This timeline 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 ...

is a quick overview of the events.

Preceding the initial outbreak

;1688 The behavior of several children in the home of the Goodwin family in Boston results in the accusation, trial and execution of their Irish washerwoman,

Ann Glover Goody Ann Glover (died November 16, 1688) was the last person to be hanged in Boston as a witch, although the Salem witch trials in nearby Salem, Massachusetts, occurred mainly in 1692. Early life and accounts The trial of Ann Glover cannot ...

(also known as "Goody Glover"), for witchcraft. ;1689

Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a New England Puritan clergyman and a prolific writer. Educated at Harvard College, in 1685 he joined his father Increase as minister of the Congregationalist Old North Meeting H ...

publishes ''"Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions"'', which includes his account of the Goodwins and Glover. November:

Samuel Parris Samuel Parris (1653February 27, 1720) was the Puritan minister in Salem Village, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials. He was also the father of one of the afflicted girls, and the uncle of another. Life and career Samuel Parris, son of T ...

is named the new minister of Salem. Parris moves to Salem from Boston, where ''Memorable Providences'' was published. ;1691 October 16: Villagers vow to drive Parris out of Salem and stop contributing to his salary.

Outbreak of accusations

;1692: January 20: Eleven-year-old

Abigail Williams Abigail Williams (born c. 1681, date of death unknown) was an 11- or 12-year-old girl who, along with nine-year-old Betty Parris, was among the first of the children to falsely accuse their neighbors of witchcraft in 1692; these accusations eve ...

and nine-year-old

Elizabeth Parris Elizabeth "Betty" Parris (November 28, 1682 – March 21, 1760) was one of the young girls who accused other people of being witches during the Salem witch trials. The accusations made by Betty (Elizabeth) and her cousin Abigail Williams caused t ...

begin behaving much as the Goodwin children acted three years earlier. Soon Ann Putnam Jr. and other Salem girls begin acting similarly. Mid-February: A local doctor (historically assumed to be Doctor Griggs), attends to the "afflicted" girls, and first suggests that witchcraft may be the cause. Around February 25: Mary Sibly (or Sibley), a neighbor of the Parris family, instructs John Indian, the husband of

Tituba Tituba Indian was an enslaved woman who was one of the first to be accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials of 1692-1693. She was brought to colonial Massachusetts from Barbados by Samuel Parris, the minister of Salem Village. She was ...

, to make a "witch cake" of rye meal and the girls' urine to feed to a dog in order to discover who is bewitching the girls, according to English folk "white magic" practices. She later is called out by Rev. Parris for this and her expression of regret is accepted by the congregation. Pressured by ministers and townspeople to say who caused her odd behavior, Elizabeth Parris identifies Tituba. The girls later accuse

Sarah Osborne Sarah Osborne (also variously spelled Osbourne, Osburne, or Osborn; née Warren, formerly Prince, (c. 1643 – May 10, 1692) was a colonist in the Massachusetts Bay colony and one of the first women to be accused of witchcraft in the Salem w ...

and

Sarah Good Sarah Good (, 1653 – , 1692)Contemporary records commonly used the Julian calendar and the Annunciation Style of enumerating months and years. By the Gregorian calendar and using modern style dating, all of the witch trial events in this artic ...

of witchcraft. February 29: Based on formal complaints from Joseph Hutchinson, Thomas Putnam, Edward Putnam and Thomas Preston, Magistrates

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 ...

and

Jonathan Corwin Jonathan Corwin (also Curwin or Corwen, November 14, 1640 – June 9, 1718) was a New England merchant, politician, and magistrate. He is best known as one of the judges involved in the Salem witch trials of 1692, although his later work als ...

issue warrants to arrest Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and

for afflicting Elizabeth Parris, Abigail Williams,

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 ...

and

Elizabeth Hubbard Elizabeth Hubbard is an American actress perhaps best known for her role as Dr. Althea Davis on ''The Doctors (1963 TV series), The Doctors'' (1964–69, 1970–77, 1981–82), and as powerful businesswoman Lucinda Walsh on ''As the World Turn ...

. March 1–March 7: Magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin interrogate Good, Osborne and Tituba over the course of several days. Tituba confesses to afflicting and confirms Good and Osborne are her co-conspirators. March 11: Ann Putnam Jr. shows symptoms of affliction by witchcraft.

