Susanna NORTH MARTIN

Rather than retype this I share it as jpeg pages. The last line appears on the page above and below.

The Puritans in America: a narrative anthology
Edited by Alan Heimert, Andrew Delbanco

Examination of Suanna Martin (1692)









See and read documents at: http://famhist2.blogspot.com/2009/03/murder-in-salem.html

Ancestry Chain: Richard NORTH and Joan BARTRAM / 10th great-grandmother Susannah NORTH-b.1621-d.1692 and George MARTIN / Jane MARTIN- b.1656 / Samuel HADLEY-b.1677 / Martha HADLEY-b.1704 / Martha SARGENT-b.1725 / Moses QUIMBY-b.1755 / Betsey QUIMBY-b.1795 /Almeda Sophia ROUNDY-b.1829 / Charles PARKER-b.1853 / Laura Elizabeth PARKER-b.1889 / Kirt DeMar WOOD-b.1923 / Lark / TR.

First Settlers of Amesbury Massachusetts

First Settlers of Amesbury

On the Amesbury records, …dated March 19, 1654-5, the following list of the “present inhabitanc and comenors heare in the new towne.”

Richard Currier George Marting [MARTIN] John Hoyt Philip Chalice Thomas Macy William Huntington John Bayly [BAILEY] Henry Blasdale John Colby

William Barnes Vallentine Rowel Thomas Barnard Anthony Colby John Weed Jarret Haddon Edward Cottle [Orlando Bagly]* William Sargent”

*Orlando Bagly is on the original “Macy book,” but not on the official

records, nor on any list of land grants.

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George MARTIN:

Last will & testament of George Martin of Amesbury, MA: November 23, 1686

In ye name of God Amen I George Martin of ye town of Amsbury in ye County of Essex being through Gods goodness of prfect memory & understanding, doe make this my last will & testament in mannr as followeth Imprimis I commend my spirit to God whoe gave it, & and my body to ye dust decently to be buried (at ye chardges of my executr, whome I shall hereafter name and appoynt) in hopes of a [joy]full resurrection at ye last day unto life eternall 2dly I give & bequeath unto my natural [i.e. legitimate] Children viz: my Sonns Richrd Martin, & John Martin, & my Daughters, Hanna Wathen: Hester Gimson, Jane Hadley & Abigail Hadlock unto each & every of them five shillings apiece to be payd in good and merchantable pay within one twelvemonth next aftr my decease 3dly I give & bequeath unto my Grandchild John Hadlock five pounds in good & merchantable pay in case yt ye sd John live wth me or my wife or my son Will: untill yt he come unto ye full & compleat age of twenty one years. 4thly I give & bequeath all ye rest of my housing, lands stock & estate both moveable & Immoveable unto my wife Susanna during her Widowhood, & after her marriage, or decease (in case she marry not againe) unto my youngest son William.

ffinally: I Doe appoint, Constitute & ordaine my Wife Susanna, to be exectutrix and my youngest son Will: martin to be executr in conjunction wth her unto this my last Will & testament. A[nd in] confirmat[ion] of ye promisees I have hereunto subscribed my hand & seale Dated the nineteenth day of January An: Dom: one thousand six hundred eighty & three or foure.

Additional information: George Martyn was born circa 1618 at near, Colchester, England. He married Hannah (Unknown) before 1643. George Martyn married Susannah North, daughter of Richard North and Joan Bertram, on 11-Aug-1646 at Salisbury, Essex County, Massachusetts. George Martyn died before 23-Nov-1686 at Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts. His estate was probated on 23-Nov-1686.

He was also known as George Martin. He emigrated from Wales. He immigrated circa 1639 to Salisbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, He came as a servant to Samuel Winsely. He was a proprietor between 1642 and 1664. He purchased Job Cole's land rights in East Salisbury circa 1643. He took the oath of fidelity in 1646. On 1650 He was on the list of commoners in Salisbury.

He was a blacksmith. On between 1667 and 1668 George was on the list of Commoners who drew land in Amesbury. Amesbury was derived from the Northwestern part of Salisbury in 1654.

His widow Susannah NORTH was hung as a witch in Salem, MA July 19, 1692.

Ancestral Chain: 10th great grandfather George MARTIN Immigrant b.1618 / Jane MARTIN b.1656 / Samuel HADLEY b.1677 / Martha HADLEY- b.1704 / Martha SARGENT b.1725 / Moses QUIMBY b.1755 / Betsey QUIMBY b.1795 / Almeda Sophia ROUNDY b.1829 / Charles PARKER b.1853 / Laura Elizabeth PARKER b.1889 / Kirt DeMar WOOD b.1923 / Lark / TR

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John BAILEY:

Unknown which John Bailey father of son is named on the monument.

