Dorothy Good (historically referred to as Dorcas Good; ca. 1687/1688 – ?) was the daughter of William Good and Sarah Good (née Solart). Dorothy and her mother Sarah were accused of practicing

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 Salem at the beginning of 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 ...

in 1692. Only four years old at the time, she was interrogated by the local magistrates, confessed to being a witch and purportedly claimed she had seen her mother consorting with the devil.

Mary Walcott Mary Walcott (July 5, 1675 – 1752) was one of the "afflicted" girls called as a witness at the Salem witch trials in early 1692-93. Life Born July 5, 1675, she was the daughter of Captain Jonathan Walcott (1639–1699), and his wife, Mary Sibl ...

and Ann Putnam Jr. claimed the child was deranged and repeatedly bit them as if she were an animal. Dorothy, written as "Dorcas" on the warrant for her arrest, received a brief hearing in which the accusers repeatedly complained of bites on their arms. She was sent to jail, becoming at age five the youngest person to be jailed during the Salem witch trials. Two days later, she was visited by Salem officials. She claimed she owned a snake given to her by her mother that talked to her and sucked blood from her finger.Rev.

Deodat Lawson Deodat Lawson was a minister in Salem Village from 1684 to 1688 and is famous for a 10-page pamphlet describing the witchcraft accusations in the early spring of 1692. The pamphlet was billed as "collected by Deodat Lawson" and printed within the y ...

. ''A Brief and True Narrative Of some Remarkable Passages Relating to sundry Persons Afflicted by Witchcraft, at Salem Village Which happened from the Nineteenth of March, to the Fifth of April, 1692''. Boston, Printed for Benjamin Harris and are to be Sold at his Shop, over-against the Old-Meeting-House. 1692.Profile
virginia.edu; accessed July 5, 2015. The officials took this to mean it was her "

familiar In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (sometimes referred to as familiar spirits) were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to r ...

", which is defined as a witch's spiritual servant in animal form. Dorothy was in custody from March 24, 1692, when she was arrested until she was released on bond for £50 on December 10, 1692. She was never indicted or tried. Her examinations by the magistrates were conducted on March 24, 25, and 26th, according to Rev.

The Magistrates and Ministers also did informe me, that they apprehended a child of Sarah G. and Examined it, being between 4 and 5 years of Age And as to matter of Fact, they did Unanimously affirm, that when this Child, did but cast its eye upon the afflicted persons, they were tormented, and they held her Head, and yet so many as her eye could fix upon were afflicted. Which they did several times make careful observation of: the afflicted complained, they had often been Bitten by this child, and produced the marks of a small set of teeth, accordingly, this was also committed to Salem Prison; the child looked hail, and well as other Children. I saw it at Lievt. Ingersols After the commitment of Goode. N. Tho: Putmans wife was much better, and had no violent fits at all from that 24th of March to the 5th of April. Some others also said they had not seen her so frequently appear to them, to hurt them. ... On the 26th of March, Mr. Hathorne, Mr. Corwin, and Mr. Higison were at the Prison-Keepers house to examine the Child. The child told them there, it had a little Snake that used to Suck on the lowest Joint of her Fore-Finger. When they inquired where, pointing to other places, The child told them, not there, but there, pointing on the Lowest point of the Fore-Finger; where they observed a deep Red Spot, about the Bigness of a Flea-bite.

Dorothy had a younger sister, Mercy, who was born after Sarah Good's arrest and died shortly after birth, likely from malnourishment and the harsh conditions of imprisonment.

"Dorothy" v. "Dorcas"

Good's first name was incorrectly written as "Dorcas" by Magistrate

John Hathorne John Hathorne (August 1641 – May 10, 1717) was a merchant and magistrate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Salem, Massachusetts. He is best known for his early and vocal role as one of the leading judges in the Salem witch trials. Hatho ...

on the warrant for her arrest dated March 23, 1692, but was correctly called "Dorothy" everywhere else in the legal records. Deodat Lawson's accounts of her examinations never mention her first name, but later writers, such as Charles W. Upham in his influential book ''Salem Witchcraft'' (1867), repeated the initial error from the arrest warrant and she has subsequently come to be referred to by the wrong name.Margo Burns and Bernard Rosenthal, "Examination of the Records of the Salem Witch Trials", ''William and Mary Quarterly'', 3d ser., 65, no. 3 (July 2008): 401–22

Fictional portrayals

*Earhart, Rose. ''Dorcas Good: The Diary of a Salem Witch''. Pendleton Books, NY, 2000; *Kent, Kathleen. "The Heretic's Daughter". Little, Brown and Company, NY, 2008; *Rinaldi, Ann. ''A Break with Charity''. Simon and Schuster Books, NY, 1992;

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Good, Dorothy 1680s births Place of death missing Year of death missing American children Colonial American women People accused of witchcraft People of the Salem witch trials