Though the most famous account of witch trials in colonial America lay with the village of Salem (now called Danvers) between 1692 and 1693, witchcraft hysteria spread throughout many other towns in Massachusetts and in colonies beyond, even starting several decades earlier. One of which was Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts.
Lynn is two towns south of Danvers (formerly Salem Village), where the famous witch accusations were made, and shares its northern border with the town of Salem, where the actual trials were held. Salem was the county seat in Essex, so all judicial matters were held there for all of the surrounding villages like Lynn. All accused criminal offenders from Ipswich, Andover, Beverly, etc. would have been jailed and brought to court in Salem.
Lynn had its first “witch scare” in 1669 when a woman in the Quaker faith was brought up on charges. Her name was Ann (Holland) Bassett Burt and she presented herself as a healer. Ann’s good skills in healing the sick were unfortunately part of her downfall (as was her being outside of the Puritan religion).
When a senior member of the community, who was estranged from his wife, was ailing, Ann spent time with him, trying to nurse him back to health. The following salacious accusation quickly fell upon her, leaving her husband Hugh Burt to come to her defense.
The accusations against Ann did not end there. Several other members of the community slung further disparaging remarks her way, including that she could appear and disappear at one’s bedside at will and that she had once emerged from a swamp.
And, although she was fairly lucky and not harmed following the malicious charges, her descendants also fell under suspicion of witchcraft.
My 8th great-grandparents, Thomas Brown and Hannah (Collins) Brown were married a few years later in Lynn on 8 February 1677. Thomas was perchance named for his mother Mary (Newhall) Brown’s father, or her brother, Thomas Newhall, who happened to be the first white child born in Lynn. Despite the family’s ties to the village’s beginnings, Thomas and Hannah made the, probably wise, decision to leave during the height of the witch hysteria. Although they were not direct descendants of Ann, their families soon after became connected [Update in 2025: Hannah's 1st cousin, Elizabeth Collins, married Elisha Bassett, Ann's grandson.].
Sometime after May 26, 1683, when their daughter Mary was born, the Browns had removed to Stonington, New London, Connecticut. While the exact reason for their move is unknown, it could be related to the uncertainty of raising children or rearing a family with the trials looming. Connecticut's witch panic had died down after the 1660s.
Ann’s granddaughter and granddaughter’s husband, Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor and John Proctor, were two that remained in Essex County, and both wound up being accused of witchcraft. Though Elizabeth was spared from the gallows due to being pregnant, Elizabeth’s husband succumbed to hanging in August 1692 when he came to her aid in court. The couple were made famous due to their portrayal in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
In late May 1692, another two, essentially, granddaughters of Ann’s, Mary (Bassett) Derich and Sarah (Hood) Bassett, were also accused [Update in 2025: Thomas Brown and Sarah Hood's parents were 1st cousins, both named Mary Newhall at birth].
Mary (Bassett) Derich was imprisoned for months, but eventually released when she wasn’t convicted. Sarah (Hood) Bassett was sent to Boston Prison for seven months with her 22 month-old toddler, Ruth (shown on court records as Rootis Bassett), and finally released on December 3rd. She was very far along in her next pregnancy, giving birth to a son, Joseph, just two weeks later. Her next daughter born, she named Deliverance, in honor of her liberation.
Decades later, Sarah was compensated 9 pounds for her wrongful imprisonment.
The siblings’ fates also extended further throughout the family tree. The wife of their sister’s brother-in-law, Esther (Dutch) Elwell, was another innocent victim accused of witchcraft during the hysteria [Update in 2025: Esther's husband Samuel Elwell had a brother named Thomas who married Sarah Bassett. Esther was also actress Sarah Jessica Parker's 10th great grandmother].
One reason to possibly explain why this family received the brunt of the punishments in and around Lynn could be that their land reportedly shared boundaries with a man named Hawthorne, who may have been of relation to Judge John Hathorne who presided over the trials, or possibly even have been the man himself. Previous land disputes with Hawthorne may have spurred these much more serious accusations. And William Basset, Sr. had signed a petition with 11 other men "against their neighbor John Hawthorne for serving too much strong drink despite the 'advice of his friends to the contrary'..."
While not accused, another Bassett sibling, Rachel, would go on to marry Ephraim Silsbee. Their great granddaughter, Mary Diamond, certainly would have had trouble in the trials had she lived during the year 1692! She publicly claimed to be descended from a long line of "wizards" and made her living conducting fortune tellings and other clairvoyant readings. She is now a Lynn, Massachusetts legend known as Moll Pitcher.
A number of other Massachusetts residents in Lynn and nearby towns were accused, allegedly including Sarah (Aslet) Cole, Jane (Greepe) Collins, Margaret (Temple) Gifford, Elizabeth (Hutchinson) Hart, and Mary (Leach) Ireson.
Although none appear to be my direct line ancestors, Sarah (Hood) Bassett mentioned above, was my 2nd cousin 10 times removed, and it’s no doubt that her entire family’s terrible fortune left behind a dark cloud that hovered over the whole town.
Another poor soul in Lynn was Thomas Farrar Sr (II). His connection to my tree is somewhat unclear, though he may have married my 8th great grandmother’s sister-in-law. [Update in 2025: His 2nd marriage, which produced no offspring, was to Abigail (Johnson) Collins, on 3 March 1680/1, who was first married to my 9th great granduncle, John Collins. This would make Farrar the father-in-law of my 1st cousin 10 times removed. Also, Sarah (Hood) Bassett was Thomas' 1st wife's niece.]
Thomas' identity has also been muddied over the years with that of his father and son, due to all three men holding the name Thomas Farrar. The generation accused of witchcraft commonly went by Thomas Farrar Sr, even though he was named after his father, so he was Thomas Farrar the Second, born about 1614 in England. He came to Massachusetts in 1640. His adult son, Thomas Farrar the Third (born about 1651), went by Thomas Farrar Jr. Both Sr. and Jr. married women named Elizabeth and had connections to the Hoods, so this has complicated their identities further.
The elderly farmer Mr. Farrar (II), sometimes called “Old Pharaoh,” was accused by Ann Putnam Jr., who claimed he was pinching her in her dreams. He was tried on 18 May 1692, in his late 70s, and imprisoned in Boston until November 2nd of that year. Ann testified that Farrar, "appeared before me in the apparition of an old gray headed man with a great nose, which tortured me and almost choked me and urged me to write in his book." He was pardoned and sent home when Governor Winthrop disbanded the Salem witch trials. Thomas died only two years later in Lynn. He lived on Nahant Street alongside the Hoods and Bassetts.
Other surnames that surface in our tree around Boston and Salem during that time period that were also held by named “witches” were Sears, Cary, Godfrey, Hoar, Thorndike, and Pride. [Update in 2025: I have also discovered direct ancestry from the Whipple family, who look to have been accusers, though further research is necessary for specifics.]
While we may not be direct descendants of any of the wrongfully accused, there’s no question that the panic touched all of our New England ancestors in some way. Living through that trying time would have taken its toll on every colonist.
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