John Bailey Sr. was a weaver by trade and came from Chippenham, Wilts, England. He, with his oldest son, John, came over in 1635 in the ship Angel Gabriel, sailing from Bristol, with the expectation of making a home in New England and then sending for his wife and other children, or going back to fetch them over. Unfortunately, he had a terrible experience in the great storm of August 15, 1635, and was shipwrecked off Pemaquid, now Bristol, in Maine....John Bailey, with his son, John, a youth of twenty-two, found their way from the inhospitable shore on which they had been cast to Newbury, and joined the little settlement at Parker River. For only two years did he abide here, and then went in 1637 further into the wilderness, taking with him one William Schooler as a helper, and built a log cabin on the further side of the Merrimack near the mouth of the Powow River. The ruins of an old cellar on what is known as Bailey's Hill can still be discerned....On June 6, 1637, he and William Schooler were arrested for murder and tried at a Court held at Ipswich. At the trial it was demonstrated that John Bailey had naught whatever to do with the murder, and he was discharged....In 1639 John Bailey, was again in trouble. He was brought before the Court and fined five pounds, a very heavy fine, "for buying lands of Indians without leave of court, with condition if he yield up the lands the fine to be remitted."...In 1639 Colchester, afterwards called Salisbury, was settled and John Bailey was one of the proprietors, having lots assigned to him in first division. Probably he and his son resided in what is now the village of Salisbury soon after 1639. He still retained his holdings up the Merrimack where it would appear he had an exclusive right of fishing....About 1650 John Bailey, who was then an old man, went to live with his son John Bailey in Newbury....He died...November 2, 1651.

John Bailey, the second of the name, was born probably at Chippenham about 1613, and came over with his father. In the first allotment of lands in Salisbury hew was granted a homestead. He married Eleanor Emery, a daughter (probably) of John Emery. He was taxed in Salisbury in 1652, 1653, and 1654, and owned land there in 1658. Just when he came over to Newbury side to live is uncertain. He was living there apparently in 1651 when his father died. He settled "on the plain a quarter of a mile from Deer Island." In 1652 he had a dwelling house and twenty acres of lad, which in 1653 he sold to Joanna Huntington. [his sister]. In 1669 he took the oath of allegiance, and again in 1678. He was elected Constable several times, and was a Selectman in 1673 and possibly during other years. He died in March, 1691, and his widow Eleanor died in 1700.

(See: http://the-red-thread.net/genealogy/descendants-of-John-Bailey-1590.html)

Ancestral Chain: 12 great grandfather John BAILEY Immigrant b.1585 / 11 great grandfather John II BAILEY Immigrant b.1613 / Joseph BAILEY b.1648 / Lydia BAILEY b.1695 / John JEFFORDS b.1724 / John JEFFORDS b.1746 / Lucretia JEFFORDS b.1766 / Amariah RAWSON b.1787 / Adaline RAWSON b.1811 / Mary DUNN b.1833 / Harriett Camilla ENSIGN b.1859 / George Ensign SMITH b.1898 / Camilla SMITH-14 b.1926 / Lark / JR

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Macy-Colby House

Anthony COLBY:

Anthony COLBY (September 1605 - 11 February 1661) was the son of Thomas and Anne Jackson Colby, born in Horbling, Lincolnshire, England. He came with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630. He married Susannah, Widow Waterman, probably in Boston in 1632. They had eight children. He was a planter. His first home was in the disputed territory between Cambridge and Watertown which was given to Cambridge in 1632, and was on the road to Mount Auburn close by the river. Anthony built a second house near the Washington Elm and a third one near the Fresh Pond. He was admitted freeman in Cambridge in 1634. Three years later, he appeared in Ipswich, and three years after that in Salisbury. He was among the first settlers of the latter town. He built in what is now Amesbury, Jarrett Haddon bought the lot adjoining and came with his family. On this land Anthony and Susannah settled to make a permanent home. He received additional lots of land from the divisions in 1643, 1654, and 1658. In 1640, he was appointed an appraiser for the government and in 1651 was elected a selectman. He purchased the house and land west of the Ferry Road from Thomas Macy in 1654. At the time of the sale, Macy had need of funds to flee to Nantucket to escape the penalty of sheltering two Quakers during a thunderstorm.

