Martha Carrier was the first accused and executed "witch" of Andover during the Salem Witch Trials. Many witnesses would testify against her, which included her own children. However, she never admitted guilt and defiantly declared her innocence. She would be executed by hanging on August 19, 1692. She is memorialized by the Twenty Benches, which commemorates the terrible tragedy that occurred during the Salem Witch Trials.
Family History
Martha Carrier was born Martha Ingalls Allen to Andrew Allen and Faith Ingalls.
Her father, Andrew Allen, was one of the founding members of Andover, which was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Martha would be one of six siblings:
- Mary Allen (1644 - 1695)
- Sarah Allen (1646 - 1716)
- Hannah Allen (1652 - 1698)
- Andrew Allen (1657 - 1690)
- John Allen (1661 - 1690)
Martha's birthdate is between 1643 and 1650. The actual day and year are unknown.
Like many in Puritan Massachusetts, Martha would have grown up in a religious society. Massachusetts Bay Colony was only a few decades old when she was born and was believed to be "A City On a Hill," which was the title of the famous sermon given by John Winthrop, an influential leader during its founding.
Unlike Plymouth Colony, which struggled to grow, Massachusetts Bay Colony saw much growth and soon would absorb the infamous Plymouth Colony.
Martha would marry Thomas Carrier on May 7, 1674. The couple would go on to have eight children, one of whom died as an infant.
- Unknown Carrier (d. 1690)
- Richard Carrier (1674 – 1749)
- Unknown Carrier (1675 – 1690)
- Andrew Carrier (1677 – 1749)
- Jane Carrier (1680 – 1680)
- Thomas Carrier Jr (1682 – 1739)
- Sarah Carrier (1684 – 1772)
- Hannah Carrier (1689 – 1772)
After their marriage, the young couple moved to Billerica, where they lived with her sister Mary.
The couple returned to Andover in 1688, where they lived on the family farm with her parents and some of her siblings. Two years after they arrived, much of her family became sick due to a smallpox epidemic spreading through the city.
Her parents, two brothers, husband, and four of her children became ill with smallpox. While she did her best to nurse them back to health, only her husband and two of her children survived.
Despite enduring the tremendous heartbreak of losing so many in her family, her family was accused of bringing smallpox to Andover. This was despite living in the area two years prior to the pandemic and the influx of immigrants that were coming into Andover.
The Carriers were then banned from entering public places, which would make them an easy target when the Salem Witch Trials broke out.
Salem Witch Trials: Arrest
The Salem Witch Trials began in February 1692 when a group of teenage girls began accusing other citizens of witchcraft. These women were Susannah Sheldon, Mary Walcott, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Ann Putnam Jr.
These girls would often go into fits of hysteria and accuse those defending themselves of controlling their mind, forcing them to see things and many other supernatural acts that would be classified as witchcraft in the 17th century.
One of the accusations put on Martha Carrier was that she was leading a 300-strong witch army using her occult powers to murder and afflict people with terrible diseases. This was surely in reference to Carrier's previous connection with a smallpox epidemic that claimed the lives of many. As previously stated, her family had been banned from public places, which made them an easy target.
When confronted, Martha acted rational and never agreed with any of the accusations that had been brought against her.
Despite her insistence upon being innocent, she was arrested on May 28, 1692, along with her sister Mary, brother-in-law and physician Roger Toothaker, and their daughter Margaret. Some of Martha's young children were also sent to prison. This was done to try and break her and bring out a confession.
Despite being in prison, she was accused by her neighbor Benjamin Abbot after he became sick. He claimed that after she had left his presence, his ailing foot became better. He also accused her of bewitching him after they had gotten into an argument that involved a land dispute.
She was then put into chains in order to "keep her spirit from roaming."
She then stood trial and maintained her innocence.
The Trial
Martha's trial started on 31 May 1692, and she was transported to the Salem Village Meeting House to face the accusing girls, overviewed by judges John Hathorne, Jonathan Corwin, and Bartholomew Gedney. When Martha entered the room, the girls fell to the floor, writhing with cries of agony.
Neighbors were then summoned to air their grievances. One local witness complained that Martha's craft caused him to lose a fistfight with her son Richard. Several other women who were accused confessed that Martha had led them to practice witchcraft. Ann Foster said she rode on a stick with Martha to Salem Village. Her nephew Allen Toothaker testified that he lost two of his livestock, attributing their deaths to Martha.
Samuel Preston blamed the death of one of his cows on Martha, claiming that after a disagreement, she had placed a hex on the animal. Other Andover citizens used her as a scapegoat for their supposed witchcraft, and she soon became the principal name mentioned whenever a new person was accused.
On June 28, 1692, a summons for witnesses against Martha included Samuel Preston Jr, Phoebe Chandler, and John Rogers. Phoebe Chandler testified by claiming: I was struck deaf and could hear no prayer, nor singing, till the last two or three words of the singing" during a Sabbath Day meeting.
The young girls again began to wail in agony, saying that they saw the ghosts of the 13 dead that had died in Andover from smallpox. They again drew on the Carrier's connection with Andover's smallpox epidemic.
Cotton Mather, a prominent minister, had the trial transcribed and believed that the trial was a great example of the use of spectral evidence. He made this deduction due to the testimony of Martha Carrier's children. The two young children testified that their mother had made them become witches. These children were ages 18 and 7.
John Proctor, another of the accused, wrote the governor and spoke of how the children had been tortured by being hung by their heels until blood ran out of their nose until they said what the accusers wanted to hear.
Despite the mounting evidence against her, Martha Carrier never wavered in her claim to be innocent. She bravely faced the judges who bought into the hysteria of the young women. By all records, she displayed amazing courage in the face of unbelievable opposition.
Cotton Mather referred to Martha Carrier as "a rampant hag" as he was easily swayed by the illogical testimony.
Martha Carrier and four other men were convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to hang.
On August 19, 1962, Martha and the four others were greeted by cheering crowds who believed that the execution of these individuals would rid them of the apparent witchcraft that was plaguing their city.
While on the scaffold with the noose being placed over her neck, she still maintained her innocence by saying to the crowd that she would never admit to a "falsehood so filthy."
With that, her body fell, and her neck snapped. She was buried in a common grave between the bodies of George Burroughs and John Willard.
19 years later, the government apologized to Martha's husband for what was done to his wife. Thomas was given 7 pounds and 6 shillings in compensation.
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