Bloodlines of Salem was a

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

-based family-history group in the United States. Its purpose was described as providing a "place where visitors share ideas and information about 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 ...

of 1692, its participants and their families. Many visitors have researched and proved their descents from one or more of the participants. The trials unfolded more than three centuries ago and continue to figure prominently in the studies of

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

. As amateur and professional researchers, or 'Salemologists,' however, their study of the trials isn't limited to their lineages."

Membership

A person was eligible to

register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

a membership with the group if he or she proposed in writing 1) a desire to register, 2) an agreement with the group promise to "remember the Salem Witch Trials and its participants by associating their families and preserving their lineages," "share commercial, genealogical and historical information about the trials and its participants," and "educate others about hegroup and promise," and 3) a name, city of residence and contact information. The person was notcharged a registration fee, and could use the

postnominal Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

abbreviation "MBoS," and could request at any time to cancel or change the registration. A person was eligible to register a descendant membership with the group if he or she was otherwise eligible to register a membership and proved beyond doubt his or her descent from or relationship to one or more participants of the trials with lineages showing detailed descendancy. The person was not charged a registration fee, could use the postnominal abbreviation "DBoS," and could request at any time to cancel or change the registration, and must have included proof of parentage for each

generation A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and gr ...

, beginning with his or her own, so that the person named first in a generation was a child or relative of the couple named in the following generation.

History

The group was founded in 2007 in

, home of the worldwide

Family History Library The Family History Library (FHL) is a genealogical research facility in downtown Salt Lake City. The library is open to the public free of charge and is operated by FamilySearch, the genealogical arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

, to encourage and provide resources to persons who are or suspect they are descendants and relatives of trials participants, or enjoy an interest in the trials. The head of BLoS, as of October 2013, was Steven Hale.

Activities

Group researchers investigated and published evidence of notable descendants and relatives of trials participants. Its 2007 investigation discovered that "Harry Potter" film actor

Tom Felton Thomas Andrew Felton (born 22 September 1987) is an English actor best known for playing Draco Malfoy in the film adaptations of the ''Harry Potter'' fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling. Born in Surrey, Felton began appearing in commercials and ...

is a relative of several participants including Lt. Nathaniel Felton and John Proctor, who was hanged during the trials. Their website had a section of "notable descendants of the accused and the accusers" which included

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, and

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

Legacy

The organization went out of existence in 2018.

References

External links