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
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 ...
. 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.
References
Further reading
* Upham, Charles (1980). Salem Witchcraft. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 2 vv., v. 2 pp. 324, 384, 480.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wardwell, Samuel
1643 births
1692 deaths
17th-century executions of American people
17th-century executions by England
Executed people from Maryland
People convicted of witchcraft
People executed by Massachusetts by hanging
People executed by the Thirteen Colonies by hanging
People executed by the Province of Massachusetts Bay
People from Boston
People of the Salem witch trials