Rare Salem Witch Trial Document Sold for $26,000

A rare document from the Salem Witch Trials sold for $26,000 last week at a New York auction house. The document was a court indictment for Margaret Scott, an elderly Rowley woman who was one of the last victims hanged in the Salem Witch hysteria of 1692...Click here to read more: http://historyofmassachusetts.org/rare-salem-witch-trial-document-sold-for-26000/

Faneuil Hall Was Built with Slave Money

It's a little known fact that Faneuil Hall, which has been dubbed the “Cradle of Liberty” since the American Revolution, was financed with money from Peter Faneuil's slave trading business...Click here to read more: http://historyofmassachusetts.org/faneuil-hall-was-built-with-slave-money/

John Alden's Account of His Witch Trial Examination

John Alden Jr. was the son of Mayflower pilgrim John Alden and a merchant from Boston who suddenly found himself caught up in the Salem Witch Trials when he was accused of witchcraft by a local child during a business trip to Salem in May of 1692...click here to read more: http://historyofmassachusetts.org/john-aldens-account-of-his-witch-trial-examination/

Who Brought the Bed Bugs?

Bed bugs, the little parasites that feed on the blood of people and animals, are not native to North America and were actually first brought to the continent either by explorers or the pilgrims...Click here to read more: http://historyofmassachusetts.org/who-brought-the-bed-bugs/

Animals in the Salem Witch Trials

Animals played an important role in the Salem Witch Trials. Since it was believed at the time that witches had animal familiars, or helpers, that they used to do their bidding, many villagers were often on the look out for these possessed animals, which were thought to take the form of almost any creature, from cats and dogs to birds, oxes, cows or pigs...Click here to read more: http://historyofmassachusetts.org/animals-in-the-salem-witch-trials/

Susannah Martin: Accused Witch from Salisbury

Susannah North Martin was one of a handful of accused witches during the Salem Witch Trials who did not actually live in Salem. Born in Buckinghamshire, England to Richard and Joan North, Susannah relocated with her father and stepmother to the Merrimack plantation in Salisbury, Massachusetts in 1639...Click here to read more: http://historyofmassachusetts.org/susannah-martin-accused-witch-from-salisbury/

The Accused Witches of Gloucester

Not all of the accused witches of the Salem Witch Trials actually lived in Salem. A number of the accused also came from nearby towns such as Salisbury, Ipswich, Andover, Topsfield and Gloucester...Click here to read more:  http://historyofmassachusetts.org/the-accused-witches-of-gloucester/