Elizabeth Proctor
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Proctor (born 1652 in Lynn, Massachusetts
) was accused of witchcraft
in the Salem Witch Trials
. She was the third wife of John Proctor
, and remarried after his execution. Part of her life was fictitiously dramatized as part of Arthur Miller
's play The Crucible
and later adaptations.
in 1674 in Salem, Massachusetts
. John was twenty years older than Elizabeth.
Elizabeth's grandmother was Ann (Holland) Basset Burt, a Quaker and a midwife, who was brought up on charges of witchcraft
in 1669. As she was not a doctor
, but was successful at curing the sick, some people felt she could only have medical skills if she were a witch; one of those who testified against Ann was Phillip Read, a doctor. The Puritans felt there was something "witchlike" about Quakers. Some felt the stigma of being the granddaughter of someone thought to be a witch may have contributed to Elizabeth's persecution.
, began to have fits, saying she saw the specter (ghost) of Giles Corey
. John Proctor
was dismissive of her claims (as he was of all the accusations) and made her work harder; he felt that witchcraft should be suspected of the bewitched girls themselves and not of the respectable women of the village. His negative reactions to the girls' accusations caused Elizabeth to become one of the next accused of practicing witchcraft.
On March 26, 1692, Mercy Lewis
made the first accusations that Elizabeth's specter was tormenting her. William Rayment, of nearby Beverly, Massachusetts
, mentioned he had heard a rumor that Elizabeth Proctor would be questioned in court the next day. Appearing to go into a trance, one of the girls cried "There’s Goody Proctor! Old Witch! I’ll have her hung," but when onlookers expressed doubt, claiming that the Proctor family was well regarded in the community, promptly came out of her trance
and told them it was all for "sport".
On March 29, 1692, Abigail Williams
and Mercy Lewis
again said they were being tormented by Elizabeth's specter. A few days later, Abigail again complained that Elizabeth was pinching her and tearing at her bowels, and said she saw Elizabeth’s specter as well as John’s.
In April 1692, 31 men from Ipswich, Massachusetts
, filed a petition attesting to the upstanding character of John and Elizabeth and denying that they had ever seen anything that would indicate they were witches. In May 1692, a similar petition was filed on behalf of John and Elizabeth containing signatures of 20 men & women, including several of the wealthiest landowners of Topsfield, Massachusetts
and Salem Village. It questioned spectral evidence
, testified to the Christian lives that John and Elizabeth had led, stated that they “were ever ready to help such as stood in need of their help” and stated that they had no reason to believe they were witches.
On June 2, 1692, a male doctor and several women completed a physical examination of Elizabeth and several of the other accused. They looked for birth defects, moles
or other markings that they believed were a sign that the person was a witch, and found none.
On August 2, 1692, the court met in Salem to discuss the fate of John and Elizabeth and several others. At some point during this time, John wrote his will, but he did not include Elizabeth. Some assume this is because he assumed she would be executed along with him. In spite of the petitions and testimonies from friends, both John and Elizabeth were found guilty, and were sentenced to death on August 5, 1692. Elizabeth, who was pregnant at the time, was granted a stay of execution until after the birth of the baby. John tried to postpone his execution, but failed. On August 19, 1692, John was executed. Elizabeth remained in jail. Action was eventually taken on the petition that John had filed to save his life and that of Elizabeth, but it was too late for John.
In May 1693, the girls began to accuse the wife of Governor of Massachusetts
Phips. The Governor, believing that people were being wrongly convicted without hard evidence, ordered 153 people set free. Elizabeth was among this general release of prisoners. Before she was released, her family was required to pay her prison fees. At this time, families were required to pay for their family members room and board while in jail, as well as the cost of their executions.
, because legally, she no longer existed. Elizabeth petitioned the General Court
for reversal of attainder
to restore her legal rights. No action was taken for seven years, even though it was now widely accepted that innocent people had been wrongly convicted.
On April 19, 1697, the probate court at Salem ordered the Proctor heirs to give Elizabeth her dowry.
On September 22, 1699, Elizabeth married her second husband, Daniel Richards, in Lynn, Massachusetts.
