Susannah Martin was one of the first victims of the Salem Witch Trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. She was executed alongside Rebecca Nurse and Elizabeth Howe on July 19, 1962.
The Salem Witch Trials would become one of the most tragic moments in Colonial America.
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Early Life
Susannah Martin was born in England to Richard and Joan North. Her mother died when she was young, and her dad remarried a woman named Ursula.
She would be baptized in England, but shortly after, her family moved to Salisbury, Massachusetts Bay, around 1639. In 1639, Massachusetts was growing rapidly and was already the largest English colony in the New World. It provided many opportunities for her family, and Susannah, who was 18 years old at the time, would get a fresh start at a young age.
About 6 years after her arrival, Susannah met a widower, George Martin. He was a blacksmith, and the two fell in love and married on August 11, 1646. The two would go on to have eight children together.
In 1669, Susannah was first formally accused of witchcraft by William Sargent, Jr. In turn, George Martin sued Sargent for two counts of slander against Susannah, one for accusing her of being a witch and another for claiming one of her sons was a bastard and another was her "imp."
Martin withdrew the second count, but the Court upheld the accusation of witchcraft. A higher court later dismissed the witchcraft charges.
By 1671, the Martin family was again involved in legal proceedings dealing with the matter of Ursula North's inheritance, most of which Ursula had left to her granddaughter, Mary Jones Winsley. The court sided against Susannah and George, although Susannah was able to bring five further appeals, each being decided against her
Salem Witch Trials
George died in 1686, which left Susannah vulnerable to charges when the Salem Witch Trials began in 1692. Having already been accused of witchcraft decades earlier, she was an easy target for the young women looking to cause problems.
Inhabitants of nearby Salem Village, including Joseph and Jarvis Ring, had named Susannah a witch and stated she had attempted to recruit them into witchcraft.
She was also accused by John Allen of Salisbury, a man who claimed that she had bewitched his oxen and drove them into the river nearby, where they later drowned.
She was tried for these charges, during which process she proved by all accounts to be pious and quoted the Bible freely, something a witch was said incapable of doing.
The distinguished Cotton Mather countered Susannah's defense by stating, in effect, that the Devil's servants were capable of putting on a show of perfect innocence and Godliness.
The trial put the defendant at a disadvantage due to the use of spectral evidence. Even if they provided an excellent defense, men such as Cotton Mather, Samuel Parris, and other ministers could quickly counter and use their influence and "biblical knowledge" to dismiss it.
At the preliminary hearing, Susannah Martin issued a plea of not guilty. When she walked into the courtroom, the accusers, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Mercy Lewis, and others, fell into a fit, claiming that Susannah was hurting them.
In response, Susannah laughed at their actions.
The honorable magistrate questioned her, saying, "Is this folly? The hurt of persons?"
To which Susannah said, "I never hurt man or woman or child."
After her hearing, her body was then investigated for a "witch's tit," which was supposed to be evidence in favor of her being a witch. Nothing abnormal was found on her.
However, it was said later
in the morning, her nipples were found to be full as if the milk would come", but by late afternoon, "her breasts were slack as if milk had already been given to someone or something." This was an indication that she had been visited by a witch's familiar and was clear evidence of guilt.
Susannah Martin never stood a chance, and she was guilty before she ever walked into the courtroom. She was able to disprove every accusation against her, even the absurd witch's tit allegation, but folks only saw what they wanted to see.
She was sentenced and executed on July 19, 1692.
She and many others were finally exonerated from their conviction of witchcraft in 2001, over 300 years later.
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