[67] Samuel Sewall, one of the judges in the witchcraft trials, made,
on this occasion, the following entry in his Diary—for the use of which
I am indebted to the courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society:
“Monday, Sept. 19, 1692. About noon, at Salem, Giles Corey was pressed
to death for standing mute; much pains was used with him two days,
one after another, by the court and Capt. Gardner of Nantucket, who
had been his acquaintance; but all in vain. Sept. 20. Now I hear from
Salem, that about eighteen years ago, he was suspected to have stamped
and pressed a man to death; but was cleared. ’Twas not remembered till
Ann Putnam was told of it by said Corey’s specter, the sabbath-day
night before the execution.”
* * * * *
The following touching relation of the sufferings of the Corey family
during the year 1692, is in _Mass. Archives_, vol. cxxxv. fol. 161. For
the purpose of preserving the quaintness of the original document, I
have copied it _verbatim_.
“To the Honrable Commite Apointed by the Generall Court to make
enquire with Respect to the Suferings in The year 1692 &c.
“these are to giue you a Short Acount of our Sorrows and Suferings
which was in the yere 1692. Some time in march our honerd father
and mother Giles Corey & martha his wife ware acused for Suposed
wichcraft and imprisoned and ware Remoued from one prison to another
as from Salem to ipswitch & from ipswitch to boston and from boston
to Salem againe and soe remained in close imprisonment about four
months we ware att the whole Charge of their maintainance which was
very chargable and soe much the more being soe farr adistant from us
as also by Reason of soe many remoues in all which we could doe not
less then Acompanie them which further added both to our trouble and
Charge and although that was very Great in the least of our greavence
or cause of These lines but that which breakes our harts and for which
wee goe mourning still is that our father was put to soe cruell a
death as being prest to death our mother was put to death also though
in another way. And we Cannot Sufficiantly exspress our Griffe for
the loss of our father and mother in such away. Soe we Cannot Compute
our exspences and coast but shall Comite to your wisdome to iudge of
but after our fathers death the Shirfe thretend to size our fathers
estate and for feare tharof we Complied with him and paid him eleauen
pound six shillings in monie by which we have bee[n] greaty damnified
& impouerishd by being exsposed to sell Creaturs and other things for
litle more then half the worth of them to get the monie to pay as
aforesd and to maintain our father & mother in prison but that which
is grieueous to us is that wee are not only impouerished but also
Reproached and soe may bee for all generatians and that wrongfully
tow unless something bee done fore the remoueall thearof all which we
humbly Committe to the honarable Court Praying God to direct to that
which may be axceptable in his Sight and for the good of this land
“September the 13th 1710
“We Cannot Judge our necessary Expense
to be less than Ten pounds
“Wee Subscrib your humbl Searuants in all
Christian obedeance
“JOHN MOULTON who mared Elizabeth Corey
daughtr of the abovesd in the behalf of the
reast of that familie”