WITCHES IN THE FAMILY

You are in theire Majest's names hereby required to apprehend forthwith and bring before us Roger Toothaker of Bilrica who stands Charged with Sundry acts of Witchcraft ~ Warrant for Arrest

the Toothaker family

Uncle Roger Toothaker (8U) was born in England, the son of Roger, Sr. and our grandmother, Margaret Toothaker (9GGM). The small family came to New England in 1635 when Roger was only a year old. They settled in Plymouth. Roger, Sr. died three years after their arrival. That left Margaret free to marry our grandfather Ralph Hill (9GGF, 11GGF), who raised Roger as his own son. The family moved to Billerica. Roger was twenty-nine when his step-father died in 1663, leaving him meadowland acreage in his will. Two years later, Roger married Mary Allen Toothaker, sister of Martha Allen Carrier who would be tried and hanged as a witch in thirty years time.

Note: Ralph Hill is both our 9th and 11th great-grandfather because of a genealogical rarity. Two of his children are our grandparents.

Mary, like her sister Martha, was not meek and retiring as befit a Puritan woman. A few years after their marriage, a friend traveling by their house asked to stay the night and the Toothakers took him in. In the morning, after Roger left the house, the man suggested that he and Mary have a little fun "if she were willing to it." Mary replied "that she would see him hang'd first..." Twelve years later, this very man was tried for adultry and Mary was witness to his character.

Roger and Mary had seven children born over the next twelve years. There might well have been more children but it seems that soon after the birth of their last child, Roger began neglecting his family. Town records show that in 1682 he was brought before the Billerica selectmen: "Roger Toothaker, being sent for and spoken unto concerning many things amiss in his family, he desired they would exercise a little more patience towards him, and he promised amendm't..." No amendment from Roger was was forthcoming. By 1684, he had skipped off to Salem, leaving Mary in Billerica with their seven children, the oldest eighteen, the youngest two.

On 15 Dec 1684, at their wits end, the Billerica selectment sent a letter to Roger in Salem asking him "to come for his wife ye midle of next week, and that they would help away with his family — in case of need and help fit them out." Roger simply ignored the summons because it was left to the town to care for his family. Mary received charitable aid and two of her her children were “bound out," meaning that they went to live with other families as servants for their keep.

Uncle Roger's arrest

Uncle Roger was a known as a physician in Salem, although it's doubtful he was ever trained. He practiced a natural form of medicine which made him more of a “folk-healer.” Certainly that practice was suspect in those "days of wonder." Then, with witch hysteria raging around him in the town where he made his home, Roger made the fatal mistake of telling Thomas Gage that two sick children in Beverly were "under an Evill hand." Probably what sealed his fate, however, was Roger's boast to Gage that he had taught his married daughter, Martha Emerson (1C9X), how to kill a witch.

It's possible that Roger boasted to others as well about his unique powers and the word got out. On May 18, 1692, a "Warrent for the Apprehension of Roger Toothaker" was sent to the contable. He was charged "with Sundry acts of Witchcraft by him Committed or donne on the bodys of Eliz Hubert Ann putnam Mary Walcot &c of Salem Village..." These three "afflicted girls," were evidently more than happy to to point the finger at Dr. Roger. He was summarily sent to Boston, the most forbidding jail in the Colony.

Ten days later, Gage testified that "Toothaker sd that his sd Daughter gott some of the afflicted persons urine & put it into an Earthen pot...& put sd pott to a hott oven...& the next morning sd [witch] was Dead."

it's a family affair

Throughout the entire witch accusation fracas, one thing became very clear. If one of your family members had been accused, you were in danger. This held true for Roger's wife Mary, his daughter Martha Toothaker Emerson and his sister-in-law Martha Carrier. On May 28, only ten days after Roger's arrest, a complaint was filed in the Salem court against all three women "for sundry acts of Witchcraft by them...Committed on the Bodys of Mary Walcot, Abigail Williams Marcy Lewis Ann putnam and Others belonging to Salem Village or farmes Lately, to the hurt and Injury of theire bodys..."

Eleven people were named in the complaint, including Sarah Clarke Davis Rist, who had been married to our grandfather, George Davis (10GGF). Her story will be told in a future post. Most of those accused on May 28 had a warrant issued for their arrest within a week of the complaint. Martha Carrier, later dubbed "the Queen of Hell," was obviously the most dangerous and arrested on the day of the complaint. I can find no warrant for Mary Toothaker but her daughter Martha Emerson wasn't arrested until July 22, almost two months after the complaint was filed. Both Mary and Martha were examined in prison at the end of July, so it's a fair assumtion that they were arrested at the same time.

