ANDOVER 1692

What a sad thing it is to see eight firebrands of Hell hanging there.

~ Reverend Nicholas Noyes

Uncle John

Grandpa Joseph Ballard (8GGF) was immigrant William Ballard's (9GGF) oldest son. Uncle John Ballard (8U) was William's youngest son. There were nine years between them. But, starting in 1689, their lives were closely intertwined with the dual ownership of a mill and the witch hysteria to come.

In 1689, Uncle John inherited his father William's homestead in Andover and half ownership of William's grist and fulling mill. When he was only twenty-two, John fought alonside our uncle Samuel Phelps (8U) and our cousin Stephen Greenleaf (2C9X) in the Narraganset Swamp Battle of King Philip's War. Five years after the war ended, John married Rebecca Hooper and together they had seven children.

A few short years after taking half-ownership of the mill, John became constable of Andover. Constables were elected officials in the towns of New England. Among their duties were meting out punishments ordered by the Court, administrating land surveyance, overseeing the safety of the town and, last but not least, delivering and executing warrants. In this particular duty as constable, Uncle John played a sad role in the witch turmoil that was to come.

friends and family accused

As constable of Andover in 1692, John Ballard's first arrest in the witchcraft trials was our uncle Roger Toothaker's sister-in-law Martha Allen Carrier. Uncle John later arrested the four Carrier children, the youngest only eight years old. The rest of the year was equally difficult as John was kept busy rounding up accused witches and, later, witnesses for the many trials.

Below is John Ballard's acknowledgement for bringing in accused witch Mary Bridges:

John's duties as constable weren't his only connection to the turbulence in Andover. While there is no record of the arrest warrant, most probably John carried out that duty when his wife's sister and her husband were arrested and examined for witchcraft on 1 Sep 1692. Samuel and Sarah Hooper Wardwell were suspected because of their interest in fortune-telling which was looked on with disfavor by the Puritans. One of their daughters, also implicated, was arrested a short time later. When first examined, both Samuel and his wife initially vehemently denied the accusations.

By the time the Wardwells were arrested, however, it was clear that denials paved a likely road to the gallows. As most others did, they soon caved. Sarah admitted that she was "Carried upon a pole in Company w'th 3 more (witches)," one of them "Goody Carrier." According to Samuel, his pact with the devil began many years before when "he was in love with a maid...who slighted his love...about a week after that A black man appeared in the day tyme at the same place and called himself prince and lord and told him the said wardwell he must worship and beleeve him..."

The Wardwell's oldest daughter, Mercy, also offered a sad, confused confession:

"She Confesses she hath been in the Snare of the Divel a quartter of a Year...& the occation of her discontent was because that people told her that she should Never hath such a Young Man who Loved her & he finding no Encouragement threatned to drowne himself at w'ch She was much troubled..."

The Wardwell case

Two weeks after his examination, Samuel Wardwell recanted his confession. He told the Court that he had been released from "brain-storming," which referred to the pressure that had been put on him by the examiners. On September 13, "Sam'll Wardwell. owned: to the grand Inquest: that: the above written: Confession: was: taken: from: his mouth and that he had s'd it: but: he s'd he belyed: himselfe:: he also s'd it was alone one: he: knew he should dye for it: whether: he ownd it or no..." In other words, Samuel knew that he would hang for telling the truth but wanted to remain true to himself.

Samuel's recant was added as a codicil to his original examination:

The day after Samuel recanted his confession, his trial began. He was accused of afflicting, among others, our grandmother Elizabeth Phelps Ballard (8GGM) who had died a little over a month before his arrest. Our Grandpa Joseph Ballard (8GGF), however, remained loyal to his brother's in-laws. On September 14th, he testified on behalf of Samuel in the trial stating: "after I meting with said Samuel Wardel prisnor at the bar I told him that I douteed that he was gilty of hurting my wife for I had no sutch thoughts nor had spoken any sutch wordes of him or any other..." It turned out that Joseph's testimony was to no avail.

Four other people testified that day about how Samuel "mayd sport" of and was "much adicted" to fortune telling. In addition, three of of afflicted girls swore that each one "veryly beleevs: s'd Wardwell is a wizzard."

On September 14th, Samuel was indicted for covenanting with the Devil and for afflicting Martha Sprague. There is no record of a verdict by the jury but, only eight days after his trial, Samuel Wardwell was hanged along with seven women. These eight, put to death on September 22, 1692, turned out to be the final victims of the Salem witch hysteria.

According to Sarah Loring Bailey, author of Historical Sketches of Andover, "On the gallows, he (Samuel Wardwell) protested his innocence. While he spoke, the wind blew a puff of smoke from the executioner's pipe into his face. The accusers exclaimed: 'The devil doth hinder his words!'"

Finally, Nicholas Noyes, the reverend officiating at the final execution uttered these words: “What a sad thing it is to see eight firebrands of Hell hanging there.”

Wardwell's family

When the Wardwell's were arrested on the first of September, they left four underage children at home. It wasn't until the 26th of September, four days after Samuel's execution, that the Andover town selectmen finally decided they needed to see the children's needs as Samuel's wife remained in prison. A petition was sent to the Ipswich court for an "order so to dispose of them that their necessityes may be relieved..." Four days later, the children were placed with various families. Uncle John and his wife Rebecca took in their nephew, Samuel Wardwell Jr., 16, who remained with them for a year.

