How Old Is Elizabeth Proctor

Elizabeth Proctor, wife of Salem Hamlet farmer John Proctor, was accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692.

The Proctors were a wealthy family who lived on a big rented farm on the outskirts of Salem Village, in what is at present mod day Peabody. Elizabeth, Proctor's third married woman, married Proctor in April of 1674, two years after the death of his 2d wife, Elizabeth Thorndike.

Elizabeth Proctor's Early Life:

Elizabeth Proctor, whose maiden name was Bassett, was likewise the granddaughter of Goody Burt, a folk healer from Lynn who had been tried, merely acquitted, on charges of witchcraft over 30 years earlier.

In the spring of 1692, after some of the affected girls began having fits and claimed that invisible forces were tormenting them, the Proctor's retainer, Mary Warren, began showing the aforementioned symptoms.

John Proctor, who believed the affected girls were just pretending to be afflicted, accused Warren of faking her symptoms and threatened to beat out her if she continued. Warren'south fits quickly stopped merely as shortly equally John Proctor left on business a few days after, her symptoms returned and she joined the ongoing witch trials as a witness.

The meetinghouse of the first church in Salem Village, illustration published in the New England Magazine, Volume 5, in 1892

The meetinghouse of the showtime church building in Salem Village, illustration published in the New England Magazine, Volume 5, in 1892

Elizabeth Proctor's Arrest and Trial:

In late March, two of the afflicted girls, Mercy Lewis and Abigail Williams, claimed Elizabeth Proctor visited them at night in spirit form and tormented them.

On Apr 4, John Walcott and Nathaniel Ingersoll filed an official complaint against Elizabeth Proctor, on behalf of Abigail Williams, John Indian, Mary Walcott, Ann Putnam, Jr, and Mercy Lewis, and a warrant was issued for her abort.

After she was apprehended, Elizabeth Proctor was brought to the Salem Hamlet meetinghouse on April 11 and examined past Judge Thomas Danforth, according to court records:

Q. Elizabeth Proctor! yous understand whereof you are charged, viz. to be guilty of sundry acts of witchcraft; what say y'all to information technology? Speak the truth, and then you lot that are affected, you must speak the truth, every bit you will answer information technology before God another day. Mary Walcott! doth this woman injure you lot?
A. I never saw her then as to be hurt by her.
Q. Mary Lewis! does she hurt you? — Her mouth was stopped.
Q. Ann Putnam, does she injure you? — She could not speak.
Q. Abigail Williams! does she hurt you? — Her hand was thrust in her own rima oris.
Q. John! does she injure you?
A. This is the woman that came in her shift and choked me.
Q. did she ever bring the book?
A. Yeah, Sir.
Q. What to do?
A. to write.
Q. What, this woman?
A. Aye, Sir.
Q. Are you sure of it?
A. Yes, Sir. — Over again, Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam were spoke to past the court, but neither of them could make any answer, by reason of dumbness or other fits.
Q. What do y'all say Goody Proctor to these things?
A. I take God in heaven to exist my witness, that I know nothing of information technology, no more than the child unborn.

As the examination continued, Elizabeth Proctor's accusers began to shift their attention to Elizabeth'south servant, Mary Warren, and her hubby, John Proctor:

