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: Giles Cory, of Salem FarmsReturn
No. 62: Warrant for the Apprehension of Giles Cory, Mary Warren, Abigail Hobbs, & Bridget Bishop, with Summons for Witnesses, and Officer's Return √                
No. 65: Examination of Giles Cory   √              
No. 66: Deposition of Benjamin Gould v. Giles Cory, Martha Cory, & John Procter       √          
No. 95: Examination of Deliverance Hobbs in Prison       √          
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. 238: Statement of Susannah Shelden v. Giles Cory, Elizabeth Procter, Sarah Buckley, & John Willard       √          
No. 255: Deposition of Abigail Hobbs, Deliverance Hobbs, & Mary Warren v. George Burroughs, Sarah Good, Sarah Osburn, Bridget Bishop, Giles Cory, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Procter, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Abigail Soames, John Procter, & Lydia Dustin       √          
No. 481: Testimony of John DeRich v. George Jacobs Sr. et al.       √          
No. 549: Summons for Witnesses v. Mary Esty, Sarah Cloyce, Giles Cory, & Martha Cory, and Officer's Return         √        
No. 551: Testimony of John DeRich v. Giles Cory and Statement of Hannah Small & Martha Adams v. Giles Cory       √          
No. 564: Summons for Witnesses v. Giles Cory, and Officer's Return         √        
No. 592: Deposition of Sarah Bibber v. Giles Cory       √          
No. 593: Deposition of Mercy Lewis v. Giles Cory       √          
No. 594: Deposition of Ann Putnam Jr. v. Giles Cory       √          
No. 595: Statements of Mary Warren, Elizabeth Woodwell, Mary Walcott, & Elizabeth Hubbard v. Giles Cory       √          
No. 656: Deposition of Elizabeth Booth & Alice Booth v. Giles Cory       √          
No. 673: Letter of Thomas Putnam to Samuel Sewall       √          
No. 855: Account for Payment Submitted by William Baker, Constable     √            
No. 858: Account for Payment Submitted by William Dounton, Jailkeeper, Copy     √            
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. 933: Request for Copy of Act for Restitution                 √
No. 934: Order for Payment of Damages by Governor Joseph Dudley                 √
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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