Proceedings Of The Trial

Indictment no 1.

Practicing witchcraft and sorceries in Salem and afflicting Elizabeth Hubbard during the process.

Indictment no 2.

Practicing witchcraft and sorceries and afflicting Mercy Lewis.

Indictment no 3.

Practicing witchcraft and sorceries and afflicting Ann Putnam.

Indictment no 4.

Practicing witchcraft and sorceries and afflicting Mary Walcott.

These surely cannot be of my doing. I would never harm a young child or anyone for that matter, the bible teaches us to treat everyone with respect and kindness, Luke 10:27 - And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

Upon Physical examination they have found nothing, yet still believe I am a witch.

Samuel Webber testified against me saying that I am of great strength and can lift a barrel of molasses. Thomas Greenslit and Simon Willard testified against me saying I was able to hold my heavy gun. Well one must be in this time and place, I have to be able to protect and support my family.

Hannah Harris testified that I am terrible towards my wife. Yes we argue, but she argues with me just as much and contributes to the problems. She is younger and I know a little more than her being a man of my age and education.

How can they say these things about a man of god such as myself, I am deeply concerned for the people and the sins that they have been committing.

May - The trial

May


The trial.. 
I was notified that I will shortly be put on trial for witchcraft.
Rumor has it, some of my past enemies ( the men who previously sued me for debt) accused me of this horrendous offense. 

I have been a minister for nine years. I am great at my job and people  respect me. I was currently living in Wells Maine when out of the blue I was captured and taken away to Salem. 
This doesn't make sense, I am nothing like  a satanic witch.People call me intelligent, true-minded, ingenuous, sincere, humble in spirit, generous, faithful and devoted as a minister.... people are crazy to think that I, George Burroughs would have anything to do with witches!  Why would people ever think I would be a close companion of SATAN! I am a minister for goodness sake. I am a servant of God.
My record is untarnished, and many of my friends believe in my innocence. Thirty-two of the most respectable citizens of the entire village signed a petition on behalf. What brave souls..they are putting themselves in grave danger for standing by me... Clearly they are sent from God. 
We will see what happens... I'll be praying for myself at each moment.

I Have Been Accused...

I have heard that they call me the leader of New England's witches. How? I fear God as they do, I praise the Bible as they do, I preach to the people God's word!

I have also heard rumor that they are coming for me. I left the dreadful town and yet it still haunts me. They say that Ann Putnam is afflicted because of me, yet I haven't stepped in Salem since my financial troubles with Thomas Putnam. How could I harm the young girl while I am in Wells? And more importantly why would I want to?

I wish to run away, but I must take care of my family and congregation. And who truly believes those rumors anyway? They have no back bone and no support. Specters have never been used in trials in the past. However I am finding that I am less popular than I previously thought. Through God I know I will prevail.

G.B.✞

Money Trouble

My services as a preacher do cost a small amount so that I can provide for my family. So respectively when I am no longer paid I no longer preach. This is understandable, is it not? However it upset John Putnam more than I had anticipated. I didn't want to just leave the town though...so I became active in community projects as well as some other political activities. My wife was my support and when she died I was terribly upset, her funeral meant a lot to me. But, I had no money to pay for it, due to the 35 pounds that the town owed me. Being (what I thought) a very Christian man, John Putnam loaned me money for the funeral. Since the town owed me money I arranged for Deacon Nathaniel Ingersoll to pay Putnam 15 out of the 35 pounds and then left town hoping to gain a new start in Wells. Shortly after I left I was arrested for not paying John Putnam back immediately and refusing to stay in Salem town. Desperate to solve my financial troubles I went back to Salem and found that John Putnam had warranted for my arrest. When we went to court my cousin Nathaniel Ingersoll testified in my favor that no debts were owed and it was common knowledge that the town was indebted to me. To my relief some parishioners of the church stepped up and helped settle the debts even though I was never fully paid I was content. Now I am relieved that the whole event is behind me.

About Me

Hi there - my name is George Burroughs. I was born in Suffolk, England in 1652.
I lived with my mother in Roxbury, Massachusetts after we left England and moved to America. However, she left me when I was a young teen, so I decided to study to become a pastor at Harvard College and graduated in 1670 when I was 18 years old.

I married Hannah Fisher of Dedham and we started a family with 3 children together (we would have had four, but one of them died during infancy), and Hannah died in child labor with the 3rd child

I was offered a position of preacher in Falmouth, Maine when I was offered 200 acres to preach my teaching as  a minister in the dangerous frontier.

Unfortunately, the town and my land was destroyed by the Wabanaki Indians in 1676, so I had to move all over again to Wells.
Due to Hannah's unfortunate death, I remarried to Sarah Ruck Hathorne, and together we had four children.
Eventually we moved back to Falmouth in 1683, despite all of the reoccurring attacks and threats coming from the Wabanaki Indians.

When I was living in Falmouth, I had borrowed money from my former friend John Putnam to pay for Hannah's funeral. However..John had me arrested for debt because I had not payed him back the money I had borrowed.  But - a few members of my church did me the favor of putting up my bail so that I  could continue preaching (and wouldn't go to jail).

    My wife Sarah died in 1689 due to various complications in childbirth, so I decided to remarry to a young woman named Mary one year later, in 1690.

    Together, we have one daughter today.