. The process would be 528 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,600 Speaker 1: a lot like the Oyer and Terminer. Evidence would be 529 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,400 Speaker 1: presented and considered by the jury, and then they would 530 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 1: send their indictments to the judges for trial and sentencing. 531 00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 1: The huge difference now, though, was that spectral evidence no 532 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:04,320 Speaker 1: longer counted as real court worthy evidence. In fact, the 533 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,280 Speaker 1: Upper House had laid down incredibly strict rules about what 534 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:10,840 Speaker 1: did and did not count as evidence. The new law 535 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:15,120 Speaker 1: made no mention of signing the Devil's Book or spectral attacks, 536 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:17,840 Speaker 1: some of the most common stories told in the courtroom 537 00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:21,280 Speaker 1: over the previous year, but it did describe the specific 538 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:26,040 Speaker 1: crimes that would be punished. Anyone who conjured or invoked 539 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:31,800 Speaker 1: evil spirits, then entertained, employed, or rewarded them in any way, 540 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:34,320 Speaker 1: who dug up a corpse or any part of a 541 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:38,080 Speaker 1: corpse to use for magical purposes, or who used any 542 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 1: of these means to lame or to waste pine and 543 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:46,720 Speaker 1: consume anyone else in any way would be executed. In 544 00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:50,840 Speaker 1: other words, no specters or ghostly apparitions. Sure, if you 545 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:53,600 Speaker 1: tried to kill another person with magic, you were guilty 546 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:57,080 Speaker 1: of a capital offense and therefore would be executed. But 547 00:33:57,200 --> 00:33:59,720 Speaker 1: other behavior that was considered to be witchcraft would come 548 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:03,840 Speaker 1: with us or punishments. That list of crimes is fascinating 549 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:09,080 Speaker 1: to read. Using spells to discover precious ores or buried treasure, 550 00:34:09,640 --> 00:34:14,520 Speaker 1: find lost items, lure another person's love, waste or destroy 551 00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:19,440 Speaker 1: another person's property, including livestock, or hurt someone bodily without 552 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:22,560 Speaker 1: killing them. They were the actions of a witch as 553 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 1: far as they were concerned, but they weren't capital crimes. 554 00:34:27,320 --> 00:34:31,120 Speaker 1: On January four, the very first case demonstrated how different 555 00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:34,120 Speaker 1: this new trial was going to be. The evidence was 556 00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:37,319 Speaker 1: laid out and the testimonies were heard, but then as 557 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:40,800 Speaker 1: the indictments were considered one by one, they were marked 558 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:45,560 Speaker 1: with the term ignoramus, meaning we do not know without 559 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:49,280 Speaker 1: allowing spectral evidence. It became clear that almost no case 560 00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:53,719 Speaker 1: that day was worthy of an actual trial. Of the 561 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:56,480 Speaker 1: four cases that did get moved onto a full trial, 562 00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,560 Speaker 1: one of them was of Margaret Jacobs. She was the 563 00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:02,440 Speaker 1: grand udter of George Jacobs, who had been convicted and 564 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:06,160 Speaker 1: hanged back in August, partly because of her own testimony, 565 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:10,200 Speaker 1: But on January four she recanted that confession, pled not 566 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:15,359 Speaker 1: guilty and was acquitted. Her mother, Rebecca, did the same thing, 567 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:18,279 Speaker 1: and she was also acquitted. She claimed that now that 568 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:22,160 Speaker 1: she had no distraction, she could think clearly. The third case, 569 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:26,080 Speaker 1: that of Andover Resident Hannah Tyler, ended with the same decision, 570 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:30,239 