The Salem Witch Trials: The Diary Of Samuel Sewall

The Salem Witch Trials started in February of 1692. They took place in a small village in Massachusetts that housed around 600 people. The trials initially began when a group of young girls in a place called started acting out. They then accused several women of “witchcraft”. This raised quite a bit of concern in the people of Salem. Many more cases came about, including the cases of Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, and Mary Easty. There are also a couple witnesses who wrote and/or told of the trials. Samuel Sewall was one of the people who wrote about it in a diary. Although the trials were thought to have begun because of a couple of girls wanting attention, was this really the reason they began? Or was the devil at work? As was mentioned before,

Mr. Noyes prayíd at the beginning, and Mr. Higginson concluded.”(Sewall) This excerpt came from the diary of Samuel Sewall who was a witness during the Salem Witch Trials. Sewall was about 30 at the time of the trials, and he kept a diary telling of nearly all the events that took place during that time. He recorded everything from the time that the examinations took place, to the end of the trials. Another witness of the trials was Bartholomew Gedney. Gedney was born in Salem to one of Salem’s founders. He was a magistrate at several of the examinations. He was the magistrate of the examination of John Alden, his friend. During the examination, the afflicted girls were terrified and said that Alden had tormented them. When this happened, Gedney said to Alden that he “had always look’d upon him to be an honest Man, but now he did see cause to alter his judgment.” Alden said that he was sorry and that he would hope to get Gedney’s good opinion of him back. In fact, he did find Gedney’s approval when he was declared innocent after escaping