Mary Walcott
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Mary Walcott (July 5, 1675 – after 1719) was one of the witnesses at the Salem Witch Trials of Salem, Massachusetts in the years 1692 and 1693.
She was the daughter of Captain Jonathan Walcott (1639-1699), and his wife Mary Sibley (1644-1683), both of Salem, and was about seventeen years old when the allegations started in 1692. Her aunt, Mary Woodrow, the wife of Samuel Sibley (1657-1708), was the person who first showed Tituba and her husband John Indian how to bake a witch cake to feed to a dog in order that she and her friends might ascertain exactly who it was that was afflicting them. Joseph B. Felt quotes in the The Annals of Salem (1849 edition) vol. 2, p. 476 [from the town records]:
March 11, 1692 – "Mary, the wife of Samuel Sibley, having been suspended from communion with the church there, for the advices she gave John [husband of Tituba] to make the above experiment, is restored on confession that her purpose was innocent."
At the trials, she was said to be calm, but subsequently critics have accused her of everything from compromise to actually being a witch who foiled her potential adversaries by distracting their attention away from herself onto innocent persons[citation needed]. She married Isaac Farrar on April 29, 1696. Isaac was the son of John Farrar of Woburn, Massachusetts. They had several children, and eventually moved to Townsend, Massachusetts. There are no records of their death, and no gravestone.
[edit] Portrayals
Mary Walcott appeared (as "May Walcott") in the television film Salem Witch Trials, portrayed by Canadian actress Nadia Litz. Litz told the press, "I was one of the girls who denounces people as witches. I had a great screeching scene- I cried for 18 hours and they cut it to 30 seconds. I lost my voice and I was lit on fire, saving a calf from a fire." For the role, she also inherited a costume from a film version of The Crucible.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Rita Zekas, "Warning Powdered coffee creamer is nothing to sniff at," Toronto Star, October 24, 2003, pg. D.06.
- Sidney Perley, The History of Salem Massachusetts (1924–1928, 3 volumes)
- Essex Institute, Vital Records of Salem Massachusetts (1918–1927, 6 volumes)
- Melindi Lutz Sanborn, Essex County Massachusetts Probate Records, 1630–1840 (1987, 2 volumes)
- Ithamar B. Sawtelle, editor, History of the Town of Townsend, Middlesex County, Massachusetts ... 1676–1878 (1878)
- Henry C. Hallowell, Vital Records of Townsend, Massachusetts (1992)
- Ezra S. Stearns, editor, Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire (1908, vol. II) p. 591 [Family of Isaac Farrar]
Mary Walcott also married David Harwood in 1701 in Sutton Mass. They had nine children. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Record Name: Mary Walcott Gender: female Birth Place: MA Birth Year: 1675 Spouse Name: David Harwood Marriage Year: 1701 Number Pages: 1
[edit] External link
- University of Virginia: Salem Witch Trials (includes former "Massachusetts Historical Society" link)
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| Magistrates | William Stoughton · John Hathorne · Jonathan Corwin · Samuel Sewall · Bartholomew Gendey · Thomas Danforth · Nathaniel Saltonstall |
| Clergy | Samuel Parris · Cotton Mather · Increase Mather · Nicholas Noyes · John Hale · Deodat Lawson · Samuel Willard |
| Politicians & Public Figures | William Phips · Thomas Brattle · Robert Calef |
| Accusers | Elizabeth Hubbard · Mercy Lewis · Betty Parris · Ann Putnam, Jr. · Susannah Sheldon · Mary Walcott Abigail Williams · Sarah Bibber |
| Accused | John Alden · Edward Bishop · Sarah Bishop · Mary Black · Mary Bradbury · Sarah Cloyce · Rebecca Eames · Mary English · Phillip English · Abigail Faulkner · Dorcas Good · William Hobbs · Mary Lacy · Sarah Morey · Benjamin Proctor · Elizabeth Proctor · Sarah Proctor · William Proctor |
| Confessed and Accused Others | Tituba · Abigail Hobbs · Deliverance Hobbs · Margaret Jacobs · Mary Warren · Ann Foster · Mary Lacey Jr. · Mary Lacey Sr. · Sarah Churchwell |
| Executed | Bridget Bishop · George Burroughs · Martha Carrier · Martha Corey · Mary Eastey · Sarah Good · Elizabeth Howe · George Jacobs, Sr. · Susannah Martin · Rebecca Nurse · Alice Parker · Mary Parker · John Proctor · Ann Pudeator · Wilmot Redd · Margaret Scott · Samuel Wardwell · Sarah Wildes · John Willard |
| Died in Prison | Lydia Dustin · Ann Foster · Sarah Osborn · Roger Toothaker |
| Pressed to Death | Giles Corey |
