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: Martha Cory, of Salem FarmsReturn
No. 15: Warrant for the Apprehension of Martha Cory, and Officer's Return √                
No. 16: Examination of Martha Cory   √              
No. 17: Examination of Martha Cory, as Told by Deodat Lawson   √              
No. 18: Deposition of Ezekiel Cheever & Edward Putnam v. Martha Cory       √ √        
No. 19: Deposition of Elizabeth Hubbard v. Martha Cory       √ √ √      
No. 20: Deposition of Samuel Parris, Nathaniel Ingersoll, & Thomas Putnam v. Martha Cory       √          
No. 21: Deposition of Edward Putnam v. Martha Cory       √   √      
No. 24: Statement of Giles Cory Regarding Martha Cory       √          
No. 30: Deposition of Ann Putnam Sr. v. Martha Cory & Rebecca Nurse, and Testimony of Ann Putnam Jr. v. Rebecca Nurse, Martha Cory & Sarah Cloyce       √          
No. 47: Council Record Pertaining to Sarah Cloyce, Martha Cory, Dorothy Good, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Procter, & John Procter     √            
No. 48: Deposition of Ephraim Shelden v. Sarah Cloyce       √          
No. 61: Statement of Samuel Parris Concerning Abigail Williams & Mary Walcott v. John Procter, Elizabeth Procter, Sarah Cloyce, Martha Cory, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good & Dorothy Good       √          
No. 66: Deposition of Benjamin Gould v. Giles Cory, Martha Cory, & John Procter       √          
No. 164: Statement of Susannah Shelden v. Philip English, Sarah Buckley, Mary Whittredge, Bridget Bishop, Giles Cory, Mary English, & Martha Cory       √          
No. 216: Census of Prisoners and Dates of Prison Transfers     √            
No. 217: Mittimus for Martha Cory, Rebecca Nurse, Dorothy Good, Sarah Cloyce, John Procter, & Elizabeth Procter     √            
No. 239: Deposition of Mercy Lewis v. Martha Cory       √          
No. 240: Testimony of Abigail Williams v. Martha Cory       √          
No. 269: Testimony of Ann Putnam Sr. v. John Willard, William Hobbs, & Martha Cory       √          
No. 446: Testimony of Mary Webber v. George Burroughs       √          
No. 458: Testimony of Mary Warren v. George Burroughs, John Alden, Martha Cory, & Ann Pudeator       √          
No. 476: Indictment No. 1 of Martha Cory, for Afflicting Elizabeth Hubbard         √        
No. 477: Indictment No. 2 of Martha Cory, for Afflicting Mercy Lewis         √        
No. 549: Summons for Witnesses v. Mary Esty, Sarah Cloyce, Giles Cory, & Martha Cory, and Officer's Return         √        
No. 858: Account for Payment Submitted by William Dounton, Jailkeeper, Copy     √            
No. 862: Account for Payment Submitted by Nathaniel Ingersoll, Innkeeper   √              
No. 869: Account for Payment Submitted by Isaac Little & John Harris, Sheriff's Deputy     √            
No. 899: Petition of John Moulton for Restitution for Martha Cory & Giles Cory                 √
No. 929: Recommendation and Authorization for Compensation Claims and Amounts Allowed                 √
No. 930: Summary of the Amounts Requested by the Victims & Their Relatives                 √
No. 931: An Act to Reverse the Attainders of George Burroughs et al. for Witchcraft           √ √ √ √
No. 934: Order for Payment of Damages by Governor Joseph Dudley                 √
No. 974: Resolve Allowing £50 to Thomas Rich                 √
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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