Samuel Wardwell (May 16, 1643 – September 22, 1692) was a man accused 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 ...

during 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. He was executed by

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 ...

on September 22, 1692, along with Alice Parker,

Martha Corey Martha Corey (1619 or 1620 – September 22, 1692) was accused and convicted of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, on September 9, 1692, and was hanged on September 22, 1692. Her second husband, Giles Corey, was also accused. Early life ...

Mary Eastey 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. ...

, Ann Pudeator, Mary Parker,

Wilmot Redd Wilmot Redd (a.k.a. Wilmot Read and Wilmot Reed) (early 17th century - September 22, 1692) was one of the victims of the Salem witch trials of 1692. She was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and executed by hanging on September 22, 1692. Her husb ...

, and Margaret Scott.

Biography

Wardwell was born on May 16, 1643, to Thomas Wardwell and Elizabeth Woodruff in Boston, Massachusetts. His father had been a follower of

John Wheelwright John Wheelwright (c. 1592–1679) was a Puritan clergyman in England and America, noted for being banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Antinomian Controversy, and for subsequently establishing the town of Exeter, New Hamp ...

and

Anne Hutchinson Anne Hutchinson (née Marbury; July 1591 – August 1643) was a Puritan spiritual advisor, religious reformer, and an important participant in the Antinomian Controversy which shook the infant Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1636 to 1638. Her ...

. Wardwell had a son out of wedlock, Thomas Wardwell, with Mercy Playfer ( Bridget Bishop's sister.) Samuel's son later adapted the last name Tailer when the Wardwells were convicted of witchcraft. Samuel's wife, Sarah, controlled a one hundred and eighty-eight-acre estate, which she had inherited from her first husband, Adam Hawkes, upon his death. The

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of ...

passed a law which provided attainder for "conjuration, witchcraft, and dealing with evil and wicked spirits", which meant the loss of civil, inheritance, and property rights of those accused.Carol F Karlsen (1987) ''Devil in the Shape of a Woman'' New York: W.W. Norton and Co. pp. 105–06 William Baker Jr., 14 years old, accused the Wardwell family of

. The accusation targeted Samuel, Sarah, and their 19-year-old daughter Mercy Wardwell (named after her father's first love and the mother of her half brother, Thomas). All three confessed the very day they were interrogated. Samuel was executed at Proctor's Ledge in Salem after retracting a

forced confession A forced confession is a confession obtained from a suspect or a prisoner by means of torture (including enhanced interrogation techniques) or other forms of duress. Depending on the level of coercion used, a forced confession is not valid in rev ...

.Elizabeth Wardwell Stay (1906) ''Wardwell, Sketch of the Antecedents of Solomon Wardwell ..'' E.A. Hall & Co (vi
Internet Archive
Eventually his widow, Sarah Wardwell, was reprieved and released. In 1712, after Sarah died, their son, Samuel Wardwell Jr., was left destitute and later sued the Colony, winning some compensation for the family's ordeals. Per the TV show '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', actor Scott Foley is a direct descendant of Samuel Wardwell.

Biography

References

Further reading