The public demanded that the courts apologize, and a written apology was issued on March 18, 1702.
In July 1703, an address was made to the General Court requesting the petitions from the families be granted. Finally, action was taken to obtain the reversal of attainder for Elizabeth. The Massachusetts House of Representatives
passed a bill formally disallowing spectral evidence, but reversing attainder only for those who had filed petitions, which only applied to John and Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse
.
Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 89,050 at the 2000 census. An old industrial center, Lynn is home to Lynn Beach and Lynn Heritage State Park and is about north of downtown Boston.-17th century:...
) was accused of witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
in the Salem Witch Trials
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...
. She was the third wife of John Proctor
John Proctor
John Proctor was a farmer in 17th century Massachusetts. He married three women in his life, and divorced the first two. The last one he married was Elizabeth Proctor, who gave birth to two children, William and Sarah...
, and remarried after his execution. Part of her life was fictitiously dramatized as part of Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
's play The Crucible
The Crucible
The Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
and later adaptations.
Early life
Elizabeth was the daughter of William Basset and Lexi Burt. She married John ProctorJohn Proctor
John Proctor was a farmer in 17th century Massachusetts. He married three women in his life, and divorced the first two. The last one he married was Elizabeth Proctor, who gave birth to two children, William and Sarah...
in 1674 in Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
. John was twenty years older than Elizabeth.
Elizabeth's grandmother was Ann (Holland) Basset Burt, a Quaker and a midwife, who was brought up on charges of witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
in 1669. As she was not a doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, but was successful at curing the sick, some people felt she could only have medical skills if she were a witch; one of those who testified against Ann was Phillip Read, a doctor. The Puritans felt there was something "witchlike" about Quakers. Some felt the stigma of being the granddaughter of someone thought to be a witch may have contributed to Elizabeth's persecution.
Accusations of witchcraft
In early March 1692, the Proctors' servant, Mary WarrenMary Warren
Mary Ann Warren was the oldest of the accusers during the 1692 Salem witch trials, in her teens. She was a servant for John and Elizabeth Proctor. Renouncing her claims after being threatened to be hanged, she was later arrested for practicing witchcraft herself, but did not confess...
, began to have fits, saying she saw the specter (ghost) of Giles Corey
Giles Corey
Giles Corey was a prosperous farmer and full member of the church in early colonial America who died under judicial torture during the Salem witch trials. Corey refused to enter a plea, and was crushed to death by stone weights in an attempt to force him to do so...
. John Proctor
John Proctor
John Proctor was a farmer in 17th century Massachusetts. He married three women in his life, and divorced the first two. The last one he married was Elizabeth Proctor, who gave birth to two children, William and Sarah...
was dismissive of her claims (as he was of all the accusations) and made her work harder; he felt that witchcraft should be suspected of the bewitched girls themselves and not of the respectable women of the village. His negative reactions to the girls' accusations caused Elizabeth to become one of the next accused of practicing witchcraft.
On March 26, 1692, Mercy Lewis
Mercy Lewis
-Brief Overview:Mercy Lewis was born in Falmouth, Maine in 1675 and was a servant in Thomas Putnam’s household. She is also one of the featured characters in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible...
made the first accusations that Elizabeth's specter was tormenting her. William Rayment, of nearby Beverly, Massachusetts
Beverly, Massachusetts
Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...
, mentioned he had heard a rumor that Elizabeth Proctor would be questioned in court the next day. Appearing to go into a trance, one of the girls cried "There’s Goody Proctor! Old Witch! I’ll have her hung," but when onlookers expressed doubt, claiming that the Proctor family was well regarded in the community, promptly came out of her trance
Trance
Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
and told them it was all for "sport".
On March 29, 1692, Abigail Williams
Abigail Williams
Abigail Williams was one of the initial accusers in the Salem witch trials of 1692, which led to the arrest and imprisonment of over 150 innocent people.-Salem Witch trials:...
and Mercy Lewis
Mercy Lewis
-Brief Overview:Mercy Lewis was born in Falmouth, Maine in 1675 and was a servant in Thomas Putnam’s household. She is also one of the featured characters in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible...
again said they were being tormented by Elizabeth's specter. A few days later, Abigail again complained that Elizabeth was pinching her and tearing at her bowels, and said she saw Elizabeth’s specter as well as John’s.
