Carrier, Martha: Difference between revisions
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[http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/?group.num=all Important persons in the Salem Court Records] Salem Witch Trials, Univ. of Virginia | [http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people/?group.num=all Important persons in the Salem Court Records] Salem Witch Trials, Univ. of Virginia | ||
Revision as of 11:09, 3 April 2019
Martha Carrier
Calling her a "rampant hag" and the "Queen of Hell," the Reverend Cotton Mather harbored no doubts that Martha Carrier deserved to
be executed as a witch during the Salem outbreak on August 19, 1692. The Salem documents themselves, however, reveal that her
crime was not witchcraft but an independence of mind and an unsubmissive character. A daughter of one of the founding families of
Andover, Martha married a young Welsh servant, Thomas Carrier, in 1674, by whom she had four children. The Salem accusation
against Martha came only two years after the selectmen of Andover blamed a smallpox epidemic on her witchcraft. Although
historians have blamed her accusation on causes ranging from a conspiracy against Andover's proprietary families to reaction
against threats to patriarchal inheritance, her contentious spirit and the earlier charge of witchcraft seem the most plausible
explanation.
See Also
Important persons in the Salem Court Records Salem Witch Trials, Univ. of Virginia