Speaker 1: and on and on went one case after another, as 571 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:35,440 Speaker 1: fear and desperation were replaced with celebration and joy. It 572 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:38,600 Speaker 1: was a major shift in tone for the trials. For months, 573 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 1: the Oyer and Terminer had served as a gathering of 574 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,880 Speaker 1: fear and dread, of tempest and turmoil, but all of 575 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 1: that seemed to be gone. Cold logic had moved in 576 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:51,520 Speaker 1: and replaced superstition at the head of the courtroom. I 577 00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:54,920 Speaker 1: can't imagine William Stoughton was happy about the changes, but 578 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:57,160 Speaker 1: he was a servant of the law, and the new 579 00:35:57,239 --> 00:36:00,000 Speaker 1: law made it clear that his personal views no longer 580 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:04,040 Speaker 1: held sway. I'm sure it helped that Thomas Danforth was 581 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:08,040 Speaker 1: seated with him balancing out his passionate hatred with calm reason, 582 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:11,320 Speaker 1: and that in turn must have given the other judges 583 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:13,640 Speaker 1: on the Superior Court a bit more courage to work 584 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:17,520 Speaker 1: against Oton. The tide hadn't just turned, it had rushed 585 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,560 Speaker 1: in and washed away the tragedy in the blink of 586 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:26,720 Speaker 1: an eye. Then, on January, the prisoners awaiting their turn 587 00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:30,120 Speaker 1: and court received a shock. The day had begun on 588 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:33,680 Speaker 1: a similarly joyful note, with one case dismissed before it 589 00:36:33,719 --> 00:36:36,680 Speaker 1: even reached the jurors, and another two sent to trial 590 00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:39,520 Speaker 1: only to be dismissed by the judges. But it was 591 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,200 Speaker 1: the fourth case of the day, that of Sarah Hooper 592 00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:47,360 Speaker 1: wardwell from and Over, that shook their confidence. The testimonies 593 00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:50,640 Speaker 1: were heard, the evidence was presented, and then the jury 594 00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:55,040 Speaker 1: was sent off to deliberate over their decision. Sarah's husband, Samuel, 595 00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:58,440 Speaker 1: had already been convicted and hanged for witchcraft back on September, 596 00:36:59,520 --> 00:37:03,359 Speaker 1: partly on her own confession, but she had recanted those 597 00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:06,320 Speaker 1: words and was hoping for the new court to understand 598 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:08,920 Speaker 1: that everyone else who had done the same had walked 599 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:13,000 Speaker 1: away acquitted by the court. She prayed for the same results. 600 00:37:14,560 --> 00:37:17,160 Speaker 1: When the jury returned with their verdict, it would shake 601 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:19,880 Speaker 1: the confidence that the community had built up over the 602 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:24,200 Speaker 1: previous week, she was declared guilty of covenanting with the 603 00:37:24,280 --> 00:37:28,680 Speaker 1: devil and guilty of witchcraft. For whatever the specific reasons 604 00:37:28,719 --> 00:37:31,480 Speaker 1: were in her case, the new court had failed her. 605 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:34,799 Speaker 1: She was taken back to jail and held until her 606 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:39,319 Speaker 1: execution date could be set. But her conviction sent a 607 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:42,440 Speaker 1: powerful message to the rest of the people awaiting their 608 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:53,439 Speaker 1: own trial. Nothing was guaranteed, not even hope. More bad 609 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:57,320 Speaker 1: news came their way during the court session on January 610 00:37:57,719 --> 00:38:00,960 Speaker 1: a group of miners, including Martha care your son Stephen, 611 00:38:01,239 --> 00:38:04,960 Speaker 1: we're all indicted on charges of witchcraft. The others, Mary 612 00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:08,239 Speaker 1: and William Barker, and Stephen Johnson are a little more 613 00:38:08,239 --> 00:38:10,640 Speaker 1: than names to us now, but they must have felt 614 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:14,160 Speaker 1: like blow after blow against the community's sense of safety. 