Susannah North Martin, my 9th Great-Grandmother, via Diehl/Bickford/Peasley/Martin branch. Hanged as a witch. According to several accounts, Susannah was a smart but sharp tongued woman, who had more than one conflict with others in her Puritan society. She was accused of witchcraft in 1660, and again in 1669; both times the charges were dropped, in part because her husband George Martin successfully sued for slander. By 1692, however, her husband was dead and the 67-year-old woman lived alone in a house on Martin Street. As the witchcraft hysteria rose, Susannah’s detractors again pressed charges against her and, on 30 April 1692, an arrest warrant was issued. The trial continued through June, during which a steady parade of witnesses testified against her. One witness claimed that Mrs. Martin walked to Newbury on a muddy day in the 1670s but arrived with her dress unsoiled. The court decided she must have flown there. Since she was not allowed legal representation, Susannah gave a spirited self-defense, showing little patience for the children and others who told stories of her “afflicting them.” She was found guilty and sentenced to death on 30 June 1692, and hanged on 19 July with four other women, including Rebecca Towne Nurse.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:25:16 +0000
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