Research source

The older children were scattered he knew not where, while one of them had completed the bitterness of his lot…

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 25
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

The older children were scattered he knew not where, while one of them had completed the bitterness of his lot by becoming a confessor, upon being arrested with her mother as a witch

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

The older children were scattered he knew not where, while one of them had completed the bitterness of his lot by becoming a confessor, upon being arrested with her mother as a witch. This granddaughter, Margaret, overwhelmed with fright and horror, bewildered by the statements of the accusers, and controlled probably by the arguments and arbitrary methods of address employed by her minister, Mr. Noyes--whose peculiar function in those proceedings seems to have been to drive persons accused to make confession--had been betrayed into that position, and became a confessor and accuser of others." (Vol. ii. p. 312.)

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

A modern comparison can identify recurring descriptions and possible explanations, but the account is not treated as independently verified evidence merely because it appeared in print.

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