Susannah (possibly 1616 - 8 July 1689) was three times a widow. She lived in the Macy-Colby house until her death....She had to defend her homestead against the claim of Thomas Macy from whom it had been purchased; but later he denied the sale and tried to expel the widow by legal process. He was unsuccessful.

Ancestral Chain 1: 10th great grandfather Anthony COLBY Immigrant b.1605 / Mary COLBY b.1647 / Phillip SARGENT Sr. b.1672 / Philip SARGENT Jr. b.1703 / Martha SARGENT b.1725 / Moses QUIMBY b.1755 / Betsey QUIMBY b.1795 / Almeda Sophia ROUNDY b.1829 / Charles PARKER b.1853 / Laura Elizabeth PARKER b.1889 / Kirt DeMar WOOD b.1923 / Lark / TR.

Ancestral Chain 2: 10th great grandfather Anthony COLBY Immigrant b.1605 / Isaac COLBY b.1640 / Dorothy COLBY b.1677 / Martha HADLEY b.1704 / Martha SARGENT b.1725 / Moses QUIMBY b.1755 / Betsey QUIMBY b.1795 / Almeda Sophia ROUNDY b.1829 / Charles PARKER b.1853 / Laura Elizabeth PARKER b.1889 / Kirt DeMar WOOD b.1923 / Lark / TR

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William SARGENT:

Born: 1598 Bath, somerset, England.

Origin: Unknown.
Migration: 1632.
First Residence: Ipswich.
Removes: Newbury, Hampton, Salisbury, Amesbury.

He with twelve other men, and his daughters Lydia, Sarah, and Mary, commenced the settlement of Ipswich, Massachusetts. He soon after went to Newbury, Massachusetts and with others commenced a settlement there. About 1738, he with others commenced a settlement at Hampton, New Hampshire. About 1740, he removed to Salisbury, New Hampshire and was one of eighteen original proprietors, who settled in New Salisbury, now Amesbury, Massachusetts.

Occupation: Seaman / mariner.
Church Membership: Admission to a Massachusetts Bay church prior to 22 May 1639 implied by freemanship.
Freeman: 22 May 1639 (as "Mr. Willi[am] Sergent") [ MBCR 1:375].
Education: Signed his name to his will and to deeds.

Offices: Essex grand jury, 13 April 1652 [ EQC 1:251]. Petit jury, 8 April
1662, 24 June 1662, 13 April 1669, 12 April 1670 [ EQC 1:377, 385, 4:128,
235]. [Some of this service may belong to William Sargent of Gloucester.]
Sworn clerk of the train band of Salisbury on 8 April 1651 [ EQC 1:223].

Married: 1) m. 1633 Amesbury, Essex, MA - Elizabeth PERKINS she and her parents John PERKINS and Judith GATER emigrated on the Lyon with Roger Williams in 1631. [Elizabeth's sister Mary (Perkins) Bradbury was convicted of witchcraft in Salem, MA in 1692, but was eventually freed.]
2) m. Joanna PINDER 18 September 1670 Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts, daughter of Henry and Mary PINDER. Joanna was the widow of Valentine ROWELL she later married Richard CURRIER.

COMMENTS: William "Sargeant" sued Mr. William Hook of Salisbury for 56s. in corn 26 December 1643 [ EQC 1:55]. He acknowledged judgment in favor of Mr. Jonathan Wade 26 September 1648 [ EQC 1:147]. Michael Spencer sued him for detaining corn and other goods 2 January 1650 [ EQC 1:205]. Hard words were exchanged between the Sargents and their near neighbors, the Martins. Either William Sr. or Jr. was sued for slander by George Martin, who claimed Sargent had called his wife a witch 13 April 1669 [ EQC 4:129]. Martin sued Thomas Sargent for saying that his son George Martin was a bastard and that Richard Martin was Goodwife Martin's imp [ EQC 4:129]. In 1672 William Sargent and Joanna his wife sued Christopher Osgood for debt due part of the estate of Joanna's late husband, Valentine Rowell [ EQC 5:20].

Died: March 1675 Salem, Essex, Massachusetts.
Buried: The Corner Cemetery Amsbury, MA.