615 00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:18,719 Speaker 1: After their trial and over, girl Mary Lacey Jr. Was 616 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:21,600 Speaker 1: brought before the court. She had put her mother, Mary 617 00:38:21,719 --> 00:38:25,040 Speaker 1: Lacey Senior and grandmother Ann Foster in jail due to 618 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:28,400 Speaker 1: her accusations, and that had led to Anne Foster's death 619 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,440 Speaker 1: in jail, her mother had already been found guilty and 620 00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:34,040 Speaker 1: had been sentenced to death by hanging at a future date. 621 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:37,200 Speaker 1: So Mary Junior attempted to change her luck and plead 622 00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:41,440 Speaker 1: not guilty. Amazingly, the jury came back with the same verdict, 623 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:45,600 Speaker 1: declaring her innocence of all charges. She and others were 624 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:49,600 Speaker 1: acquitted that day and many days afterwards. The officials seemed 625 00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:52,080 Speaker 1: to have settled on a standard bond of one hundred 626 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:55,480 Speaker 1: pounds for each prisoner, and as the acquittals were handed out, 627 00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:58,800 Speaker 1: family members rushed to the jails to purchase the freedom 628 00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:04,120 Speaker 1: of their loved ones. By January, ten days after the 629 00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:07,440 Speaker 1: court had started up, over fifty cases of witchcraft had 630 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:10,440 Speaker 1: been presented. Thirty of those were tossed out with the 631 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:14,760 Speaker 1: label of ignoramus, including Sarah Klois, the sister of Rebecca 632 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:18,359 Speaker 1: Nurse and Mary Est. After months in jail and the 633 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:22,360 Speaker 1: loss of both her sisters, Sarah was free. Her husband 634 00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:25,040 Speaker 1: Peter brought her home from the jail, but the pain 635 00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:28,040 Speaker 1: of it all was too much to bear. They immediately 636 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:33,239 Speaker 1: began plans to move their family south. Cases out of 637 00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:36,280 Speaker 1: the fifty or so actually went to trial, and only 638 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:40,160 Speaker 1: three were found guilty, Sarah Wardwell, who we mentioned before, 639 00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:44,520 Speaker 1: but also Elizabeth Johnson and Mary Post, Both of them 640 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:48,800 Speaker 1: might have actually been mentally disabled. According to Merchant Robert Califf, 641 00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:52,360 Speaker 1: they were, and these are his words, not mine. Two 642 00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:56,040 Speaker 1: of the most senseless and ignorant creatures that could be found. 643 00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:01,239 Speaker 1: Three convictions out of over fifty suspects must have felt 644 00:40:01,239 --> 00:40:04,360 Speaker 1: like a major defeat to William Stoughton. He had hoped 645 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:07,799 Speaker 1: for more. The witchcraft epidemic needed to be stamped out 646 00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:10,160 Speaker 1: for good if his community was going to be safe 647 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:12,799 Speaker 1: from the forces of the devil. But I suppose he 648 00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:16,960 Speaker 1: shrugged and told himself it was better than nothing. He 649 00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:20,319 Speaker 1: moved quickly to sign the warrants for their speedy execution. 650 00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:24,480 Speaker 1: But despite his haste, he was meticulous and deliberate. He 651 00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:26,720 Speaker 1: didn't want to screw up along the way and prevent 652 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:29,960 Speaker 1: this last small victory. And then he reached a little 653 00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:33,919 Speaker 1: further than anyone expected. You see, there were still five 654 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:36,799 Speaker 1: other prisoners who had been convicted and sentenced to death 655 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:39,839 Speaker 1: back in September, but the breakdown in the trials and 656 00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:42,560 Speaker 1: the eventual replacement of the Oyer and terminer by the 657 00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:46,960 Speaker 1: Superior Court had left them waiting in jail. Stowton added 658 00:40:47,040 --> 00:40:50,600 Speaker 1: their names to the death warrant as well. They were 659 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:58,120 Speaker 1: Abigail Hobbs, Mary Bradberry, Dorcas Whore, Elizabeth Proctor, and Abigail Faulkner, 660 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:01,440 Speaker 1: the last two women by the way, Faulkner and Proctor 661 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:04,640 Speaker 1: were safe for the moment because both of them were pregnant. 