Research source

Arrested for debt in full meeting--the debt being for the funeral expenses of his wife--was absolved from all…

Date of account: Published 1886
Source: The Salem Witchcraft, the Planchette Mystery, and Modern Spiritualism With Dr. Doddridge's Dream
Reference: The Salem Witchcraft, the Planchette Mystery, and Modern Spiritualism With Dr. Doddridge's Dream · selected passage 10
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

arrested for debt in full meeting--the debt being for the funeral expenses of his wife--was absolved from all blame under the cruel neglect he had experienced--and left the Village

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

arrested for debt in full meeting--the debt being for the funeral expenses of his wife--was absolved from all blame under the cruel neglect he had experienced--and left the Village. Before he could hear in his remote home in Maine what was doing at Salem in the first days of the Witch Tragedy, he was summoned to his old neighborhood, was charged with sorcery on the most childish and absurd testimony conceivable, and executed in August, 1692. One of the witnesses--a young girl morbid in body and mind--poured out her remorse to him the day before his death. He, believing her a victim of Satan, forgave her, prayed with her, and died honored and beloved by all who were not under the curse of the bigotry of the time.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This is a historical account assembled under the reporting and publishing conventions of its period. It may preserve testimony, hearsay, retelling and editorial interpretation together.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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