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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