Proctor Family, Sites of

The Proctor family settled in Ipswich, where John Sr. became a successful farmer, owner of a significant amount of land, and a respected member of the community. The family home was located, for a time, on a large lot on the Ipswich River in the center of Ipswich. Today the area is bordered by the river on the north, Route 133/S. Main Street on the west, Elm Street on the south, and County Street on the east. A map in the Ipswich Museum also marks another Proctor lot on what is today Market Street, where the Ipswich post office now stands. John Proctor Sr. also owned a 100-acre property in eastern Ipswich, in what became Chebacco Parish in 1679 and is today Essex.

 

For more information about Proctor’s Essex property, please visit: Proctor Family Farm.

 

John Proctor Jr. grew up in Ipswich and married his first wife, Martha (maiden name unknown), in 1652 when he was 20 years old. The couple had four children, the first three of whom died young. Only the fourth, Benjamin, lived to adulthood, but sadly, Martha died giving birth to him in 1659. John remarried in 1662, to Elizabeth Thorndike, daughter of one of Ipswich’s founders. They had seven children, two of whom died young.

 

In 1666, John Proctor Jr. moved his family south to the western side of Salem Town (today, this area is in Peabody, MA), initially leasing fifteen acres of land from Emanuel Downing, and later leasing the adjoining 300-acre Groton Farm. The farm included a house located on the Ipswich Road, a prime location for a tavern. Proctor was granted a license to operate such an establishment in 1668. His efforts as a farmer and a tavern keeper made him a well-to-do man.

 

In 1672, both his second wife Elizabeth and his father, John Sr. died. John Jr. and two of his brothers inherited a third of the Ipswich property worth £1200 each. John Jr. would continue to visit his holdings in Ipswich over the next decades. He married again in 1674, to Elizabeth Bassett. His third wife was 18 years his junior. The couple had five children by 1689, one of whom died young.

 

In 1692, the tragic events of the Salem witch hunt began to unfold. Both John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth were accused, arrested, and jailed. Three of the Proctor children joined them in prison (Benjamin from John’s first marriage and William and Sarah from his third.) Not only was a petition signed to support the Proctors by their Salem neighbors, but a second petition was signed by many Ipswich neighbors who had known John his entire life. It said, “We never had the least knowledge of such a nefarious wickedness … as to what we have ever seen, or heard of them, upon our consciences we judge them innocent of the crime objected.” A footnote in Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt reads, “The two separate petitions show a remarkable range of support for the Proctors, with no retaliation against those who signed. But the support proved futile in regard to the verdicts.” John was hanged on August 19. Elizabeth was convicted but her execution was delayed due to her pregnancy.

 

Benjamin Proctor was released from jail on November 30. It is unclear when William and Sarah Proctor left prison. Indictments against William were brought before the Grand Jury in September and January (he was found innocent on all accounts). Sarah Proctor was never indicted and records of her release from jail do not survive.

 

As for Elizabeth, she gave birth, in jail, in January of 1693. By this time, largely because the newly-formed court no longer accepted spectral evidence. On January 31, 1693, Governor William Phips reprieved all those previously convicted. When Elizabeth was officially released is not clear, but she eventually returned to her family. In 1696, she petitioned the court to clear her name, but it was not until July of 1703 that her legal and civil rights were finally restored to her.

 

To read more about John Proctor in Salem Town, please visit: John Proctor House

 

The Ipswich sites related to the Proctors include the large home lot on the Ipswich River (bounded by the Ipswich River, S. Main Street, Elm Street, and County Street), the first site of the Proctor home. Standing today on the S. Main Street side is the Shoreborne Wilson House at 4 South Main Street, built between 1685 and 1692. The Ipswich Post Office stands today on a site once owned by the Proctors at 27 Market Street.