Wilmot Redd was a victim of the Salem Witch Trials. She was accused and executed at the final mass execution that occurred on September 22, 1692.
She was not from Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, but from Marblehead and was the only person from this location to be executed at the Salem Witch Trials.
Family Life of Wilmot Redd
There is not much known about Wilmot Redd's early life. Where she came from, if she had children, and how long she lived in Marblehead are uncertain.
What is known is that she was married to a fisherman named Samuel Redd and that Wilmot was elderly and had a reputation at the time of the trials.
Her age and the belief that she had supernatural powers were a rumor that was common at the time. This would make her an easy target to be accused of being a witch. Like many of the others who had been accused, she was older and, due to her age, seemed to have a stigma attached to her.
Trial and Execution
Wilmot's accusers were Ann Putnam Jr, Mercy Lewis, and Mary Walcott. The girls accused her of afflicting them with demonic powers.
Later on, another accuser, John Indian, would also claim to be afflicted by the elderly Wilmot.
After the accusation, Wilmot was arrested and brought before the court for examination. When she entered the room immediately, the girls fell into convulsions and began claiming they were being afflicted.
Upon seeing the state these accusers were in, the judges asked her what she thought. Her response was confusion, as if she had never seen such behavior before that moment.
Her response, when asked the first couple of times if the girls were bewitched, was that she "could not tell," and when asked a final time, she simply said that the accusers were in a "sad condition."
Despite what seemed to be ignorance, Wilmot was charged and told to stand trial.
At her trial, the accusations were based on spectral evidence as well as circumstantial evidence. There were claims that she caused another woman stomach issues that went on for a long period of time.
Mary Walcott said she had been afflicted by someone but did not know who was afflicting her. However, when Wilmot Redd was brought in for questioning on May 31, she "knew it was her." Walcott then went further and accused Wilmot of afflicting the girls throughout the examination.
Mary Warren claimed she was never afflicted directly by Wilmot but that she had witnessed her spirit afflict other girls.
Ann Putnam Jr, not to be outdone, said that she knew a woman from Marblehead was afflicting her but did not know it was Wilmot until she saw her.
There is no record of Wilmot Redd's defense, and since the court was influenced by this type of evidence, it was hard to overcome these accusations and prove her innocence. She was sentenced to death.
She, along with seven others, was placed on a cart and wheeled to the gallows. Along the way, the cart became stuck, and the afflicted girls made claims that the devil was trying to stop the cart from getting to the gallows.
Wilmot and the following seven were executed shortly after. All of them maintained their innocence at the execution.
- Martha Corey (September 22, 1692; wife of Giles Corey)
- Mary Easty (September 22, 1692)
- Mary Parker (September 22, 1692)
- Alice Parker (September 22, 1692)
- Ann Pudeator (September 22, 1692)
- Margaret Scott (September 22, 1692)
- Samuel Wardwell Sr. (September 22, 1692)
Due to Wilmot Redd's family not petitioning the court, the Redd family never received compensation. It would not be until October 31, 2001, when the Redd would be exonerated as a witch during the Salem Witch Trials.