The Real John and Elizabeth Proctor

John Proctor spoke out against the witch hysteria from the beginning. It was rumored that he attempted to beat his servant, Mary Warren, to stop her "afflictions." Many people in John's family were also accused including his wife, Elizabeth, sister-in-law, and children.
Before his trial, John wrote to ministers in Boston, describing the horrible torture going on in Salem. Though he was convicted and executed before there was any result, his letter helped convince the ministers to reconsider the nature of spectral evidence, the primary evidence used against witches in the Salem Trials. They decided that it was possible that the devil could take on the shape of an innocent person; previously, a victim's claim that they saw a "specter" of the accused attacking them could lead to conviction. John's letter, and this resulting claim, were contributing factors to the end of the trials.

Questions from the Cast

Last week I got a few questions from cast members. Here are those questions and their answers so you can return to them and in case anyone else would like the same information. I'm really happy with how involved the cast has been with researching their roles and how responsive you've been to my help and suggestions. Please keep the questions coming, I'm happy to help!
Resources in general: The library at IUP has a great collection to help with researching your character. A lot of these books get pretty specific but you can find broad topics too. In the section on witchcraft you can narrow down to New England witchcraft, Salem Witch trials, and specifics within that. Our actress playing Tituba was able to find a book on the real Tituba which she says has been a great help. Since we're all poor college students in this project, I recommend checking out the library before going out and buying anything. Also, some of the sources in the links on the side are in public domain which means you can find many of them online for free. I've been using Amazon.com which has a great selection of these books in their Kindle store to find free ebooks but there are other sites with similar collections. Try Project Gutenberg and Sacred-Texts.
What Bible did Puritans use at this time? Although the King James Bible had been published by this time my research shows that the Geneva Bible was still being used my Puritan ministers in New England. The Biblical quotes found in John Hale's book match best with this earlier translation. Although this question was brought up by the actor playing Samuel Parris, Puritans highly emphasized that every good Christian should be able to read the Bible so much so that all towns were required to have a school and teach their children (including girls) to read.
Where did ______ live? The University of Virginia has a nice collection of maps of Salem and surrounding areas dating from the trials. Some are originals from the period though a bit easier to read are the interactive maps they've made which highlight accusers and the accused over time and point out the homes of those involved.

Visit to Salem and Danvers

Last week I made a trip to Salem, MA to visit the location of the real events seen in this play. If anyone else is planning a similar visit, let me warn you that Salem's off season is roughly Nov-Early April. Check out the links on the side for more information about some of the places I visited. Here's what's available to see in the "off seasons".

This memorial was built in 1992 on the border of the Old Burying Point to commemorate the deaths of the accused in the 1692 witch trials. The Old Burying Point is Salem's oldest cemetery and the resting place of John Hathorne, one of the judges who presided over the witch trials. Please note that this is only a memorial and not actual graves.

  Rebecca Nurse Homestead



Because of their crimes, witches were considered unfit to be given a proper burial. According to tradition, the executed witches were buried unceremoniously in a pit near the gallows. In secret, some families retrieved the bodies of their loved ones to bury them at home. Both Rebecca Nurse and George Jacobs were reburied in this way. Rebecca's grave remained unmarked but is known to be somewhere on her family's homestead where the original house is still standing in Danvers, MA. In 1885 a memorial was built for Rebecca in the graveyard on her home. An additional memorial with the names of those who petitioned Rebecca's innocence was added in 1892.

A very kind women at The Trolley Depot in Salem told me the following story about George Jacobs:

After his execution, George Jacob's family secretely stole his body from its mass grave for a proper burial at home. The site remained unmarked but its location was passed down from generation to generation. When photography developed, the tradition evolved, each family was photographed pointing to the same spot on the family farm. In the 1950s when the property was sold to developers, George Jacob's body was found in this spot. In 1992 he was given a funeral and reburied in the graveyard of the Nurse Homestead.