Being from New England, I became familiar with the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 through lessons at school. Likely, so did you. Lord knows, the town of Salem has capitalized on this sad part of American history by becoming a tourist attraction, especially around Halloween. Though the “Haunted Happenings” actually are a lot of fun and I’d recommend it to anyone, I think it’s even more important to acknowledge what happened to make the city so famous in the first place.

A quick history brush-up: The short version of the story is that in January 1692, Betty Parris (the minister’s daughter) and Abigail Williams were diagnosed as being afflicted by witchcraft. Parris’ servant, Tituba, prepared a “witch cake” in an attempt to find the witch responsible. She was blamed by the girls for their symptoms.

Then, Mercy Lewis, an 18-year-old orphaned girl-turned-servant, started having fits. The Putnam family, for whom she worked, also began acting afflicted. Tituba was blamed. After an examination by judges Corwin and Hawthorne, her fear led her to give false confession, and she called out four other women in the community. By the end of April, 10 people stood accused of witchcraft. They were stripped to look for marks and interrogated. They had no right to an attorney, had to pay for their own food in prison, and some died there.

Accusations soon became used to settle disputes and raise other individuals to power. The Putnam family and close relations were responsible for 201 accusations. If you were not a church supporter of Parris, a friend of the Putnams, or did them wrong in any way, you were at risk of being accused of witchcraft. Death sentences began in June, beginning with Bridget Bishop. In July, five more women were hanged (Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe and Sarah Wildes) because they would not confess and give names, and in August, George Burroughs and four others were hanged.

At the peak of the madness ~ September ~ Giles Corey was gruesomely crushed to death by heavy stones for refusing to plead guilty. He lived for two days under the weight. Three days later, eight more people were hanged for refusing to confess: Martha Corey, Mary Estey, Ann Pudeator, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, Wilmott Redd, Margaret Scott and Samuel Wardwell.

Have you ever felt a strong tie to a place that cannot be explained? You have never been there or lived there or seen it before? A feeling of connection … chills up and down your spine, but no fear? That is how I felt when walking through Salem. I never knew why. Until recently.

I am a huge advocate of researching your family history. I have traced parts of my family back to the 1500s. On this journey, I uncovered relative after relative in my direct line and ended up in Salem and Danvers. And then ~ generations up my tree ~ there she was: Mary Towne Estey (also spelled Easty, Estie and Esty), my ninth great-grandmother, and her sister, Rebecca Nurse.

Now on a mission to find out everything I could about these women, I found sad and surprising truths about my ancestors in historical records. Both Mary and Rebecca were upstanding and respected women of the town and church. It is documented that Rebecca was so respected that 39 prominent members of the community (including John Putnam) signed a petition to have her cleared. The jury found her not guilty originally and then changed its verdict, due to the afflicted having fits at the trial. Mary was accused because it was thought that witchcraft was common in families (she was Rebecca’s sister) and because her husband, Isaac, owned a valuable farm ~ land that others wanted. Mary was released after two months in prison but was arrested again two days later, after her accusers had even more violent fits. She was executed Sept. 22 on the gallows, with prayers to end the hunts and parting words to her family that were said to be “as serious, religious, distinct and affectionate as could be expressed, drawing tears from the eyes of almost all present.”

Mary is credited as a martyr, and her eloquent petition, which she wrote in prison, is said to be part of the reason the trials ended. She wrote, “…I was cried out upon by them and have been confined and now am condemned to die. The Lord above knows my Innocence then and likewise does now as at the great day will be known to men and Angels. I Petition to your honors not for my own life for I know I must die and my appointed time is set, but that if it be possible, no more Innocent blood may be shed.”

To say that I am honored to be descended from such a strong woman of courage is an understatement. Next time you visit Salem for a day of Halloween fun, take a minute to walk through the historic graveyard and look at the memorial benches set along the edges. These benches have the names of those who were executed, including Mary Town Estey and Rebecca Nurse. Remember: Though we dress in costumes, eat leftover candy and enjoy the holiday, true horror was a stark reality in 1692.

For more information on the Salem Witch Trials or those accused, visit salem.lib.virginia.edu, which has a great collection of documents, or simply Google “Salem Witch Trials.” I also recommend the books In the Devil’s Snare by Mary Beth Norton and Six Women of Salem by Marilynne Roach.