Ancestral Chain: 10th great grandfather William SARGENT Immigant b.1598 / William SARGENT Rev. b.1645 / Phillip SARGENT Sr.-5248 b.1672 / Philip SARGENT Jr.-5242 b.1703 / Martha SARGENT b.1725 / Moses QUIMBY b.1755 / Betsey QUIMBY b.1795 / Almeda Sophia ROUNDY b.1829 / Charles PARKER b.1853 / Laura Elizabeth PARKER b.1889 / Kirt DeMar WOOD b.1923 / Lark / TR

John BAILEY and the 1635 Hurricane

Clues found to area's most devastating hurricane

Staff and wire reports Daily News of Newburyport

NEWBURYPORT - The winds whipped up to 130 mph, snapping pine trees like toothpicks and blowing houses into oblivion. A surge of water, 21 feet high at its crest, shipwrecked an Amesbury man and his family on the rocky coast of Maine.

The merciless storm, pounding the coast for hours with torrential sheets of rain, was like nothing ever seen before.

This was New England in August 1635, battered by what was later dubbed "The Great Colonial Hurricane" - the first major storm suffered by the first North American settlers, just 14 years after the initial Thanksgiving celebration in Plymouth Colony.

Even today, its frightening characteristics are drawing the attention of hurricane experts. After exhaustive research, they believe the storm of 371 years ago holds some insight - and warning - for the area.

At the time, the only English settlement in Greater Newburyport was a small village at Newbury's lower green, and it was only two months old. A decaying cellar hole stood in what is now downtown Newburyport's waterfront, the remains of a trading or fishing post built by Walter "Great Watt" Bagnall, who had been killed by Indians four years earlier.

Amesbury was still unsettled by the English, but the storm would play a major role in the fate of its first settlers and one of Greater Newburyport's founding families, the Baileys.

John Winthrop, head of the Massachusetts Bay colony, recalled in his Aug. 16, 1635, entry that the winds were kicking up a full week before the hurricane.

Once it did arrive, the hurricane "blew with such violence, with abundance of rain, that it blew down many hundreds of trees, overthrew some houses, and drove the ships from their anchors," Winthrop wrote. He detailed the deaths of eight American Indians sucked under the rising water while "flying from their wigwams."
Once the weather cleared and the sun rose again, the few thousand residents of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies were left to rebuild and recover from a hurricane as powerful as 1938's killer Long Island Express. The 20th century hurricane killed 700 people, including 600 in New England, and left 63,000 homeless.

"The settlers easily could have packed up and gone home," said Nicholas K. Coch, a professor of geology at Queens College and one of the nation's foremost hurricane experts. "It was an extraordinary event, a major hurricane, and nearly knocked out British culture in America."

Coch has used information that he collected from detailed colonial journals to reconstruct the great hurricane. The 371-year-old data was brought to Brian Jarvinen at the National Hurricane Center, where it was interpreted using the SLOSH (Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes) computer model.

The result: The hurricane likely tracked farther west than was long thought, passing over uninhabited easternmost Long Island before moving north into New England. Once clear of the colonies, it veered off into the Atlantic.

Coch said the pioneers from across the Atlantic likely endured a Category 3 hurricane, moving faster than 30 mph, with maximum winds of 130 mph and a very high storm surge - 21 feet at Buzzards Bay and 14 feet at Providence. Reports at the time said 17 American Indians were drowned, while others scaled trees to find refuge.

The storm was moving about three times as fast as the typical southern hurricane, and arrived in full bluster. Although it struck nearly four centuries ago, very specific details about the first recorded hurricane in North America were provided by the local leaders' writings.

"The documentation was better than any hurricane until the mid-1800s," Coch said. "That's a story in itself."

As the hurricane approached, John Bailey was heading to America with his son, John, and perhaps his daughter, Johanna, on board the ship Angel Gabriel. When the storm struck, the ship was anchored in Pemaquid, Maine, where it was utterly destroyed. Bailey and other passengers - among them the Blaisdells, one of Salisbury's founding families - lost almost everything. Bailey and his children moved from place to place for two years, before finally settling down in what is now Amesbury. They built their house where the Powow River drains into the Merrimack River, in the vicinity of the intersection of Merrimac and Main streets. Bailey had planned to establish a home before sending for his wife [Eleanor KNIGHT] to come over, but she was so traumatized by his account of the hurricane that she refused to come. He would never see her again, despite the fact that Town Meeting voters ordered him in 1650 to force her to join him in America.

So brutal was the storm that 50 years later, Increase Mather wrote simply, "I have not heard of any storm more dismal than the great hurricane which was in August 1635." His father, the Rev. Richard Mather, was aboard one of the ships nearly sunk at sea by the ferocious weather - but he survived, along with about 100 other passengers.