Q. Abigail Williams! does this woman hurt you?
A. Yes, Sir, often.
Q. Does she bring the book to you?
A. Yep.
Q. What would she have y'all do with it?
A. To write in it and I shall exist well. — Did non you, said Abigail, tell me, that your maid had written?
A.(Proctor) Love Child, information technology is non so. There is another judgement, dear child.
And then Abigail and Ann had fits. By and by they cried out, look yous at that place is Goody Proctor upon the axle. By and past, both of them cried out of Goodman Proctor himself, and said he was a wizard. Immediately, many, if not all of the bewitched, had grievous fits.
Q. Ann Putnam! who hurt you lot?
A. Goodman Proctor and his married woman too. — Afterwards some of the afflicted cried, there is Proctor going to take upwardly Mrs. Pope'due south feet. — And her feet were immediately taken up.
Q. What practise you say Goodman Proctor to these things?
A. I know not, I am innocent.
Abigail Williams cried out, there is Goodman Proctor going to Mrs. Pope , and immediately, said Pope fell into a fit. — Y'all see the devil will deceive you; the children could see what you was going to practice before the woman was hurt. I would advise you to repentance, for the devil is bringing yous out. Abigail Williams cried out again, there is Goodman Proctor going to hurt Goody Bibber; and immediately Goody Bibber barbarous into a fit. There was the similar of Mary Walcott , and divers others. Benjamin Gould gave in his testimony, that he had seen Goodman Corey and his wife, Proctor and his wife, Goody Cloyce, Goody Nurse, and Goody Griggs in his bedchamber last Th night. Elizabeth Hubbard was in a trance during the whole examination. During the examination of Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail Williams and Ann Putnam, both made offer to strike at said Proctor; but when Abigail's hand came near, information technology opened, whereas information technology was made upwardly into a fist earlier, and came done exceeding lightly, equally information technology drew near to said Proctor, and at length with open and extended fingers, touched Proctor'due south hood very lightly. Immediately Abigail cried out, her fingers, her fingers, burned, and Ann Putnam took on virtually grievously, of her head, and sunk down.

It is not known exactly why the afflicted girls targeted Elizabeth Proctor, but in the 1953 play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams is depicted equally having an affair with John Proctor and becomes jealous of Elizabeth Proctor, prompting her to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft.

The age difference between Abigail, 11, and John, 60, makes this unlikely and in that location's no proof that Abigail Williams even knew Elizabeth or John Proctor earlier the witch hysteria.

Notwithstanding, Miller wrote in an essay in the New Yorker in 1996 that it was a moment during Elizabeth Proctor'southward examination, when Abigail raises her hand to strike Elizabeth, that convinced him that John and Abigail had an affair:

"In this remarkably observed gesture of a troubled immature daughter, I believed, a play became possible. Elizabeth Proctor had been the orphaned Abigail's mistress, and they had lived together in the same small business firm until Elizabeth fired the girl. Past this time, I was sure, John Proctor had bedded Abigail, who had to be dismissed most probable to appease Elizabeth. There was bad blood between the two women now. That Abigail started, in upshot, to condemn Elizabeth to death with her touch, then stopped her hand, then went through with it, was quite suddenly the human being centre of all this turmoil."

In April, due to overcrowding in the Salem jail, Elizabeth Proctor was transferred to the jail in Boston, along with Rebecca Nurse, Martha Corey, Dorothy (Dorcas) Good and Sarah Cloyce.

The following month, three of the Proctor's children, William, Benjamin and Sarah were also defendant and arrested, as was Elizabeth Proctor's sister, Mary Bassett DeRich, and her sister-in-police force Sarah Bassett.

Sarah Proctor and Sarah Bassett were both accused on May 21 by John and Thomas Putnam, on behalf of Abigail Williams, Mary Walcott, Mercy Lewis and Ann Putnam, Jr., and arrested soon after.

Benjamin Proctor was defendant a few days afterwards May 23rd, past Nathaniel Ingersoll and Thomas Rayment, on behalf of Mary Warren, Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Hubbard, and arrested by Marshal Deputy John Putnam. William Proctor was accused on May 28th past Mary Walcott and Susannah Sheldon and arrested by constable John Putnam.

Although Mary Warren wasn't one of Elizabeth'due south original accusers, she testified against both Elizabeth and John Proctor during their trials, claiming that their spirits vanquish, pinched and choked her at night, co-ordinate to court records:

"The Deposition of Mary Warren anile almost 20 years do testefieth and saith I have often seen the apparition of Elizabeth Procter the wife of John proctor amongst the witches and she hath oft tortured me about greviously by biting me and choking me and pinching me and pressing my tummy tell the blood came out of my rima oris and also upon the day of her examination I saw her torture Mary Walcott, Mercy Lewis, Ann Putnam, Elizabeth Hubbard, Abigail Williams and she hath always since at times tortured me most greviously Mary Warren owned this hither testimony to exist the truth before the Jurors of Inquest this 30 of June 1692."

