The Apology of Ann Putnam, Jr. (1706)

Reprinted in A Delusion of Satan: The Full
Story of the Salem Witch Trials in 1995

Many of the young girls who made accusations in the Salem witch trials apparently moved away from Salem when they became adults. Records do not indicate, however, what happened to Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Hubbard, Susannah Sheldon, or Mary Warren. The most detailed story found by historians is that of Ann Putnam, Jr. (see biography entry), who stayed in Salem Village for the rest of her life. Both of her parents died of an unknown infectious disease within months of one another in 1699, leaving Putnam to raise her nine younger siblings by herself. In 1706, at age twenty-seven, Putnam was admitted to membership in the Salem Village church. During the ceremony...