Ann Pudeator (November 13, 1621 – , 1692) was a wealthy septuagenarian widow who was accused of and convicted of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

in the

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom w ...

colonial Massachusetts Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

. She was

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

Personal life

Ann's maiden name is not known, nor the place of her birth. Thomas Greenslade was her first husband and they had five children (Thomas Jr., Ruth, John, Samuel, and James). After Thomas' death in 1674, she was hired by Jacob Pudeator to nurse his alcoholic wife, who died in 1675. Ann then married Jacob in 1676. Jacob died in 1682, leaving Ann well-off. Some have theorized that Ann Pudeator's likely occupation as a nurse and

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

, along with her being a woman of property, made her vulnerable to charges of witchcraft.

Witch trials

When she was accused of witchcraft, the inventory of

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Pudeator's alleged misdeeds included: * Presenting the Devil's Book to a girl and forcing her to sign it * Bewitchment causing the death of a neighbor's wife * Appearing in spectral form to afflicted girls * Having

materials in her home, which she claimed was grease for making soap * Torturing with pins * Causing a man to fall out of a tree * Killing her own second husband and his first wife * Turning herself into a bird and flying into her house Many of these allegations were made by Mary Warren, one of the so-called "afflicted girls". Her other accusers were

Ann Putnam Jr. Annie Putnam (October 18, 1679 – 1716) was an important witness at the Salem Witch Trials of Massachusetts during the later portion of 17th-century Colonial America. Born 1679 in Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, she was ...

, John Best Sr., John Best Jr., and Samuel Pickworth. Ann Pudeator was tried and sentenced to death on , 1692, along with

Alice Parker Alice Parker (born December 16, 1925) is an American composer, arranger, conductor, and teacher. She has authored five operas, eleven song-cycles, thirty-three cantatas, eleven works for chorus and orchestra, forty-seven choral suites, and ...

Dorcas Hoar Dorcas Hoar (née Galley; 1634 July 12, 1711) was a widow accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials of 1692. She was found guilty and condemned to hang, but then confessed and with the support of several ministers, was given a temporary r ...

Mary Bradbury Mary (née Perkins) Bradbury (baptized September 3, 1615December 20, 1700) was tried, convicted and sentenced to hang as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. However, she managed to avoid her sentence until the trials had been discredited, and ...

, and

Mary Easty Mary Towne Eastey (also spelled Esty, Easty, Estey, Eastick, Eastie, or Estye) ( bap. August 24, 1634 – September 22, 1692) was a defendant in the Salem witch trials in colonial Massachusetts. She was executed by hanging in Salem in 1692. ...

. She was hanged on Gallows Hill in

Salem Town Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

on . It is not known where she is buried, but a memorial stone for her exists at the Salem Witch Trials Memorial in Salem. Ann's son Thomas testified against

George Burroughs George Burroughs ( 1650August 19, 1692) was an American religious leader who was the only minister executed for witchcraft during the course of the Salem witch trials. He is best known for reciting the Lord's Prayer during his execution, some ...

at his trial for witchcraft. George Burroughs was executed in August; Thomas testified after Burrough's hanging in a desperate effort to save his mother's life. In October 1710, the General Court passed an act reversing the convictions of those for whom their families had pleaded, but Ann Pudeator was not among them. Pudeator was exonerated in 1957 by the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

, partly because of the efforts of Lee Greenslit, a Midwestern textbook publisher who learned about Pudeator's execution while researching his family origins.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pudeator, Ann 1692 deaths People of the Salem witch trials American people executed for witchcraft People executed by the Province of Massachusetts Bay Executed American women Colonial American women American midwives Year of birth unknown 17th-century executions of American people People executed by the Thirteen Colonies by hanging People executed by Massachusetts by hanging 17th-century executions by England 1621 births