Susannah Sheldon
Biographical Information
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| Name | Susannah Sheldon | |
Susannah Sheldon was one of the "afflicted" girls of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Susannah was commonly believed to be the daughter of William Sheldon and Rebecca Scadlock/Scarlett - which in turn has been used to write an early life narrative for Susannah. However, there is no birth record for Susannah and she is not listed among William's children in his Last Will, nor any other family documents. It is more likely that Susannah was the unnamed child of the widow Elizabeth Sheldon, noted in Salem records in 1679/80 as receiving assistance from the village.
The Trials
The very first complaint of witchcraft at Salem in 1692 was made by Elizabeth Parris, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, and Elizabeth Hubbard. Abigail is colloquially considered to be the central girl among the accused, and was the lead character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's play The Crucible. However, Abigail was only 11 or 12 years of age at the time and was living with her uncle, the village pastor Samuel Parris, along with his wife Elizabeth, their three children including daughter Elizabeth Parris, and his two slaves - Tituba and John Indian, an indigenous married couple. Tituba was the first to be accused of witchcraft, to which she confessed and named two others - Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne - at the end of February 1692. Tituba would later say that Samuel Parris beat her into a confession and coacherd her on what to say. She stayed in jail during the trials, as well as an additioanl 13 months in jail in Boston when Samuel Parris refused to pay her jail fees. She was eventually sold for the amount of her jail fees, the details of the remainder of her life are unknown. Elizabeth Parris was only 9 years old, Ann Putnam was 12 and Elizaebth Hubbard was the eldest, at 17. Elizabeth Hubbard was the niece and maidservant to her uncle, Dr. William Griggs - who had attended on Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams when they began to have fits, which he deemend were supernatural in nature. Ann Putnam was the daughter of Thomas Putnam, a close friend of Samuel Parris, and one of the men who first issued the warrant against Tituba, Sarah Osborne, and Sarah Good.
Susannah Sheldon is first mentioned in the trials on 30 Apr 1692 when Capt. Jonathan Walcot and Sgt. Thomas Putnam made a complaint against George Burroughs (previously a minister of Salem Village, but by that time a minister in Wells, Maine); widow Lydia Dustin of Reading, MA; widow Susannah Martin of Amesbury, MA; widow Dorcas Hoar of Beverly, MA; Sarah Murrell of Beverly, MA; and Philip English, a merchant of Salem - for "high suspition of sundry acts of witchcraft done or committed by them upon the bodies of" Mary Walcott, Mercy Lewis, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Susannah Sheldon. It is unclear how Susannah became involved in the trials, but it may be assumed that she was a friend of Elizabeth Hubbard - being they were close in age and likely of similar social status.
Documentation
Court Records
- 30 Apr 1692: Complaint against George Burroughs, Lydia Dustin, Susannah Martin, Dorcas Hoar, Sarah Morey, and Philip English
- 17 May 1692: Statement of Susannah Sheldon v. Bridget Bishop, Mary English, Phillip English, Giles Corey, and Martha Corey
- 2 Jun 1692: Deposition of Susannah Sheldon v. Bridget Bishop