Salem Witch Trials Papers

Object Type: Folder
In Folder: Court of Oyer and Terminer (Record Group OAT)

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Salem Witch Trials Papers

The Court of Oyer and Terminer was established on 27 May 1692 by Governor William Phips in response to an outbreak of witchcraft accusations in and around the town of Salem. This court, under the leadership of Chief Magistrate William Stoughton, convened on 2 June 1692 and heard cases until 29 October 1692, with jurisdiction ultimately transferred to the Superior Court of Judicature in January 1693. Twenty individuals were executed as a result of the Salem Witch Trials, and five others died in jail. The decisions of this court have been reversed through PL 1711 private act no. 26, St 1957 c 145, St 2001 c 122, and 2021 Bill S.1016. Files are primarily arranged based on previous organization in bound volumes held by the Essex County Superior Court, which were disbound and deposited with the Peabody Essex Museum from 1980-2023. Item level description includes cross-references to these prior arrangements, to capture any changes, as well as to Bernard Rosenthal's "Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt," which describes the files in chronological order.

Record Details

Title: Salem Witch Trials Papers

Description: The Court of Oyer and Terminer was established on 27 May 1692 by Governor William Phips in response to an outbreak of witchcraft accusations in and around the town of Salem. This court, under the leadership of Chief Magistrate William Stoughton, convened on 2 June 1692 and heard cases until 29 October 1692, with jurisdiction ultimately transferred to the Superior Court of Judicature in January 1693. Twenty individuals were executed as a result of the Salem Witch Trials, and five others died in jail. The decisions of this court have been reversed through PL 1711 private act no. 26, St 1957 c 145, St 2001 c 122, and 2021 Bill S.1016. Files are primarily arranged based on previous organization in bound volumes held by the Essex County Superior Court, which were disbound and deposited with the Peabody Essex Museum from 1980-2023. Item level description includes cross-references to these prior arrangements, to capture any changes, as well as to Bernard Rosenthal's "Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt," which describes the files in chronological order.

Digital Origin: Digitized by Peabody Essex Museum.

Date: 1692-1716

Type of Resource: Text

Collection Information: Part of Collection: Record group OAT.NO (Court of Oyer and Terminer)

Language: en

Preferred Citation: Salem Witch Trials Papers. (OAT.NO / Series 003) Massachusetts Archives. Boston, MA. Accessed [insert date accessed in format DD MM YYYY]. [insert URL of resource].

Rights Information

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