Find out more about the history of Salem Witch Trials. Eighteen others followed Bishop to Salem’s Gallows. THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS. Bridget Bishop was the first. Sarah Nell Walsh writes at the Salem Witch Trials. Bridget Bishop (Playfer), Salem Witch (c. Bridget Bishop (ca. England – 1. 0 June 1. Salem, Massachusetts) was the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials of 1. In the transcripts there is some indication of confusion between Sarah Bishop, wife of a tavern owner in Salem Village, and Bridget Bishop, not a tavern owner and a resident of Salem Town. ![]() Bridget Bishop Biography. In 1687 she married Edward Bishop. She was between 55 and 60 years old when she was charged with. Salem Witch Trials: Home. Salem Witch Trials in History and Literature. Courtroom Examination of Bridget Bishop. Cemeteries of Salem to 1692 Today Salem. Bridget Bishop Witch Dungeon Museum. From The True History of Bridget Bishop. Sarah and Edward Bishop of the tavern were also arrested for witchcraft, but escaped from jail in September 1. Bridget was convicted and sentenced to death mostly on “spectral evidence,” a departure from previous witchcraft trials in New England and England. Rosenthal comments: “The case against Bridget Bishop would serve as a model in cases where the accused did not confess. First the afflicted would make their accusations, which would be denied even as the accusers claimed that the accused tortured them in the presence of the court. One or more confessors would subsequently validate the claim of witchcraft; then various members of the community, with testimony that had no bearing on the actual indictments, would join in by telling of past witchcraft by the accused. The way to the gallows for Bridget Bishop would be the way for others.” (P. On April 1. 8, 1. Bishop's arrest for witchcraft, she was no stranger to the courthouse. In 1. 68. 0 she had been charged (but cleared) of witchcraft, and on other occasions she had ended up in the courthouse for violent public quarreling with her husband. Bishop had never seen or met any of her accusers until her questioning. While several of the afflicted girls cried out and writhed in the supposed pain she was causing them, John Hathorn and Jonathan Corwin questioned her, although there was little doubt in either of their minds as to her guilt: Q: Bishop, what do you say? ![]() You stand here charged with sundry acts of witchcraft by you done or committed upon the bodies of Mercy Lewis and Ann Putman and others. A: I am innocent, I know nothing of it, I have done no witchcraft .. I am as innocent as the child unborn. I have never seen him before in my life. When asked by one of her jailers, Bishop claimed that she was not troubled to see the afflicted persons so tormented, and could not tell what to think of them and did not concern herself about them at all. But the afflicted girls were not Bishop's only accusers. On June 1. 0, as crowds gathered to watch, she was taken to Gallows Hill and executed by the sheriff, George Corwin. She displayed no remorse and professed her innocence at her execution. The path along which Bridget was taken in a cart to the gallows went down Essex Street, where the Felt house and business still stand. On June 1. 0, 1. 69. High Sheriff George Corwin took . Now the honest men of Salem could sleep in peace, sure that the Shape of Bridget would trouble them no more.”. The “honest” man who testified that Bridget’s specter bewitched a baby to death confessed on his deathbed that he had lied (Rosenthal, 1. Her parents are not known. She was married three times. Samuel Wesselbe on April 1. St. Mary- in- the- Marsh, Norwich, Norfolk, England. July 1. 66. 6 . She was earlier accused of bewitching Thomas Oliver to death, but was acquitted for lack of evidence. Her last marriage circa 1. Edward Bishop, a prosperous sawyer, whose family lived in Beverly. Samuel Wasselbe and Bridget had two children: A son named Benjamin, Norwich parish registers list as baptized on October 6, and daughter Mary born in Boston, MA. She had one child with Thomas Olivera daughter named Christian. In April 1. 69. 4 Edward Bishop was made the legal guardian of six- year- old Susanna Mason, Bridget’s granddaughter. Her mother, Christian, had died before November 1, 1. Thomas Mason remarried (Greene, 1. Sources Anderson, Robert Charles. Bridget (Playfer) (Wasselbe) (Oliver) Bishop. American Genealogist (D. L. Hotten, Original Lists of Persons of Quality . There is evidence that Thomas Oliver returned to Norwich for a few years, and it may be that he became acquainted with Bridget at that time, resulting in her immigration to New England after the death of her first husband (Savage 3: 3. Records of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Mass. Vital Records of the Town of Salem. Salem, MA: Essex Institute. Issue. 7/5. 1. 90. His son, Edward second . Among the historic events in Salem are recorded the drastic crimes committed by that unholy man of God, Cotton Mather, and his associate rulers, in their false accusations of the poor, innocent victims of their hatred who dared to assert diametrical religious views. Imprisonment and various inhuman methods of punishment were instituted for witch- craft, or casting out devils, and finally death upon the gallows was the penalty they suffered for the freedom of their faith. A blot will ever remain on the pages of history of that municipality. The first victim of that tyrant power was Bridget Bishop, the second wife of Edward second . Posted by Heather Wilkinson Rojo at: . Bridget's maiden name was Playfer. She was married to Samuel Wasselbee in 1. St. Mary in the Marsh, Norwich, Norfolk County, England, and had two children who apparently died young, but were baptized at the same church. She married Thomas Oliver about 1. Salem, and daughter Christian was born 0. May 1. 66. 7. She married Edward Bishop in 1. Salem. In 1. 68. 5 Bridget Oliver of Salem Town married her third husband - old Edward Bishop, one of the founders of the Beverly Church - and moved from the center of town to his house on the Ipswich Road in Salem Villiage. As one witness put it, Bridget . In 1. 67. 8, Thomas Oliver died under circumstances which gave the townsfolk leave, (in their minds at least), to start whispering the dreaded word . Oliver had left her a bit of land with house, but his creditors took every cent that came her way. Bridget ended up being forced to petition the town for relief.. Apparently Bridget was suspicious because she was merely an assertive female! Also, two townspeople, John Bly and his son,(also relatives of mine) found some . These were dolls or figures used for magic, and had pins stuck in them. Whether she really practiced magic or not has never been proven. At her trial her last husband testified against her. He re- married very soon after her execution. The Bishop house, which was a tavern, still stands. Bridget Oliver Bishop was arrested in Salem Town on April 1. She was executed June 1. The court relied heavily on the validity of 'spectral evidence.' For example: In the testimony of William Stacy against Bridget Bishop on May 3. Bishop the wheel of his wagon, . Bridget's third (?) husband Edward died in 1.
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