662 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:10,400 Speaker 1: They represented evidence of Stowton's hypocrisy. The unborn children were sacred, 663 00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:13,200 Speaker 1: but once they were born, he would gladly end the 664 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:19,560 Speaker 1: lives of their mothers, all for justice. Thankfully, Stowton's actions 665 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:22,960 Speaker 1: caught the attention of Anthony Checkley, the Attorney General for 666 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:25,560 Speaker 1: the colony, and he sent a message to the governor 667 00:41:25,640 --> 00:41:29,320 Speaker 1: telling him what was taking place. Phipps, away on business 668 00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:33,120 Speaker 1: in Rhode Island, read over the report carefully. It seems 669 00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:38,920 Speaker 1: he had a decision to make. On a snowy January seventeenth, 670 00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:42,200 Speaker 1: Stowton made the trip south to Boston to discuss unrelated 671 00:41:42,239 --> 00:41:45,359 Speaker 1: matters with Governor Phipps. It seems that the Crown had 672 00:41:45,400 --> 00:41:48,360 Speaker 1: sent a messenger to deliver instructions to Phipps about the 673 00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:51,799 Speaker 1: fate of the island known as Martha's Vineyard. Looking back, 674 00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:54,880 Speaker 1: we know what those orders were. The island was to 675 00:41:54,920 --> 00:41:58,760 Speaker 1: become the property of the New York Colony, not Massachusetts. 676 00:42:00,239 --> 00:42:02,400 Speaker 1: But the messenger, standing off to the side of a 677 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:05,440 Speaker 1: room full of the governor's counselors refused to tell that 678 00:42:05,600 --> 00:42:08,759 Speaker 1: to Phips, he had been given instructions to deliver his 679 00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:14,400 Speaker 1: message in private, and he wouldn't budge. Phipps erupted an anger, 680 00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:20,160 Speaker 1: calling the messenger and impudent saucy pitiful jack Napes, but 681 00:42:20,239 --> 00:42:24,320 Speaker 1: the messenger stood his ground. Then Stoughton made a mistake. 682 00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:27,879 Speaker 1: He stood up for the messenger, defending the man's right 683 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:31,600 Speaker 1: to deliver the Crown's message in private. Soon enough, the 684 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:35,400 Speaker 1: messenger found himself standing alone in a hallway while Phipps 685 00:42:35,440 --> 00:42:38,560 Speaker 1: and Stoughton continued their argument in a room by themselves. 686 00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:43,000 Speaker 1: When Stoughton finally left, the damage had been done. Phipps 687 00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:45,520 Speaker 1: might have been torn about which side to support in 688 00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:49,239 Speaker 1: the witch trials before the Chief Justice's arrival, but now 689 00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:58,040 Speaker 1: it was settled Stoughton would have to be stopped. The 690 00:42:58,080 --> 00:43:02,520 Speaker 1: snow of January seventeen didn't stop. By the twenty second, 691 00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:06,560 Speaker 1: the north shore of Boston, including Salem Town and Salem Village, 692 00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:10,920 Speaker 1: was under a thick blanket of white drifts. They sewond 693 00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:13,640 Speaker 1: was a Sunday, and many managed to leave home and 694 00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:17,240 Speaker 1: attend church at their local meeting house, including Samuel Sewell 695 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:20,759 Speaker 1: who described his trip to church with the word floundering. 696 00:43:22,280 --> 00:43:26,000 Speaker 1: A week later, on January, William Stoughton sent men to 697 00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:29,720 Speaker 1: Salem to dig eight graves. Too many witches had already 698 00:43:29,719 --> 00:43:32,239 Speaker 1: gotten away, and he wasn't about to let the cold, 699 00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:35,520 Speaker 1: hard ground stop him from finishing his work. You couldn't 700 00:43:35,520 --> 00:43:38,880 Speaker 1: pay a bond to escape the grave, after all. Believing 701 00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:42,720 Speaker 1: himself completely in control, he barreled forward with his plans. 