A Guide to the Primary Sources of the Salem Witch Trials
People Accused of Witchcraft in 1692
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For each person accused during the Salem witchcraft trials, you can access a large number (not all!) of the primary sources on-line, detailing what happened to them, as available in the original legal records and contemporary accounts. This is not an absolute definitive list, but it will get you started. The columns on the right will give you an idea of what kinds evidence exists in the case of each person as found in Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt.
Help using these primary sources
If you are trying to understand what happened to a specific person, please download this helpful guide concerning what sort of information you can find in the primary sources in each of these categories.

Accused: Sarah Wilds, of TopsfieldReturn
No. 79: Warrant for the Apprehension of William Hobbs, Deliverance Hobbs, Nehemiah Abbott Jr., Mary Esty, Sarah Wilds, Edward Bishop Jr., Sarah Bishop, Mary Black, & Mary English √                
No. 90: Examinations of Sarah Wilds & William Hobbs   √              
No. 91: Deposition of Nathaniel Ingersoll & Thomas Putnam v. Sarah Wilds       √   √      
No. 92: Deposition of Ann Putnam Jr. v. Sarah Wilds       √ √        
No. 93: Deposition of Mary Walcott v. Sarah Wilds       √ √ √      
No. 94: Mittimus for William Hobbs, Deliverance Hobbs, Mary Esty, Sarah Wilds, Edward Bishop Jr., Sarah Bishop, Mary Black & Mary English     √            
No. 95: Examination of Deliverance Hobbs in Prison       √          
No. 146: Mittimus for George Jacobs Sr., William Hobbs, Edward Bishop Jr., Bridget Bishop, Sarah Bishop, Sarah Wilds, Mary Black, Mary English, Alice Parker & Ann Pudeator     √            
No. 216: Census of Prisoners and Dates of Prison Transfers     √            
No. 392: Indictment No. 1 of Sarah Wilds, for Afflicting Mercy Lewis         √        
No. 393: Deposition of John Andrews & Joseph Andrews v. Sarah Wilds       √ √ √      
No. 406: List of Witnesses v. Sarah Wilds, and Notation Concerning Sarah Good       √          
No. 407: Deposition of Humphrey Clark v. Sarah Wilds       √   √      
No. 408: Deposition of Thomas Dorman v. Sarah Wilds       √   √      
No. 409: Deposition of John Gould & Zacheus Perkins v. Sarah Wilds       √   √      
No. 410: Testimony of John Hale v. Sarah Wilds       √   √      
No. 411: Deposition of Elizabeth Symonds v. Sarah Wilds       √   √      
No. 412: Ephraim Wilds for Sarah Wilds       √          
No. 413: Testimony of John Wilds & Ephraim Wilds for Sarah Wilds       √          
No. 418: Warrant for the Execution of Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth How, & Sarah Wilds, and Officer's Return           √ √ √  
No. 420: Docketed Cover Paper Used to Contain the Warrant for the Execution of Sarah Good, Elizabeth How, Susannah Martin, Rebecca Nurse, & Sarah Wilds.           √ √ √  
No. 869: Account for Payment Submitted by Isaac Little & John Harris, Sheriff's Deputy     √            
No. 887: Petition of Ephraim Wilds for Restitution for Sarah Wilds                 √
No. 929: Recommendation and Authorization for Compensation Claims and Amounts Allowed           √ √ √ √
No. 930: Summary of the Amounts Requested by the Victims & Their Relatives                 √
No. 933: Request for Copy of Act for Restitution                 √
No. 934: Order for Payment of Damages by Governor Joseph Dudley                 √
No. 959: Receipts for Sums Paid in Restitution                 √
What kind of primary source evidence does a check in each column indicate?
  • Complaint or Arrest - Either a formal complaint or an arrest warrant against this person exists.
  • Examination - An account of an examination (interrogation) or confession before local magistrates or in prison exists.
  • Imprisonment - A mittimus to move this person to/from jail, a recognizance or bond to release the person from jail, a reference in a jailer's bill, or a request for compensation for time spent in jail exists.
  • Evidence Entered - At least one deposition, statement, testimony or petition from any proceeding (preliminary hearing, grand jury or trial) for or against this person exists.
  • Grand Jury or Indictment - A deposition, statement or testimony sworn before the grand jury of inquest, a physical examination of the body of this person, or an indictment brought before a grand jury exists.
  • Jury Trial - An entry in a court record book or a contemporary account of the trial exists.
  • Conviction - A death warrant indicating that the person was convicted, a notation about the case in a record book of the conviction, a statement that the person was convicted in either a request for reversal of attainder or for compensation from the Crown exists.
  • Execution - The return of an officer on a death warrant, a statement that the person was executed in a request for reversal of attainder or for compensation from the Crown, or an entry in Samuel Sewall's diary exists.
  • Restitution - Accounts submitted for restitution, orders for payment to survivors, acts for reversal of attainder or for payments of restitution, proclamations clearing the accused

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