Isaac Eastey (November 27, 1627 – June 11, 1712) was the English-born husband of

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 was executed 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 in North America. Isaac and Mary were both highly respected members of the Salem Village Church, and the community in general. Isaac played a significant role in the witch trials, which is often overlooked in history. Despite being one of the primary reasons for Mary's accusation, he desperately tried to clear his wife's name and put an end to the trials altogether.

Early life

Isaac was born in

Freston, Suffolk Freston is a small village and civil parish in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England, located on the Shotley Peninsula, 4 miles south-east of Ipswich. In 2001 the parish had a population of 122, reducing slightly to 120 at the ...

. He had been a highly prosperous farmer throughout his life, which resulted in a large and upscale home with a generous owning of land and property. Isaac Eastey, along with his father-in-law Jacob Towne, were lifelong enemies of the

Putnam family The prominent old colonial American and Puritan Putnam family founded by John and Priscilla (Gould) Putnam in the 17th century, in Salem, Massachusetts. Many notable individuals are descendants of this family, including those listed below. John ...

(who were later the main accusers in the witch trials). The tension between the two powerful families originated with bitter warfare over the ownership of woodland. Isaac and Jacob at one point snuck onto Putnam property and chopped several of their trees down. This, and several other similar incidents, led to a full on, physical confrontation between a band of Putnam men and several Eastey men. However the Putnam clan outnumbered Isaac Eastey and his group, and the Putnams proclaimed a victory. Despite this, the feuding over land ownership between the Easteys and Putnams would last nearly a century. In 1655, Isaac Eastey married Mary Towne. The couple raised eleven children together, with only three of them surviving into adulthood: Isaac Jr. (1656–1714), Joseph (1657–1739), and Sarah (1660–1749).

His wife's accusation and eventual execution

Anne Putnam Jr.,

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 ...

, and several other young "afflicted" girls in Salem Village viciously accused Mary Eastey of being a

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

. The girls claimed Mary's specter would bite and choke them, appear to them at night along with

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

and demand they sign his black book, and (along with her sisters

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 ...

and

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 ...

) would regularly attend satanic ceremonies held in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, that Mary was geographically able to participate in due to her ability to fly upon sticks, which the Devil granted her in return for her soul. Residents of

Salem Village Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the renowned beaches of Glo ...

, Topsfield, and other neighboring towns were shocked to learn a woman of such pious character was accused of being a witch. However, townsfolk were well aware of the bitterness and hostility the Putnams held against Isaac Eastey, and Mary's father, Jacob. This, along with Mary's mother having a long-standing reputation of practicing witchcraft, are what most likely led to her accusation. Isaac, along with his and Mary's friends, family and neighbors, all vigorously tried to defend Mary during her examination and trial, but did not succeed. Isaac's wife Mary was hanged on September 22, 1692.

Later life

Isaac and his family did receive compensation of 20 pounds, from the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

government, after Mercy Lewis admitted she had wrongfully accused Mary of being a witch in 1711. He died in

Topsfield, Massachusetts Topsfield is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,569 at the 2020 census. Topsfield is located in the North Shore region of Massachusetts. Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Topsfiel ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eastey, Isaac 1627 births 1712 deaths People of the Salem witch trials