Coch said the most interesting news about the hurricane is that storms can often follow the same track. And just a minuscule shift of a storm's movement in the area of North Carolina - "a fraction of a degree" - could send a hurricane up through Providence and right into Boston, the professor said.

"We could have a catastrophic situation with national repercussions," Coch said. "If the track of a future moves 25 miles to the west of the 'Colonial Hurricane,' the dangerous right side could pass right over Boston and Providence. That's why we study old hurricanes in the Northeast."

Anthony Colby is your 10th great grandfather - twice

New England Colby Family Founder

Anthony Colby, was the founder of the Colby family in New England. He was born about 1605 at Horbling, Lincolnshire, England. Horbling is next to Semperingham where his Colby ancestors had lived for several generations. He was apparently named for his uncle Anthony Jackson. [Anthony Colby is listed as a founder of both Salisbury and Amesbury Massachusetts.] Anthony Colby died Feb. 11, 1660, aged about 54 years.

Four of our grandfathers listed as founders of Amesbury, MA. Anthony Colby, John Bailey, George Martin, William Sargent

Anthony came to America in the Spring of 1630 on the ship "Arbella" with the "Winthrop Fleet". His first home was in the disputed territory between Cambridge and Watertown which was given to Cambridge in 1632, and was on the road to Mount Auburn close by the river. His close friend was Jarred Haddon. Anthony's wife might have been Jarred's sister. In 1633, on the second Sabbath that Rev. John Cotton preached, he baptized his own son Seaborn Cotton and John Colby, son of Anthony. Anthony built a second house near the Washington Elm and a third one near the Fresh Pond. He was admitted freeman in Cambridge in 1634. Three years later, he appeared in Ipswich, and three years after that in Salisbury. He was among the first settlers of the latter town. Together, the men (Jarred Haddon) joined the church in Charlestown and took the freeman's oath in Cambridge on 14 May 1634. Together lay their houselots at East Salisbury and when Jarred sold his homestead in 1644 and built in what is now Amesbury, Anthony bought the lot adjoining and came with his family. On this land he at last settled down to make a permanent home. He received additional lots of land from the divisions in 1643, 1654, and 1658. In 1640, he was appointed an appraiser for the government and in 1651 was elected a selectman. Anthony Colby seems to have been always at odds with the leaders in town affairs and was often in controversy , legal or personal, with the authorities. Once he was fined for making a speech in town meeting on the ground that he had created a disturbance. He worked incessantly to have the new settlement at Amesbury set off from Salisbury as a town. The fight was carried on after his death by his sons, and the separation was finally accomplished in 1666. He was an industrious man, and in spite of moving every few years and in spite of many children, he became one of the largest property holders in Amesbury. His lots included: Back River, Fox Island, Lion's Mouth, Great Swamp, Hampton, River, Whiskers Hill, and lots from the third and fourth divisions. His inventory set a value of 359 pounds sterling upon his property. The house that he bought from Thomas Macy is still standing and can be seen today. Colbys have been living in the house (no electricity, water, or heat other than the fireplaces) until recently. The old house was on the southwest side of Main St. which leads from Amesbury Center to the Merrimac and was the seventh from Bartlett's Corner. Thomas Macy was a friendly man. A family of Quakers was passing his home in a big rain storm. They asked if they could shelter in his shed until the rain had passed. He said that they could not shelter in his shed, but should come in by the fire. Harboring Quakers was against the law. He got caught. Anthony was his friend and bought the house from him and gave him enough to go to Nantucket to become the founding father of the Macy's stores. Whittier's poem "The Exiles" is based on this story. Bartlett's Corner is the location of the well described in Whittier's poem, "The Captain's Well". The well was dug by a grandson of Anthony's daughter Mary. Colby's have been living in and around Amesbury ever since. Amesbury is a very pretty, quiet, little town with some interesting features.

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Macy - Colby house

— The antiquated brown saltbox on Main Street, Amsebury, MA —

The Macy-Colby House, dating back to 1652, has been named to the National Register of Historic Places. The list captures the most historic and significant places in the United States and preserves them from future development.

one of the fireplaces

According to the little plaque inside (and another attached to the bottom) the cradle was given to the Colbys by their good friend, Susannah North Martin [another one of my grandparents], the famous witch of Salem.