Roger's death

Mary and Martha were probaly living on pins an needles waiting for the hammer to fall when, on June 16th, they got word that Roger Toothaker had died in the Boston jail that day. How it affected them is anyone's guess since Mary and Roger hadn't lived together for at least eight years.

Roger died before he could go to trial. The very day of his death, a "Warrant of the Coroner of Soffolk County for the Inquest of Roger Toothaker, and Return of the Coroner's Jury" was issued. This meant that the Court wanted Roger's body examined and his death cleared immediately. A cousin of ours, Enoch Greenleaf (2C9x) was one of fifteen men who examined Roger after his death. Here is their finding:

"Wee whose names are underwritten being summoned by vertue of a Warrant from Mr Edward Willis one of their Maj's Coroner of ye County of Suffolk to veiw ye Body of Roger Toothacker who dyed in ye Goal of Boston, in obedyence, to which we have veiwed ye same and obtain'd ye best Information we can from ye persons near and present at his death & doe finde he came to his end by a naturall death as witness our hands this 16 of June 1692."

Even though these men "obtain'd ye best information" in their inquiry, the finding still seems a tad suspicious. Roger was only 58 years old at the time of his death. More to the point, John Proctor's petition (in our last post) to the Magistrates about the conditions of the jail and torture of the prisoners speaks volumes about what might actually have happened to Uncle Roger.

Even after death, Roger's name was bandied about in the ever-increasing confessions that began popping up. From Roger's nephew Richard Carrier's examination on July 22:

"Rich'd S'd that Toothak'r that Dyed in prison was one ( a witch) too, Mary lacey then in a bad fitt afflicted, this Rich'd Could then See Toothak'r Upon her (afficting her)..."

Some months later, Roger's family was charged £1, 8s for his keep while imprisoned.

To confess or not to confess

By the end of July, both Mary and Martha were still languishing in the Salem jail. Martha was the first taken to be examined on July 23. In all, four women and girls had accused Martha of afflicting them. Her examination didn't go well. Martha found that her cousin, Richard Carrier, had already sold her down the river. In his own examination, he maintained that he had seen Martha hurt both Mary Warren and Mary Lacey with witchcraft. Then, when the two girls were brought into Martha's presence, both "fell down when s'd Martha Emorson looked on them..."

But, through the ongoing trials, Martha had learned a thing or two. One woman had already been executed by hanging and five more awaited the same fate in a few short days. The common thread amongt the condemned was that they had all continued to profess their inncence throughout their tribulations. Things appeared to go much easier for those who confessed.

Martha began her examination with denials, saying she had never seen the girls but soon changed her story. In the same examination, she later "owned she had [kept] a womans urin: in a glass..." Martha went on to say that she had not told the truth earlier because her aunt Martha Carrier had "took her by the throat: &...would not lett her Confess."

In the end, however, Martha couldn't bear to let her confession stand. The report on her examination has a codicil saying that "afterward she Denyed all. & s'd: what she had s'd was in hopes to have faour (favor): & now she could not Deny god: that had keept her from that sin: & after s'd through he slay me I will trust in him."

the Toothaker farm

Martha's mother Mary had no such qualms about confessing. In the records for July 30th we find "The Examination and confession of widow Toothaker...after many questiones and nagative answe's returned...she was desired to tell the truth in this matter..." Mary went on the tell the examiners that she was "under great discontentedness & troubled w'h feare about the Indians...& used often to dream of figheting with them..."

King William's War still raged at the time of the witch trials so Martha's fear of an attack on her home was understandable. The Toothaker farm lay in North Billerica, less than five miles from Chelmsford. Far to the northwest of Boston, this area fell in the "danger zone" for possible attack.

Purple = Chelmsford Red = North Billerica Blue = Billerica

Then, according to Henry Hazen, author of History of Billerica: "The Indian assault so long dreaded and guarded against fell at last upon Billerica soon after, and two homes were made desolate. This sad event occurred, 1 August, 1692..." The attack happened only two days after Mary had expressed her fear of the Natives. Two houses were destroyed and six people killed, two mothers and four children. Those houses were less than a mile and a half from the Toothaker farm.

Purple = Chelmsford Red = attack Green = Toothaker farm Blue = Billerica

Mary's confession

It's entirely possible that Mary actually believed that she had sold her soul to the Devil. She told her examiners that "the devil appeared to her in the shape of a Tawny man...And he promised if she would serve him she should be safe from the Indians..." and that "the devil promised her she should not be discovered and if she wer discovered & brought down that she should goe home Innocent & cleare..."

