Our Founding Mothers and Fathers: More Revolutionary War Connections to the Salem Witch Trials

Each year we meet hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals who can trace their family line back to the Salem witch trials. We often tell visitors that the English colonists of 1692 were the founding fathers and mothers of our country. They were themselves descended from the earliest settlers, who were establishing a new country and took the biblical instruction “be fruitful and multiply” to heart. It is fascinating to consider the many connections between the Salem witch trials and the Revolutionary War generation, particularly the one most often referred to as our “Founding Fathers.” Part II of our Rev250 lecture series focuses on four more connections, including witchcraft skeptic Robert Calef, Ipswich court clerk Thomas Wade, condemned witch Mary Bradbury, and accuser Bathsheba Pope.