From Wikipedia The Macy-Colby House is an historically significant Eighteenth Century saltbox, located in Amesbury, Massachusetts. The house, at 257 Main Street, was first built in 1654 by Thomas Macy, a merchant who served as Åmesbury's first Town Clerk. A few years later, Macy was forced to leave town, after he allowed a group of Quakers to take shelter in his home for a few hours, during a thunderstorm. ("Harboring Quakers" was considered a criminal offense.) The house was acquired by prominent Amesbury citizen Anthony Colby. Around 1712, the original house built by Macy was torn down. By 1745 the saltbox style house that exists today was completed by Obadiah Colby. The house remained in the Colby family for nine generations, and was used as a private residence by Colby's descendants until 1958, after which time it was acquired by the Daughters of the Revolution, until 2000. The Friends of the Macy-Colby House have maintained the house (now a museum) ever since.

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Ancestory Chain: My children's 7th Great Grandparents were 2nd Cousins. They were Philip Sargent and his wife Martha Hadley who were both the Great Grand children of Anthony Colby. Anthony Colby and Susanna / their daughter Mary Colby / Pillip Sargent / Philip Sargent / his daughter - Martha Sargent / Moses Quimby / Betsey Quimby / Almeda Sophia Roundy / Charles Parker / Larua Elizabeth Parker / Kirt DeMar Wood/ Lark / TR. Anthony Colby and Susanna / their son Isaac Colby / Dorothy Colby / Martha Hadley / her daughter - Martha Sargent / Moses Quimby / Betsey Quimby / Almeda Sophia Roundy / Charles Parker / Larua Elizabeth Parker / Kirt DeMar Wood/ Lark / TR The Colby family tree includes the following notable people: Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie) Joseph Smith, Jr. (Founder of the Mormon Church) Chester A. Arthur (21st President of the United States) William Egan Colby (CIA) Anthony Colby (Governor of New Hampshire) Gardner Colby (Colby College & President-Wisconsin Central RR) Carlos W. Colby (Congressional Medal of Honor - Vicksburg, 1863) Rear Admiral Harrison Gray Otis Colby (Commander-North Atlantic Fleet) Bainbridge Colby (U. S. Secretary of State, 1920-21) Stoddard B. Colby (Register of the U.S. Treasury) Richard Bruce Cheney (Vice President of the United States, 2001-) Notable people whose descendants married into the Colby family: Susanna North Martin (Salem Witch Trials) Mary Perkins Bradbury (Salem Witch Trials) Hannah Emerson Dustin (Indian Captive) Myles Standish (Mayflower Passenger) http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~colby/colbyfam/

Early America - Susannah NORTH MARTIN

10th great-grandmother
Richard NORTH and Joan BARTRAM / Susannah NORTH-b.1621-d.1662 and George MARTIN / Jane MARTIN- b.1656 / Samuel HADLEY-b.1677 / Martha HADLEY-b.1704 / Martha SARGENT-b.1725 / Moses QUIMBY-b.1755 / Betsey QUIMBY-b.1795 /Almeda Sophia ROUNDY-b.1829 / Charles PARKER-b.1853 / Laura Elizabeth PARKER-b.1889 / Kirt DeMar WOOD-b.1923 / Lark / TR

Memorial Stone, Salem, MA

Susannah NORTH MARTIN

When Susannah Martin stood accused of "Sundry acts of Witchcraft" during the Salem witch trials of 1692, she defiantly laughed at her accusers, one of whom fell into a fit during the trial. "Well I may (laugh) at such folly," Martin told her inquisitors, according to court records. "I have no hand in witchcraft." Ten days later, July 19, 1692 Martin was hanged on Gallows Hill, Salem, Massachusetts a victim of the Salem witch trials.

Susannah MARTIN reading Bible

Susannah Martin born in (Ramsey H. England.) She was baptized in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England on September 30, 1621. Susannah was the fourth daughter, and youngest child, of Richard North and Joan (Bartram) North. Her mother died when she was a child. Her father took another wife and moved to America. Her stepmother was named Ursula. Her family first moved to Salisbury, Massachusetts around 1639. On August 11, 1646 at Salisbury, Susannah married the widower George Martin a blacksmith by profession with whom she had eight children, including daughter Jane, the great-great-great-great grandmother of Chester A. Arthur. Susannah and George Martin lived in Amesbury, Massachusetts. (see: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Susannah (North) Martin's Cradle & Spinning Wheel on display at the Macy/Colby House, Amesbury, MA

During Susannah’s lifetime she was accused of being a witch on several different occasions. She was arrest in 1661, however the magistrates did not pursue the charge in court. Then in 1669. Again she was let go because the evidence was not substantial. When the Salem, Mass hysteria broke out in 1692, it was inevitable that she was again accused. By this time her neighbors were estranged because she had such a strong disposition.