Samuel's wife Sarah and daughter Mercy were tried and subsequently released in January, 1693. Mercy, who had worried that she would "...Never hath such a Young Man who Loved her..." married John Wright five years after her ordeal. They were both still alive in 1702 when "The Petition of severall of the Inhabitans of Andover, Salem Village and Topsfield" was presented to the General Court to have the previous convictions for witchcraft removed. The Genreal Court awarded Sarah 36 pounds 10 shillings 6 pence for her suffering "due to the imagined crime of witchcraft."

a sad ending for Uncle John

As relative calm once again prevailed in Andover, John Ballard and his family lived quietly, though war still plagued the colonies. Then, twenty-two years after the witch furor, a flu epidemic swept through Massachusetts. The first to succumb in Uncle John's family was his daughter Sarah (1C9X) who died on 27 Nov 1715 at age 19. Most probably sick as well, John wrote his will two days later on November 30th. The very next day his wife Rebecca was taken and his daughter Ruth (1C9X), 21, the day after her mother. But the flu wasn't done with the Ballards. On December 9th, Elizabeth Ballard (1C9X), 16, died of her ailment. Uncle John lasted until the 18th of December when he died at age sixty-two.

The four children who survived the flu epidemic of 1715 were adults and propably not living in the Ballard household at the time. They were John (1C9X) 33, Rebecca (1C9X), 31, Jonathan (1C9X), 29 and Sherebiah (1C9X), 27.

Cousin Sarah

Our cousin Sarah Phelps (1C9X) belonged to a unique club in Andover. She became one of the "afflicted girls," so called because of their claims that witches were afflicting them by "attacking them and making them ill." These girls made, by far, the most accusations in the Salem Witch Trials.

Cousin Sarah was the grandaughter of our immigrant grandfather Edward Phelps (9GGF). She was also the niece of our Grandma Elizabeth Phelps Ballard (8GGM). By the time Sarah became deeply entrenched in the Andover witch saga, Grandma Elizabeth had already died of her illness which had brought the "afflicted girls" to Andover. Sarah was only ten years old in 1692 and it's entirely possible that the death of her aunt influenced her into believing that she, too, had been afflicted by a witch. However it happened, Sarah soon joined the club of those doling out accusation after accusation.

the confessions

Sarah was definitely aided in her belief that she had been in some way afflicted by the number of confessions pertaining to her that began to pile up. She is first mentioned as afflicted in the examination of Thomas Carrier on August 10, two weeks after Grandma Elizabeth Ballard's death. He "Conffesed that he did the 9'th Instant at night afflict Sarah Phelps & Ann Puttnam by pinching them..."

On the same day, Elizabeth Dane Johnson confessed "that one Dan'll Ems of Boxford was w'th. her one the 8th & 9th Instant at night & he afflicted Sarah Phelps...Sarah Carrier Joined w't[h] her to afflict Sarah phelps also toothakers wife Joynd with her: to afflict s'd phelps...

Note: Elizabeth Dane Johnson was sister-in-law to our Aunt Deliverance Haseltine Dane. In her confession, Elizabeth implicated Uncle Roger Toothaker's wife, Mary in the affliction of Sarah Phelps.

On August 11, Martha Allen Carrier's daughter, eight-year-old Sarah, confessed "her Mother taught her how to afflicte persons by pinching them or Setting on them that She began to afflict Sarah Phelps last Satterdy...that Betty Johnson was w'th her that her Moth'r gave her a Spear last Night & that She pricked Sarah Phelps...w'th it..."

Note: Martha Allen Carrier, the Queen of Hell, was hanged eight days after her daughter's confession.

On September 16, Mary Parker was indicted for afflicting Sarah Phelps. That same day, Joannah Tyler confessed that the devil "brought the trad w'th & she afflicted Sarah Wilson & Sarah Phelps..."

Because there were no less than eight confessions regarding Cousin Sarah, she became what was known as a "reliable" witness.

the accusation

Sarah, herself, actually only accused one person of afflicting her and, in the accusation, she spouted what had become a standard statement made by most of the afflicted girls. The bulk of the accusations were so close, word for word, that it's most likely that the the statements had been written for them. From Sarah's deposition on September 17 v. Abigail Faulkner, Sr.:

"...about the begining of August 1692 I was most greviously afflected and tormented by Abigail Falkner or hir Apperance: but most dreadfull she did torment on the 11 August being the day of hir examination for if she did but loock upon me she would strick me down or almost choake me: also sence the begining of August I have seen Abigaill Falkner or hir appearance most greviously afflet and torment mary walcott Ann putnam and Martha sprague and I veryly beleve in my heart that Abigail Falkner is a wicth and that she has very often affleted me and the afforesaid parsons by acts of wicth craft..."

Abigail Faulkner was convicted and sentenced to hang for "ye felony of witchcraft, comited on ye body of Martha Sprague, also on ye body of Sarah Phelps." Pregnant at the time of her conviction, Martha got a reprieve.

Note: Abigail Faulkner was another sister-in-law of our aunt Deliverance Dane who was also accused of being a witch. Their story in our next post.

the indictments

In the end, only two people were indicted for afflicting Sarah Phelps. The Court declared that Mary Parker and Abigail Faulkner "Mallitiously and felloniously hath used practised & Exercised in upon and against one Sarah Phelps...by which said Wicked Acts the said Sarah Phelps the day & Yeare aforesaid and divers other days and times both before and after was and is Tortured Aflicted Consumed Pined Wasted and Tormented..."

aftermath

The two women indicted for afflicting Cousin Sarah suffered the same fate as most other accused witches. They spent months in jail until January when they were finally set free.

I can find only one marriage for Cousin Sarah. In 1720, when she was the ripe old age of thirty-eight, Sarah Phelps married Samuel Fields in Andover. This was a second marriage for Samuel. There is no record of any children born to the two of them.

Next up: The saga of the Danes, another Andover family caught up in the chaos.