Mercy Lewis Mercy Lewis (fl. 1692) was an accuser during the Salem Witch Trials. She was born in Falmouth, Maine. Mercy Lewis, formally known as Mercy Allen, was the child of Philip Lewis and Mary (Cass) Lewis. Early life Lewis and her family were refugees ...

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 Mary Warren later alleged affliction as well. March 12: Ann Putnam Jr. accuses

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 ...

of witchcraft. March 19: Abigail Williams accuses

Rebecca Nurse Rebecca Nurse (February 13, 1621 – July 19, 1692) was a woman who was accused of witchcraft and executed by hanging in New England during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. She was fully exonerated fewer than twenty years later. She was the wif ...

as a witch. March 21: Magistrates Hathorne and Corwin examine Martha Corey. March 23: Salem Marshal Deputy Samuel Brabrook arrests four-year-old

Dorothy Good 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 in Salem at the beginning of the Salem w ...

. March 24: Corwin and Hathorne examine Rebecca Nurse and

March 26: John Hathorne, Jonathan Corwin and Rev. John Higginson question

, now in jail. March 28:

Elizabeth Proctor Elizabeth Proctor (née Bassett; 1650 – after 1703) was convicted of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. She was the wife of John Proctor, who was convicted and executed. Her execution sentence was postponed because she was pregna ...

is accused of witchcraft. April 3:

Sarah Cloyce Sarah Cloyce (alt. Cloyes; Towne; c. 1641 – 1703) was among the many accused during Salem Witch Trials including two of her older sisters, Rebecca Nurse and Mary Eastey, who were both executed. Cloyce was about 50-years-old at the time and was ...

, after defending her sister, Rebecca Nurse, is accused of witchcraft. April 11: Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor are examined before Deputy Governor

Thomas Danforth Thomas Danforth (baptized November 20, 1623 – November 5, 1699) was a politician, magistrate, and landowner in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A conservative Puritan, he served for many years as one of the colony's councilors and magistrates, ...

and members of the Governor's Council. On the same day Elizabeth's husband, John Proctor, becomes the first man accused of witchcraft and is jailed. Early April: The Proctors' servant and accuser, Mary Warren, admits to lying and accuses the other girls of lying. April 13: Ann Putnam Jr. accuses

Giles Corey Giles Corey ( August 1611 – September 19, 1692) was an English-born American farmer who was accused of witchcraft along with his wife Martha Corey during the Salem witch trials. After being arrested, Corey refused to enter a plea of guilty or ...

of witchcraft and alleges that a man who died at Corey's house also haunts her. April 19: Abigail Hobbs,

Bridget Bishop Bridget Bishop ( 1632 – 10 June 1692) was the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials in 1692. Nineteen were hanged, and one, Giles Corey, was pressed to death. Altogether, about 200 people were tried. Family life ...

, Giles Corey and Mary Warren are examined. Deliverance Hobbs confesses to practicing witchcraft. Mary Warren, under pressure and accused now of witchcraft herself, reverses her statement made in early April and rejoins the accusers. April 22:

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. ...

, who defended her sister Rebecca Nurse, is examined by Hathorne and Corwin. Hathorne and Corwin also examine Nehemiah Abbott, Jr., Sarah Wildes, William and Deliverance Hobbs, Edward and Sarah Bishop, Mary Black and Mary English. April 30: Several girls accuse former Salem minister

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 ...

of witchcraft. May 2: Hathorne and Corwin examine Sarah Morey, Lyndia Dustin,

Susannah Martin Susannah Martin (née North, baptized September 30, 1621 – July 19, 1692) was one of fourteen women executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials of colonial Massachusetts. Early life The English-born Martin was the fourth daughter ...

and Dorcas Hoar. May 4: George Burroughs is arrested in Maine and sent back to Salem three days later and subsequently jailed. May 9: Corwin and Hathorne examine George Burroughs and Sarah Churchill; Burroughs is moved to a Boston jail. May 10: Corwin and Hathorne examine George Jacobs, Sr. and his granddaughter Margaret Jacobs. Sarah Osborne dies in prison. May 14: The Rev.