In 1669 Susanna was required to post 100 pounds bond to appear in court on a charge of witchcraft, a capital offense. At the same time George Martin sued William Sargent, Jr. for slander for saying that "...said Martyn's wife had a child at Capt. Wiggins and was wringing its neck in Capt. Wiggins' stable, when a man entered, and she took him by the collar and told him she would be the death of him if he told"; he sued William Sargent "...for saying his wife was a witch and he would call her a witch." George also sued Thomas Sargent "...for saying that his son George Marttin was a bastard and that Richard Marttin was Goodwife Marttin's imp," (a witch's familiar.)

Charges were dropped against Thomas Sargent, William Sargent, Jr.. was found guilty of accusing Susanna of " fornication and infanticide" and George was awarded (in what appears to be a public insult) the amount of "a white wampam peague (colonial currency) or the eighth part of a penny damage" by the magistrates. William Sargent (Sr?) was acquitted of witchcraft slander, although, "the Court did not agree." The records of Susanna's first trial for witchcraft have not survived, but as she was around for another 23 years, we might assume that she was acquitted. (Susannah North Martin text complied by Bonnie Johnson - http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/sm.html))

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. October 1674 the court sided against Susannah and George, though Susannah was able to bring five further appeals, each being decided against her. (see: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Descriptions of Susanna say that she was short, slightly plump, active, and "of remarkable personal neatness." She was also said to be very outspoken, contemptuous of authority, and defiant in the face of slander which had followed her for years.

The Rev. Cotton Mather said about Susanna, "This woman was one of the most impudent, scurrilous, wicked creatures of this world; and she did now throughout her whole trial discover herself to be such a one. Yet when she was asked what she had to say for herself, her chief plea was that she had led a most virtuous and holy life." Mr. Merrill, in his History of Amesbury described Susanna differently---------- "The idea of snatching this hardworking, honest woman from her home to be tried for her life by those who never knew her , and witnesses who were prejudiced against her....is almost too much for belief. ...Allowed no counsel, she was her own lawyer, and her answers are remarkable for independence and clearness. She showed herself to be a woman of more than ordinary talent and resolution." (Susannah North Martin text complied by Bonnie Johnson - http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/sm.html)

George died in 1686, leaving Susannah an impoverished widow by the time of the second accusation of witchcraft in 1692. Inhabitants of nearby Salem Village, Massachusetts had named Susannah a witch and stated she had attempted to recruit them into witchcraft. On April 30, 1692 a warrant was issued for Susannah's arrest on a charge of witchcraft. When she saw Orlando Bagley approaching on the morning of May 2 little did she dream of his errand. He was a personal friend of long standing. She was arrested and taken to Ingersills Tavern in Salem Village for examination.

THE ARREST WARRANT

To the Marshall of the County of Essex of his Lawful Deputies or to the Constable of Amesbury: You are in their Majests names hereby required forthwith or as soon as may be to apprehend and bring (before us) Susanna Mertin of Amsbury in ye county of Essex Widdow at ye house of Lt. Nathaniel Ingersalls in Salem village in order to her examination Relating to high suspicion of sundry acts of Witchcraft donne or committed by her upon ye Bodys of Mary Walcot, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam and Mercy Lewis of Salem village or farmes whereby great hurt and damage hath beene donne to ye bodys of said persons according to complt of Capt. Jonathan walcot & Serg Thomas putnam in behalf of their Majests this day exhibited before us for themselves and also for several of their neighbors and here you are not to fail at your peril.

Dated Salem Aprill 30th 1692. John Hathorn Jonathan Corwin Assistants

Susannah was tried for these charges June 26, 1692 her trial began. Susanna pleaded not guilty, but in the end she was found guilty and condemned to death. During the trial process she proved by all accounts to be pious and quoted the Bible freely, something a witch was said incapable of. Cotton Mather countered Susannah's defence by stating in effect that the Devil's servants were capable of putting on a show of perfect innocence and Godliness. (see: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

During her preliminary examination, she vigorously answered the charges against her. When the "afflicted girls" began having fits, she laughed out loud. When the magistrates asked why she laughed, she responded, "Well I may at such folly." She refused to express any thoughts on what may have ailed the girls but bluntly stated that she didn't think they were bewitched. She later stated in her testimony that she did not think the afflicted were bewitched, and stated “If they be dealing in black arts, ye know as well as I.” Her further testimony show that she realized the seriousness of her situation and she adamantly maintained her innocence.

