Alice Parker (Salem witch trials)

Alice Parker
Died22 September 1692
Salem Village, Province of Massachusetts Bay
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
NationalityEnglish
Known forConvicted of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials
Criminal status
  • Executed
    (22 September 1692; 332 years ago (1692-09-22))
  • Exonerated (October 31, 2001)
Conviction(s)Witchcraft (posthumously overturned)
Criminal penaltyDeath

Alice Parker, a resident of Salem Town, Massachusetts, was executed on September 22, 1692, during the Salem Witch Trials.[1]

The trial

Martha Corey, Mary Eastey, Ann Pudeator, and Dorcas Hoar were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging at the same time, but Hoar was given a reprieve after confessing.[2] Also hanged on that day were Mary (née Ayer) Parker[3] and Samuel Wardwell. The Rev. Nicholas Noyes officiated. Mary Bradbury, an elderly woman (aged 77) who had been convicted of witchcraft, had also been sentenced to hang, but escaped. The charges against Alice Parker included the murder of Mary Warren's mother.[4]

Witch Trials Memorial, Salem, Massachusetts.

On May 12, 1692, Alice Parker was charged with a number of additional acts of witchcraft, including casting away Thomas Westgate and bewitching Mary Warren's sister. Margaret Jacobs also said she had seen her in North field in an apparition. Alice denied all accusations, and said she wished the earth could open and swallow her. She also asked for mercy from God.[5]

Some sources note that Alice was the wife of local fisherman John Parker. There were several Parker families in the area which has resulted in some confusion.[6]

References

  1. ^ The Salem witchcraft papers, Volume 2: verbatim transcripts of the legal documents of the Salem witchcraft outbreak of 1692/edited and with an introduction and index by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum Archived 2012-07-08 at archive.today, etext.virginia.edu; accessed December 29, 2014.
  2. ^ "Salem witch craft trials of 1692". Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  3. ^ Goss, KD (2008) The Salem witch trials: a reference guide (via google.com)
  4. ^ Rosenthal, Bernard: "Salem Story", page 168. Cambridge University Press, 1995; ISBN 0-521-55820-4
  5. ^ "The Salem witchcraft papers, Volume 2 : verbatim transcripts of the legal documents of the Salem witchcraft outbreak of 1692 / edited and with an introduction and index by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum / revised, corrected, and augmented by Benjamin C. Ray and Tara S. Wood". salem.lib.virginia.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  6. ^ Kelly, J (2005) The untold story of Mary Ayer Parker: gossip and confusion in 1692 Berkshire Conference (via virginia.edu)

Further reading

  • Upham, Charles (1980). Salem Witchcraft: New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 2vv., v.2 pp. 179–85, 324.