Increase Mather Increase Mather (; June 21, 1639 Old Style – August 23, 1723 Old Style) was a New England Puritan clergyman in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and president of Harvard College for twenty years (1681–1701). He was influential in the administrati ...

and Sir

William Phips Sir William Phips (or Phipps; February 2, 1651 – February 18, 1695) was born in Maine in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was of humble origin, uneducated, and fatherless from a young age but rapidly advanced from shepherd boy, to shipwright, s ...

, the newly appointed governor of the colony, arrive in Boston. They bring with them a new charter establishing the

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

. May 18: Mary Eastey is released from prison. Following protests by her accusers, she is re-arrested.

Roger Toothaker Roger Toothaker (163416 June 1692) was a physician from Billerica, Massachusetts who was accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials in May 1692. He was sent to Boston Gaol (Massachusetts), Boston Jail where he died the following month. ...

is also arrested on charges of witchcraft. May 27: Governor William Phips issues a commission for a

Court of Oyer and Terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French ''oyer et terminer'', which literally means "to hear and to determine") was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the ...

and appoints as judges

Nathaniel Saltonstall Col. Nathaniel Saltonstall (also spelled Nathanial Saltonstall; – May 21, 1707) was a judge for the Court of Oyer and Terminer, a special court established in 1692 for the trial and sentence of people, mostly women, for the crime of witchcraft ...

Bartholomew Gedney Bartholomew Gedney (June 14, 1640 – February 28, 1698)''Collections of the Maine Historical Society'', Volume 2 (1902), p. 179 was a merchant, physician, military officer, and native of Salem, Massachusetts. He is best known as one of the mag ...

, Peter Sergeant,

Samuel Sewall Samuel Sewall (; March 28, 1652 – January 1, 1730) was a judge, businessman, and printer in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, best known for his involvement in the Salem witch trials, for which he later apologized, and his essay ''The Selling ...

, Wait Still Winthrop and Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton. May 31: Hathorne, Corwin and Gedney examine Martha Carrier,

John Alden John Alden (c. 1598 - September 12, 1687) was a crew member on the historic 1620 voyage of the ''Mayflower'' which brought the English settlers commonly known as Pilgrims to Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, US. He was hired in Sou ...

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 ...

Elizabeth Howe Elizabeth Howe (née Jackson; c. 1637–July 19, 1692) was one of the accused in the Salem witch trials. She was found guilty and executed on July 19, 1692. Background Elizabeth Jackson Howe was born 14 May 1637 near Rowley, Yorkshire, the ...

and Phillip English. Alden and English later escape from prison and do not return.

Formal prosecutions

June 2: Bridget Bishop is the first to be formally indicted, tried and convicted of witchcraft. She is sentenced to death. June 10:

is hanged at Gallows Hill. June 16:

dies in prison. June 28–29:

is tried and found guilty. June 29:

and

are tried and found guilty. June 30:

is tried and found guilty. July 2: Sarah Wildes is tried and found guilty. July 19: Sarah Good, Susannah Martin, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Howe, and Sarah Wildes are executed by hanging at Gallows Hill in Salem. August 3: Martha Carrier is tried and found guilty. August 4: George Jacobs Sr. and

John Willard John Willard ( 1657 - August 19, 1692) was one of the people executed for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials. He was hanged on Gallows Hill, Salem on August 19, 1692. At the time of the first allegations of witchc ...

are tried and found guilty. August 5: George Burroughs, Elizabeth Proctor, and John Proctor are tried and found guilty. August 19: Martha Carrier, George Jacobs Sr., John Willard, George Burroughs, and John Proctor are hanged on Gallows Hill. Elizabeth Proctor is temporarily spared execution because she is pregnant. September 6: Dorcas Hoar is tried and found guilty. September 7: Alice Parker and Ann Pudeator are tried and found guilty. September 8: Martha Corey is tried and found guilty. September 9: Mary Bradbury and Mary Eastie are tried and found guilty. September 14: Samuel Wardwell and Wilmot Redd are tried and found guilty. September 16: Mary Parker and Margaret Scott are tried and found guilty. September 17: Abigail Faulker Sr. is tried and found guilty. Margaret Scott,

, Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, and

Abigail Faulkner Abigail Faulkner (née Dane; October 13, 1652 – February 5, 1730), sometimes called Abigail Faulkner Sr., was an American woman accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials in 1692.Lamson, William Judson. ''Descendants of William Lamson ...

are sentenced to hang. Abigail Faulkner is given a temporary stay of execution because she is pregnant. Rebecca Earnes, Mary Lacy Sr., Ann Foster and

Abigail Hobbs Abigail Hobbs was a girl of about 14-17 years old when she was arrested for witchcraft on April 18, 1692, along with Giles Corey, Mary Warren, and Bridget Bishop. Prior to living in Salem Village (now Danvers, Massachusetts), she and her fami ...

plead guilty to the charges and await sentencing. September 19: Giles Corey is pressed to death for refusing to agree to be tried "before God and the Country" (i.e., a jury). September 21: Several ministers successfully petition the Court to postpone Dorcas Hoar's execution to give her time to repent. September 22: Martha Corey,

, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Margaret Scott, Wilmot Redd, Samuel Wardwell, and Mary Parker are hanged. Mary Bradbury has escaped and is not hanged. October 3: The Rev.

, President of

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

and father of

, denounces the use of spectral evidence. October 6: Eight children in custody are released on £2500 bail. October 12: Governor Phips writes to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

of King William and Queen Mary saying that he has stopped the proceedings and referring to "what danger some of their innocent subjects might be exposed to, if the evidence of the afflicted persons only did prevail," i.e., "spectral evidence". October 29: Phips prohibits further arrests, releases many of the accused from prison, and dissolves the

. December 16: An act is passed for the establishment of a Superior Court of Assizes and General Gaole Delivery, to convene in January and prosecute the remaining people in custody. ;1693 January 4: Sarah Buckley, Margaret Jacobs, Rebecca Jacobs, and Mary Whittredge are tried and found not guilty. January 5: Job Tookey and Hannah Tyler are tried and found not guilty. January 6: Mary Marston, Elizabeth Johnson Sr., and Abigail Barker are tried and found not guilty. January 7: Mary Tyler is tried and found not guilty. January 9: Rebecca Johnson is cleared by proclamation. January 10: Sarah Wardwell is tried and found guilty. Her two daughters, Sarah Hawkes and Mercy Wardwell, are tried and found not guilty. January 11: Elizabeth Johnson Jr. is tried and found guilty. Mary Black is cleared by proclamation. January 12: Mary Post is tried and found guilty. Mary Bridges Sr., Hannah Post, Sarah Bridges, and Mary Osgood are tried and found not guilty. Thomas Farrar Sr. is cleared by proclamation. January 13: Mary Lacy Jr. is tried and found not guilty. February 1: Sarah Cole (of Lynn), Lydia Dustin, Sarah Dustin, Mary Taylor, and Mary Toothaker are tried and found not guilty. Lydia Dustin is not released because she is unable to pay her jailer's fees. February 3: Jane Lilly cleared by proclamation. February 21: Governor Phips writes to England that fifty-three people have already been cleared, failing to be indicted by grand juries or found not guilty at trial, and that he has vacated the death sentences of those who have been sentenced to be executed. March 10: Lydia Dustin dies in custody. April 25: John Alden is cleared by proclamation. May 10: Susannah Post, Eunice Frye, Mary Bridges Jr., Mary Barker, and William Barker Jr. are tried and found not guilty. Sarah Cole (of Salem), Dorothy Faulkner, Abigail Faulkner Jr., Martha Tyler, Johannah Tyler, Sarah Wilson Sr., and Sarah Wilson Jr. are cleared by proclamation. A grand jury fails to indict Tituba. May 11: William Hobbs is cleared by proclamation.

Aftermath

;1697 January 14: The General Court declared a Day of Contrition for the hysteria and false accusations, for which there was fasting and praying for forgiveness. ;1700 Abigail Faulkner, Sr. requests that the Massachusetts General Court reverse the attainder on her name. ;1706 Ann Putnam Jr. stands before her church and offers an apology for her part in the witch trials.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline Of The Salem Witch Trials *Timeline

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 ...

Preceding the initial outbreak

Outbreak of accusations

Formal prosecutions

Aftermath

See also

References