When asked how long she had practiced witchcraft, Mary replied "she could not well tell how long but thinks it is not two year..." She went on to confess "that she went in her spirit to Timothy Swans (1C10X), and did often think of him & her hands would be clinched together...And is afrayd that she...squeezed his throat... And by this & afflicting of other's since she came down she is convinced she is a witch..."

Note: There was good reason for Mary to think about afflicting our cousin Timothy Swan. He had been involved in an alleged rape case involving her daughter's husband's cousin, Elizabeth Emerson. That story will be told in a future post.

In all, Mary was accused of witchraft by four women and her nephew Richard Carrier.

in the Salem jail

Mary and Martha remained in the Salem jail with nothing but time to dwell on their situation. They probably thought of poor Roger, husband and father, who had died in a jail cell much like theirs, possibly tortured to death. Then, adding to their fears, Mary's sister, Martha Allen Carrier, was condemned to death for her crimes on August 5, six days after Mary's confession. Martha was hanged with five other women on August 10.

After two more months of misery for the two women, things took a turn for the better in October. It turned out that the governor of Massachusetts William Phipps and his wife were not against having their fortunes read on occasion. When this led to an accusation of witchcraft lodged against Mrs. Phips, the governor decided it was time to stop the bleeding.

Phipps instituted three major changes in the trial procedings. First the Court of Oyer and Terminer, a special Court specifically designed to speed up the conviction process for witches, was dissolved. Then, on October 8, Phips ordered that spectral evidence, used time and time again to convict accused witches, would no longer be admitted in witchcraft trials. Third, the touch test was also disallowed.

Spectral evidence was testimony that an accused witch's spirit appeard to the witness is a dream or vision. The touch test was when an accused witch was made to touch an "afflicted girl" during one of her fits. If the girl’s convulsions or fits stopped, it was seen as proof that the accused one had placed them under a spell and was therefore deemed guilty.

Finally, on October 29, Phips took a huge step and prohibted any further arrests. He also ordered the release of many accused witches. Sadly, Mary and Martha were not among those released. Their ordeal would last another two months.

indictment and freedom

The changes instituted essentially meant that the danger of a conviction leading to death was over. Mary and Martha could breath a sigh of relief on that count. However, since the wheels of justice grind exceedingly slow, it would be some months before the two women would be set free. The Court still had to go through the charade of trials for those remaining in prison. The General Court created a Superior Court to try the remaining cases.

On January 10, 1693, Cousin Martha was indicted on only one charge, that of afflicting Mary Warren. Her trial that same day came back with a verdict of ignoramus.

Note: A verdict of ignoramus meant in essence: "We do not know of any reason why this person should be indicted on these charges"

Mother Mary Toothaker had to wait three more weeks for her case to be completely settled. On Jan 31st, Mary was indicted again, this time for covenanting. The indictment says in part:

"Mary Tootaker of Billrica...Wickedly felloniously and mallitiously A Covenant with the Devill did make...by which Diabolicall Covenant...the Said Mary Toothaker is become a detestable Witch Against the peace of o'r Sov'r lord & lady."

The next day, February 1st, Mary got her second trial. As with most of these late trials, the jury found her not guilty.

a sad ending

When Mary was taken to the Salem jail, only two of her seven children were under-age, Andrew, 13, and Margaret, 10. Most probably the youngsters stayed with older siblings until their mother was released. In February of 1693, Mary was finally back at the Toothaker farm where she lived quietly for two years with her children.

Then, on August 5, 1695, Mary's worst fears came to fruition and her pact with the Devil could not protect her. According to an account written by Reverend Cotton Mather, "the Indian raiders came upon the townspeople at high noon and in broad daylight." First hit was the home of John Rogers who owned property that butted against the Toothaker Farm. Rogers was shot through the neck with an arrow and two of his children were taken captive.

Below is a sign placed near the site of the attack on John Rogers' home.

Next hit was the home of John Levistone. Levistone's mother-in-law and five children were killed. One of his daughters was taken captive. Then came the home of John Rogers' brother who was killed along with his son.

The last home raided was that of Mary Allen Toothaker. Our poor Mary was killed in the attack and her twelve year old daughter Margaret (1C9X) was captured. Margaret's fate is unknown. She was never heard of again.

We'll keave the final word on unfortunate Mary Allen Toothaker to Henry Allen Hazen, author of History of Billerica:

"If the remembrance and sympathy of later generations could afford any compensation for the sorrows of such a life, we might search far to find a person better entitled to them than Mary Allen Toothaker."