"The mental anguish and suffering of the two and a half months while she lay in Salem jail...is beyond our power of description." Susannah Martin underwent the indignity of a physical examination on June 2 1692. These examinations were intended to discover whether the accused had any physical abnormalities, especially anything that could be used to suckle a familiar or even the devil himself. Susannah was examined twice during the same day; at neither examination was any abnormality discovered, but at the first her breasts appeared to be full and at the second slack. Doubtless the magistrates found this apparent indication that she had actually suckled even more satisfactory than an abnormal "witch's teat." (Susannah North Martin text complied by Bonnie Johnson - http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/sm.html)

Many of her neighbors came to court to testify to her bewitching arts. Among them were James Allen of Salisbury. He stated that he refused to help Susannah cart wooden staves because his oxen were too tired. She angrily shouted “It has been as good if you had for your oxen should never do you much more service.” James Allen then on his way home had to unyoke one of his oxen because the animal was so exhausted. The following day he drove the oxen to Salisbury Beach so they could rest. When he returned two days later, his oxen had disappeared; later finding out that they had drowned.

Multiple neighbors came to court and testified against Susannah. All the while Susannah stuck to her faith. Knowing that if she admitted she was a witch, she would save her life. At the trials end, Susannah Martin, at the age of 71, was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged on July 19, 1692

Death warrant of Susannah Martin, Sarah Good, Rebecka Nurse, Elizabeth Howe and Sarah Wild

On Tuesday, July 19, 1692 Susannah Martin, Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Wilde, and Elizabeth Howe were taken from their cells, put into a cart and driven up the rocky road to Gallows Hill. While Rebecca Nurse prayed, Rev. Nicholas Noyes exhorted Sarah Good to confess saying, "You are a witch, and you know you are a witch." She replied, calling him a liar and saying that she was no more a witch than he was a wizard and...if you take away my life, God will give you blood to drink." Tradition says that Rev. Noyes died of an internal hemorrhage, bleeding profusely from the mouth. (Susannah North Martin, text complied by Bonnie Johnson - http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/sm.html)

"The bodies...were thrust into a shallow grave in a crevice of felsite." There is historical evidence that the body of at least one of these women, Rebecca Nurse, was secretly removed and given Christian burial; "this was the hour and the power of darkness when a son could not say where he had buried his mother."

In 1711, the General Court granted compensation to many of the victims or their heirs, but Susanna's children made no application to the authorities and they received nothing. Susanna was not among those whose attainder was lifted. (Susannah North Martin text complied by Bonnie Johnson - http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/sm.html))

During the entire witchcraft hysteria in Salem, 400 plus people went through the horror of being accused of witchcraft. Only 19 were hanged and one man pressed to death. On May 1693, all the people accused of witchcraft that were still jailed were released after jail and court costs were paid. This finally put an end to the hysteria of 1692.

The Witch's Daughter
about Martin.

Let Goody Martin rest in peace, I never knew her harm a fly,
And witch or not - God knows - not I?
I know who swore her life away;
And as God lives, I'd not condemn
An Indian dog on word of them.
John Greenleaf Whittier 19th Century, poet

Pardon
Boston, Massachusetts, On October 31, 2001, acting governor of Massachusetts, Jane Swift, signed a law that formally pardoned Susannah Martin, Bridget Bishop, Alice Parker, Margaret Scott, and Wilmot Redd.

(see: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and Susannah North Martin text complied by Bonnie Johnson - http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/sm.html, also http://www.salemwitchchild.net/SMArticle.htm

Notes of Interest:
William Sargent Jr. Susannah’s accuser is one of our 9th great-grandfathers.
Rebecca Nurse is a grandmother to my daughter’s husband.
Ann Putnam one of the young girl accusers is our 2nd cousins 11 times removed.

Marker Stone located at the site of Susannah Martin's House in Amesbury, Massachusetts.
Marker located at the end of Martin Street, which intersects with Route 110 at the Red Pepper Restaurant about one-half mile west of the intersection of Routes 110 and 150, Amesbury, Massachusetts.

See and read documents at: http://famhist2.blogspot.com/2009/03/murder-in-salem.html