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: Elizabeth How, of IpswichReturn
No. 221: Complaint of Joseph Houlton & John Walcott v. Martha Carrier, Elizabeth Fosdick, Wilmot Redd, Sarah Rice, Elizabeth How, John Alden, William Procter, John Flood, Mary Toothaker, Margaret Toothaker, & Arthur Abbot. √                
No. 222: List of Accused and Accusers       √          
No. 225: Warrant for the Apprehension of Elizabeth How, and Officer's Return √                
No. 241: Examination of Elizabeth How   √              
No. 242: Deposition of Sarah Bibber v. Elizabeth How       √ √ √      
No. 243: Deposition of Joseph Safford v. Elizabeth How & Bridget Bishop       √ √ √      
No. 256: Deposition of Samuel Perley & Ruth Perley v. Elizabeth How, and List of Witnesses v. Elizabeth How       √ √        
No. 257: Deposition of Timothy Perley & Deborah Perley v. Elizabeth How       √ √        
No. 266: Deposition of Sarah Andrews v. Elizabeth How       √          
No. 284: Testimony of Samuel Phillips & Edward Payson for Elizabeth How       √          
No. 316: Deposition of Deborah Hadley for Elizabeth How       √          
No. 317: Testimony of Simon Chapman & Mary Chapman for Elizabeth How       √          
No. 318: Statement of Daniel Warner, John Warner, & Sarah Warner for Elizabeth How       √          
No. 321: Deposition of Isaac Cummings Sr. v. Elizabeth How       √ √        
No. 322: Three Depositions of Mary Cummings v. Elizabeth How                  
No. 325: Statement of Joseph Knowlton & Mary Knowlton for Elizabeth How       √          
No. 327: Testimony of Isaac Cummings Jr. v. Elizabeth How       √          
No. 341: Statement of James How Sr. for Elizabeth How       √          
No. 346: List of Witnesses v. Elizabeth How       √          
No. 347: Indictment No. 1 of Elizabeth How, for Afflicting Mary Walcott         √        
No. 348: Indictment No. 2 of Elizabeth How, for Afflicting Mercy Lewis         √        
No. 376: Testimony of Nehemiah Abbot Sr. v. Elizabeth How       √ √ √      
No. 377: Deposition of Jacob Foster v. Elizabeth How       √ √        
No. 378: Testimony of John How v. Elizabeth How       √ √        
No. 379: Testimony of Francis Lane v. Elizabeth How       √          
No. 394: Testimony of Martha Wood v. Elizabeth How       √          
No. 396: Deposition of Thomas Andrews v. Elizabeth How       √          
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. 520: Examination of John Jackson Jr.       √          
No. 876: Petition of Francis Faulkner et al. to Clear the Records of Rebecca Nurse, Mary Esty, Abigail Faulkner Sr., Mary Parker, John Procter, Elizabeth Procter, Elizabeth How, Samuel Wardwell, & Sarah Wardwell           √ √ √ √
No. 885: Petition of Mary How & Abigail How for Restitution for Elizabeth How     √           √
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. 948: Order of Mary How & Abigail How for Payment, Case of Elizabeth How                 √
No. 958: Summary of Receipts of the Relations & Sufferers                 √
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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