237: Martha Corey
Accused Salem Witch
Born: c.1620
Died: 22 September 1692, Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony (Present-day Salem, Massachusetts, United States of America)
Martha was the last woman to be hung in the trials.
She and her husband were simple farmers in Salem Village and never hurt anybody.
Unfortunately for them, Martha made the mistake of publicly questioning the sincerity of the girls’ accusations.
On the way to question Martha the judges asked one of the girls what Martha had been wearing when she appeared to them—the girl replied she’d been blinded and unable to see—when they got to Martha’s to question her, she asked if the girls had attempted to describe her clothes and was arrested.
Her husband was arrested soon after and refused to enter a plea one way or the other—simply standing mute.
Giles was crushed to death by stones (the only time this form of punishment was ever dealt out in the Massachusetts Bay Colony) and if you remember the scene in The Crucible where he asks for more weight—that was true—he was eighty years old at the time. I’ve linked the scene from the movie to the right in case you have no idea what I’m talking about.
Martha was hung three days later.
In 1954 Martha’s name was officially cleared of any wrongdoing and she was officially absolved of her supposed crimes.
Badges Earned:
Find a Grave Marked
Located In My Personal Library:
Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem Massachusetts, by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
Magic and Witchcraft: An Illustrated History by Ruth Clydesdale
Sources:
http://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2008/06/martha-and-giles-corey.html
https://historyofmassachusetts.org/martha-corey/
https://www.shmoop.com/crucible/martha-corey.html