After their arrests, many of the Proctor's friends banded together and signed a petition declaring them innocent and asked for their release:

"We whose names are under written having several years known John Proctor and his wife exercise testify that we never heard or understood that they were e'er suspected to be guilty of the crime now charged upon them and several of united states of america being their nearly neighbours do testify that to our apprehension they lived christian life in their family unit and were ever fix to help such as stood in need of their help
Nathaniel Felton sen: and mary his married woman
Samuel Marsh and Prescilla his wife
James Houlton and Ruth his wife
John Felton
Nathaniel Felton jun
Samuell Frayll and an his wife
Zachriah Marsh and mary his married woman
Samuel Endecott and hanah his married woman
Samuell Stone
George Locker
Samuel Gaskil & provided his wife
George Smith
Ed Edward: Gaskile"

Neither the petition, nor the alphabetic character John Proctor sent to the Boston clergy in July pleading that the trials be moved to Boston, helped their state of affairs.

On August 5, both Elizabeth and John Proctor were establish guilty and sentenced to expiry. Since Elizabeth was pregnant at the time of her confidence, her execution was postponed until later on she gave nativity. John Proctor pleaded for more time likewise, claiming he was besides ill for the execution, just was hanged on August 19th.

On January 27, 1693, Elizabeth Proctor gave birth to a boy and named him John Proctor III, after his begetter. Although she had given birth, Elizabeth was not immediately executed, for reasons unknown.

In May of that aforementioned year, after the witch hysteria had died downwards and most of the prisoners had been released due to a lack of evidence, Governor Phipps released the remaining prisoners, which included Elizabeth Proctor.

Elizabeth Proctor After the Salem Witch Trials:

Although she was costless from jail, as a convicted witch Elizabeth was still guilty in the optics of the law and therefore had no legal rights. To make matters worse, John Proctor's volition made no mention of Elizabeth, most likely because he expected she would be executed forth with him.

Every bit a result, Elizabeth was penniless, co-ordinate to the book The Salem Witch Trials: A Mean solar day By Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege:

"Elizabeth Proctor, condemned but freed with her newborn (if he survived), institute her tardily husband'south subcontract picked clean. John Proctor'southward will fabricated no mention of his widow, so Elizabeth had not a penny from it, neither her widow's third nor the dowry that she had brought to the marriage. When she protested, her stepchildren ignored fifty-fifty her prenuptial contract and replied that she could not inherit, for, being condemned to hang, she was expressionless in the police force."

Fifty-fifty if Elizabeth were able to inherit John'due south estate, there wasn't much left of it since well-nigh of it had been confiscated while John and Elizabeth were in prison, co-ordinate to Robert Calef in his volume More Wonders of the Invisible Globe:

"John Procter and his wife being in prison, the sheriff came to his business firm and seized all the appurtenances, provisions, and cattle that he could come at, and sold some of the cattle at half cost, and killed others, and put them up for the West-Indies; threw out the beer out of a barrel, and carried abroad the barrel; emptied a pot of broth, and took away the pot, and left nothing in the house for the support of the children: No part of the said appurtenances are known to be returned."

Elizabeth'south luck finally began to meliorate in March of 1694-5, when court records point that the will of John Proctor was admitted to probate in the Probate Court of Essex County under the complaint of Thomas and Elizabeth Very (John Proctor'south eldest girl from his marriage to Elizabeth Thorndike).

On April 15, 1695, the committee reported a division of the estate according to the will. In that location is no tape confirming it, but information technology tin only be causeless by this result that John Proctor'southward legal rights, which had been stripped when he was convicted, had at some indicate been restored and therefore his family unit finally had admission to what was left of his estate.

It was shortly after this event, in May of 1696, when Elizabeth Proctor petitioned the General Courtroom to restore her own legal rights. In doing and then, she asked for the rights to her married man's estate or at the very least, the dowry she brought to the marriage:

"To the Honourable General Courtroom Assembled at Boston May twenty
seventh 1696

the Humble petition of Elizabeth Proctor widow and relict of John Proctor of Salem deceased humbly sheweth that in the year of our Lord 1692 when many persons in Salem and in other towns there about were defendant by some evil disposed or strangely influenced persons as being witches or for being guilty of acting witch-craft my sd husband John Proctor and myself were accused every bit such and nosotros both: my sd married man and myself were so far proceeded against that nosotros were condemned but in that deplorable time of darkness earlier my said husband was executed information technology is axiomatic somebody had contrived a volition and brought it to him to sign where in his whole estate is disposed of not having regard to a contract in writing made with me before marriage with him; only so it pleased god to order by his providence that although the sentence was executed on my love hubby yet through gods smashing goodness to your petitioner I am yet alive; since my husbands death the said will is proved and approved by the Judge of probate and past that kind of disposal the whole estate is disposed of; and although god hath Granted my life yet those that claim my said husbands estate past that which they telephone call a will will not suffer me to have ane penny of the manor neither upon the account of my husbands contract with me before marriage nor yet upon the account of the dowry which equally I humbly conceive doth vest or ought to belong to me by the law for they say that I am dead in the constabulary and therefore my apprehensive request and petition to this honoured General Court is that by an act of this honoured court as god hath content renewed my life and through gods goodness without fear of existence put to decease upon that sentence y'all would be pleased to put me into a capacity to make employ of the law to recover that which of right by law I ought to have for my necessary suple and support that as I your petitioner am one of his majesties subjects I may have the do good of his laws so humbly praying that god would straight your honours in all things to do that which may exist most pleasing to him I subscribe

your honours humble petitioner

Elizabeth Proctor
widow
Read. 10 th June. 1696. in Council"

According to the court records, on April 19, 1697, the courtroom restored Elizabeth's legal rights and returned her dowry to her.

Not much is known nigh Elizabeth Proctor later on this time menstruum except that on September 22, 1699, Elizabeth married her second husband, Daniel Richards, in Lynn, Massachusetts.

In 1711, the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill restoring some of the names of the accused and awarded the Proctor family £150 in restitution for their imprisonments and John Proctor'due south expiry.

In that location are no expiry records for Elizabeth, nor records of her youngest children, in Lynn, indicating that the family may have moved to some other town. Her expiry engagement and location of her grave are unknown.

Elizabeth Proctor Historical Sites:

Sometime Site of John Proctor's Farm (rumored location of John Proctor's grave)
Address: Lowell Street, one-tenth mile due south of Prospect Street, Peabody, Mass. No admission. Privately owned land.

Onetime Site of the Salem Jail
Address: corner of St. Peter and Federal Street, Salem, Mass. Memorial plaque located at ten Federal Street, Salem, Mass

One-time Site of the Salem Courthouse
Accost: Washington Street (about 100 anxiety southward of Lynde Street), opposite the Masonic Temple, Salem, Mass. Memorial plaque located on Masonic Temple.

Site of the Salem Witch Trials Executions
Address: Proctor'south Ledge, wooded area between Proctor Street and Pope Street, Salem, Mass

Sources:
Calef, Robert. More than Wonders of the Invisible Earth.Nath. Hillar and Joseph Collyer, 1700.
Rosenthal, Bernard. Salem Story: Reading the Witch Trials of 1692. Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Perley, Sidney. History of Salem, Massachusetts, 1626-1637. Vol. I, S. Perley, 1924.
Goss, Grand. David. The Salem Witch Trials: A Reference Guide. Greenwood Press, 2007.
Roach, Marilynne K. The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-day Chronicle Of A Community Under Siege. Taylor Trade Publishing, 2004.
Miller, Arthur. "Why I Wrote the Crucible." The New Yorker Mag, 21 Oct. 1996.
Unhurt, George S., Abner C. Goodell, Jr., and Charles Deane. "December Meeting, 1884. 'Instructions' of Malden, 1776; The Rev. Peter Thacher, D.D.; Manuscripts Relating to Witchcraft; Letter from Governor Phips; Petition of Elizabeth Proctor; Petition of the Parkers; Answers apropos Witchcraft; Questions concerning Witchcraft; Answers apropos Witchcraft; Trumbull Papers. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Club, Second Serial, Vol. I, pp. 335-359. Massachusetts Historical Society, 1884.
"Elizabeth Proctor." Salem Witchcraft Papers, Volume 2: Verbatim Transcripts of the legal documents of the Salem Witchcraft Outbreak of 1692, University of Virginia, salem.lib.virginia.edu/texts/tei/BoySal2R?div_id=n106