Putnam's and the Salem Witch Trials

Sometimes in ancestry research you discover things about your family that you are not proud of. Regardless, it is what it is and it’s best to be honest about it. You were not there and you cannot change the past.

When I learned about the Salem Witch Trials in school, they struck me as fascinating. I wondered if my family was involved and decided that I would not be surprised if some ancestor or another turned out to be a victim. The surprise came when I learned that my ancestors were not the victims, but rather the accusers.

A strange combination of events in Salem led to over 200 individuals accused of witch craft; resulting in the hanging of 19 people, and one man pressed to death by stones piled on top of him, beginning in February 1692 and ending in May 1693. Religious fervor, greed and possibly revenge played significant roles. Cotton Mather’s recently published book “Memorable Providences” discussed an incident of witchcraft involving children behaving strangely and an Irishwoman being hanged. At this time Indian wars raged on in Massachusetts and Puritans believed that meant the devil was nearby.           

Afflicted Girls and Tituba

The town of Salem repeatedly had issues with their ministers and not paying them the agreed upon salary, and those problems continued with Samuel Parris, the new minister of the extremely conservative puritan church. The “afflictions” of witch craft began with his daughter Betty Parris, then her cousin Abigail Williams and continued with their friends Ann Putnam, Mary Wolcott and Mercy Lewis. Tituba, the Parris families slave from Barbados played perhaps the most crucial and damning role of the entire ordeal. The fact that she was known to tell the girls stories about magic and voodoo from her country, and that she listened to the suggestion of neighbor Mary Sibley, and baked a urine cake to feed to a dog combined to make her an easy scapegoat. Under questioning, Tituba confessed to being a witch and named other witches as well. Thus, the hunt for witches in Salem was on.

Deacon Edward Putnam, my 12^th great-grandfather, was the brother of Thomas Putnam Jr., and uncle of Anne Putnam Jr., a leader among the group of girls making accusations of witchcraft in Salem. Edward signed the complaints against Martha Corey, Sarah and Dorcas Good, Mary Iverson, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Warren and Prince Osborne. He also testified against six other “witches.”

The “afflictions” involved convulsions, flailing about, crying out, speaking strangely, pinching muscles, etc. Doctors actually diagnosed a couple of the girls with being afflicted by witches. Some later scholars believe that the girls may have suffered from convulsive ergotism, the result of fungus in rye caused by a warm wet summer, causing symptoms somewhat similar to taking LSD.    

Besides the Parris family, the Putnam’s fueled the witch hunting fury by bringing charges against three of the accused witches. As a respected, fairly prominent, church-going puritan family, their accusations were taken seriously. Thomas and Ann Putnam seemed to believe their daughter Ann Jr. was indeed the victim of witch craft and other Putnam relatives supported them, including Thomas’ brother and my 12^th great-grandfather, Edward Putnam.

Most accused witches were not particularly religious or supported the former minister George Burroughs, and had few connections in Salem, although there were exceptions. In the madness, authorities issued a warrant, tracked Burroughs down in Maine and hung him in Salem for witch craft. Rebecca Nurse, a pious church going elderly-woman with a loving family was accused by the Putnam’s and hung, probably because she was among the first to speak out against the afflicted girls, accusing them of acting. Often, accusers stood to gain land from the accused.

Thomas Sr., the father of Thomas Jr. and Edward Putnam, proved quite successful in Salem, as did his two brothers and their descendants, thus the Putnam family was large, owned considerable property and would have been formidable opposition to those they accused. Ann Holyoke, the first wife of Thomas Putnam Sr. passed away in 1665, and Thomas remarried Mary Veren, a wealthy, propertied, widow. They had a son named Joseph Putnam who received a sizeable inheritance, some of which Thomas Jr. believed belonged to him. Many believe that the motive behind the Salem Witch Trials was Thomas Putnam Jr. trying to get this property from his half-brother Joseph. It is said that during the witch hunt fury Joseph Putnam kept a horse saddled and a gun nearby in case authorities came for him. But Joseph Putnam and his father-in-law maintained connections in Salem and he was never arrested.      

      

In all of this madness, what role did my 12^th great-grandfather play? He was called to the house of his brother Thomas Putnam Jr., and apparently believed his niece Ann Putnam Jr. was in fact afflicted by witch craft. He signed documents to bring charges against accused witches and testified to the strange behavior he witnessed in the afflicted girls. From his testimony it appears that he was more likely fooled by the afflicted girls and caught up in the witch craft frenzy than having malicious intent toward the accused witches. Besides working on his farm, Edward Putnam served as the second deacon of the First Church of Danvers, and in 1733 published his work as an historian and the Putnam family genealogist. In 1707, at around 28 years-old, Ann Putnam Jr. stood in front of the church congregation in Salem and apologized for her role in the witch hunt, the only afflicted girl to publically apologize.

The Salem Witch Trials illustrate many things, but perhaps the most obvious is the importance of separation between state government and church authority. "More than once it has been said, too, that the Salem witchcraft was the rock on which the theocracy shattered." -George Lincoln Burr

                              My 13^th great-grandparents

                         Thomas Putnam Sr. m. Ann Holyoke   

                       

                        Deacon Edward Putnam m. Mary Hale                     

                        Edward Hale Putnam m. Sarah Miles

                        Sarah Putnam m. Joseph Steele

                        Jane Steele m. Ananias McAllister

                        Mary McAllister m. Daniel Harper

                        Andrews Harper m. Elizabeth Sawyer

                        David Dustin Harper m. Amanda Windom

                        William Harper m. Ella Tewalt

                        Stella May Harper m. Jessie Rhoads

                        Joseph Rhoads m. Arma Mae Erwin

                        Grandma Rhoads m. Grandpa Maddox

                        Maddox m. Chapin

                        Me