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: John Procter, of Salem FarmsReturn
No. 47: Council Record Pertaining to Sarah Cloyce, Martha Cory, Dorothy Good, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Procter, & John Procter              
No. 55: Deposition of Elizabeth Booth v. John Procter              
No. 56: Deposition of Elizabeth Hubbard v. John Procter              
No. 57: Deposition of Samuel Parris, Nathaniel Ingersoll, & Thomas Putnam v. John Procter, Elizabeth Procter, & Sarah Cloyce                
No. 58: Testimony of Joseph Pope v. John Procter                
No. 59: Deposition of Ann Putnam Jr. v. John Procter              
No. 60: Deposition of Thomas Putnam & John Putnam Jr. v. John Procter              
No. 61: Statement of Samuel Parris Concerning Abigail Williams & Mary Walcott v. John Procter, Elizabeth Procter, Sarah Cloyce, Martha Cory, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good & Dorothy Good                
No. 66: Deposition of Benjamin Gould v. Giles Cory, Martha Cory, & John Procter                
No. 101: Statement of Mary Warren v. John Procter & Elizabeth Procter                
No. 116: Examination of Deliverance Hobbs in Prison                
No. 163: Testimony of Susannah Shelden v. Elizabeth Colson, Mrs. White, John Willard, Philip English, Mary English, George Jacobs Jr., Rebecca Jacobs, Elizabeth Procter, Sarah Buckley, Mary Whittredge, & Elizabeth Hart.                
No. 194: Deposition of Elizabeth Booth v. Sarah Procter, John Procter, & Elizabeth Procter                
No. 209: Deposition of Elizabeth Booth v. Sarah Procter, Mary DeRich, John Procter, & Elizabeth Procter                
No. 216: Census of Prisoners and Dates of Prison Transfers                
No. 217: Mittimus for Martha Cory, Rebecca Nurse, Dorothy Good, Sarah Cloyce, John Procter, & Elizabeth Procter                
No. 246: Testimony of Abigail Williams v. John Procter                
No. 253: Letter of Thomas Newton to Isaac Addington, with Mittimus v. Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, John Willard, John Procter, Elizabeth Procter, Susannah Martin, Bridget Bishop, Alice Parker, & Tituba                
No. 255: Deposition of Abigail Hobbs, Deliverance Hobbs, & Mary Warren v. George Burroughs, Sarah Good, Sarah Osburn, Bridget Bishop, Giles Cory, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Procter, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Abigail Soames, John Procter, & Lydia Dustin                
No. 272: Physical Examinations of the Bodies of John Procter & John Willard                
No. 344: Examination of Abigail Hobbs                
No. 384: Testimony of Elizabeth Booth v. Elizabeth Procter, John Procter, & Martha Cory                
No. 387: Indictment No. 1 of John Procter, for Afflicting Mary Walcott (Returned Ignoramus)                
No. 388: Indictment No. 2 of John Procter, for Afflicting Mercy Lewis                
No. 389: Indictment No. 3 of John Procter, for Afflicting Mary Warren                
No. 390: Deposition of Sarah Bibber v. John Procter            
No. 391: Deposition of Mary Warren v. John Procter              
No. 433: Petition of John Procter from Prison                  
No. 481: Testimony of John DeRich v. George Jacobs Sr. et al.                
No. 495: Petition in Support of John Procter & Elizabeth Procter                
No. 496: Petition in Support of John Procter & Elizabeth Procter                
No. 501: Statement of Samuel Sibley v. John Procter, as Recorded by Samuel Parris              
No. 502: Deposition of Mary Walcott & Elizabeth Hubbard v. John Procter, Elizabeth Procter, Benjamin Procter, & Sarah Procter and Testimony of James Holton v. John Procter & Elizabeth Procter              
No. 612: Account for Payment Submitted by John Arnold, Jailkeeper                
No. 871: Petition of Elizabeth Procter to Recover the Estate of John Procter            
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. 882: Petition of Isaac Esty Sr. et al. for Restitution for Mary Esty                
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. 933: Request for Copy of Act for Restitution                
No. 934: Order for Payment of Damages by Governor Joseph Dudley                
No. 942: Order of Mary Procter for Payment, Cases of John Procter & Elizabeth Procter                
No. 946: Order of Nathaniel Gowing for Payment, Cases of John Procter & Elizabeth Procter                
No. 951: Order of Elizabeth Very for Payment, Cases of John Proceter & Elizabeth Procter                
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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