702 00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:47,880 Speaker 1: Two days later, on February one, a little over a 703 00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:51,279 Speaker 1: year after the first afflicted girls experienced their fits and 704 00:43:51,280 --> 00:43:55,200 Speaker 1: seizures in the home of Reverend Samuel Paris, Stoughton walked 705 00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:58,600 Speaker 1: into the Salem Town meeting House with his head held high. 706 00:43:58,920 --> 00:44:01,759 Speaker 1: He had done it. He had threaded the needle and 707 00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:05,279 Speaker 1: guided the final eight witches to their execution day, and 708 00:44:05,360 --> 00:44:09,600 Speaker 1: now he was here to see it all end. He 709 00:44:09,680 --> 00:44:12,239 Speaker 1: planned to personally lead them all through the snow and 710 00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:15,200 Speaker 1: cold to the gallows where they would hang. All that 711 00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:18,400 Speaker 1: stood between him and that sweet victory was one final 712 00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:22,640 Speaker 1: court session, a court that he presided over as Chief Justice. 713 00:44:23,320 --> 00:44:26,600 Speaker 1: But as soon as the session began the doors opened 714 00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:30,440 Speaker 1: at the rear of the room, a cold breeze blew in, 715 00:44:30,800 --> 00:44:34,279 Speaker 1: along with a dazzling flash of white snow and blue sky. 716 00:44:34,440 --> 00:44:37,239 Speaker 1: But it was the messenger that everyone was looking at. 717 00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:40,480 Speaker 1: He had traveled up from Boston to deliver news from 718 00:44:40,560 --> 00:44:43,799 Speaker 1: Governor Phipps himself. Each and every one of the eight 719 00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:48,239 Speaker 1: convicted witches had been reprieved and were to be set free. 720 00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:54,000 Speaker 1: Stoughton exploded with rage. Who it is obstructs the cause 721 00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:57,720 Speaker 1: of justice? I know not, he cried out, But thereby 722 00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:01,560 Speaker 1: the Kingdom of Satan is advanced. The Lord have mercy 723 00:45:01,800 --> 00:45:06,040 Speaker 1: on this country. Then he turned on his heel and 724 00:45:06,200 --> 00:45:09,400 Speaker 1: stormed out of the room, abandoning the court and the 725 00:45:09,480 --> 00:45:13,560 Speaker 1: victims he had intended to kill that day. Thomas Danforth, 726 00:45:13,719 --> 00:45:16,880 Speaker 1: being the senior remaining judge, was left to wrap up 727 00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:20,520 Speaker 1: the proceedings and carry out the governor's orders. But the 728 00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:25,080 Speaker 1: tragedy wouldn't easily be erased from everyone's mind, and no 729 00:45:25,239 --> 00:45:28,800 Speaker 1: messenger could bring back the innocent lives that have been lost. 730 00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:37,200 Speaker 1: The Lord have mercy. Indeed, that's it for this week's 731 00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:41,600 Speaker 1: episode of Unobscured. Stick around after this short sponsor break 732 00:45:41,760 --> 00:45:44,600 Speaker 1: for a preview of what's in store for next week. 733 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:52,800 Speaker 1: Next time on Unobscured, we can spin the story of Salem. 734 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:56,359 Speaker 1: However we want, we can look for outside forces like 735 00:45:56,520 --> 00:46:00,040 Speaker 1: illness or drug induced to lucin nations, or point of 736 00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:03,799 Speaker 1: the age, old battle between superstition and science. We can 737 00:46:03,880 --> 00:46:07,200 Speaker 1: invent any number of excuses, but none of it comes 738 00:46:07,239 --> 00:46:10,640 Speaker 1: close to the most obvious answer on the table, the 739 00:46:10,719 --> 00:46:15,560 Speaker 1: Salem which trials happened because humans were involved and we 740 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:19,359 Speaker 1: have a very long track record of making a mess 741 00:46:19,400 --> 00:47:17,800 Speaker 1: of things. Unobscured was created and written by me Aaron 742 00:47:17,880 --> 00:47:21,319 Speaker 1: Mankey and produced by Matt Frederick and Alex Williams in 743 00:47:21,440 --> 00:47:24,880 Speaker 1: partnership with How Stuff Works, with research by Carl Nellis 744 00:47:25,040 --> 00:47:28,839 Speaker 1: and original music by Chad Lawson. Learn more about our 745 00:47:28,920 --> 00:47:34,080 Speaker 1: contributing historians further reading material, resource archive and links to 746 00:47:34,160 --> 00:47:39,399 Speaker 1: our other shows at History unobscured dot com. Until next time, 747 00:47:40,239 --> 00:47:41,120 Speaker 1: thanks for listening.