In April 1692, 31 men from Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,987 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island...
, filed a petition attesting to the upstanding character of John and Elizabeth and denying that they had ever seen anything that would indicate they were witches. In May 1692, a similar petition was filed on behalf of John and Elizabeth containing signatures of 20 men & women, including several of the wealthiest landowners of Topsfield, Massachusetts
Topsfield, Massachusetts
Topsfield is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,085 at the 2010 census.Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Topsfield.-Colonial period:...
and Salem Village. It questioned spectral evidence
Spectral evidence
Spectral evidence is a form of evidence based upon dreams and visions. It was admitted in court during the Salem witch trials by the appointed chief justice, William Stoughton. The booklet A Tryal of Witches taken from a contemporary report of the proceedings of the Bury St...
, testified to the Christian lives that John and Elizabeth had led, stated that they “were ever ready to help such as stood in need of their help” and stated that they had no reason to believe they were witches.
On June 2, 1692, a male doctor and several women completed a physical examination of Elizabeth and several of the other accused. They looked for birth defects, moles
Mole (skin marking)
A melanocytic nevus is a type of lesion that contains nevus cells .Some sources equate the term mole with "melanocytic nevus". Other sources reserve the term "mole" for other purposes....
or other markings that they believed were a sign that the person was a witch, and found none.
On August 2, 1692, the court met in Salem to discuss the fate of John and Elizabeth and several others. At some point during this time, John wrote his will, but he did not include Elizabeth. Some assume this is because he assumed she would be executed along with him. In spite of the petitions and testimonies from friends, both John and Elizabeth were found guilty, and were sentenced to death on August 5, 1692. Elizabeth, who was pregnant at the time, was granted a stay of execution until after the birth of the baby. John tried to postpone his execution, but failed. On August 19, 1692, John was executed. Elizabeth remained in jail. Action was eventually taken on the petition that John had filed to save his life and that of Elizabeth, but it was too late for John.
Release
In January 1693, several hundred people were still in prison awaiting trial. On January 27, while still in prison, Elizabeth gave birth to a son whom she named John after her husband. For some reason, Elizabeth was not executed as the court had ordered.In May 1693, the girls began to accuse the wife of Governor of Massachusetts
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
Phips. The Governor, believing that people were being wrongly convicted without hard evidence, ordered 153 people set free. Elizabeth was among this general release of prisoners. Before she was released, her family was required to pay her prison fees. At this time, families were required to pay for their family members room and board while in jail, as well as the cost of their executions.
Trial aftermath
Though Elizabeth was free, the ordeal was not over for her, for in the eyes of the law, she had been convicted. Although the law stated that possessions would be seized when someone was convicted, the Proctors' possessions were confiscated long before their trials, and Elizabeth could not claim any of John's property, some of which had been salvaged by this time. She could not regain her dowryDowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
, because legally, she no longer existed. Elizabeth petitioned the General Court
General Court
The General Court is the shorthand name for the:* General Court * New Hampshire General Court* Massachusetts General CourtThis term also formally applied to the:* Vermont General Assembly, formerly the Vermont General Court...
for reversal of attainder
Attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
to restore her legal rights. No action was taken for seven years, even though it was now widely accepted that innocent people had been wrongly convicted.
On April 19, 1697, the probate court at Salem ordered the Proctor heirs to give Elizabeth her dowry.
On September 22, 1699, Elizabeth married her second husband, Daniel Richards, in Lynn, Massachusetts.
The public demanded that the courts apologize, and a written apology was issued on March 18, 1702.
In July 1703, an address was made to the General Court requesting the petitions from the families be granted. Finally, action was taken to obtain the reversal of attainder for Elizabeth. The Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
passed a bill formally disallowing spectral evidence, but reversing attainder only for those who had filed petitions, which only applied to John and Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse
Rebecca Nurse
Rebecca Towne Nurse was executed for witchcraft by the government of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England in 1692, during the Salem witch trials. She was the wife of Francis Nurse, with several children and grandchildren, and a well-respected member of the community...
.