For this reason he has been identified by several key historians (including Paul Boyer and Stephen Nisenbaum) as a chief agitator and manipulator of the testimonies of both his daughter and his wife, Ann Putnam, Sr. Ann’s father, Thomas Putnam, was one of the primary instigators of complaints against alleged witches in Salem Village. ‘cried out against’ sixty-two people during the course of the trials. “Following the removal of Betty Parris from Salem Village, Ann and Abigail became the most active and aggressive of the so-called afflicted children. Thomas Putnam & the Salem Witch Trials:Īfter the witch trials began, Thomas Putnam and Ann Putnam, Jr, quickly became the main accusers in the trials, according to the book The Salem Witch Trials Guide: During Tituba’s examination, she confessed to being a witch and claimed there were many others like her in Salem, thus sparking a massive manhunt for witches in Salem. The women were arrested the following day and examined before a judge. House of Thomas Putnam & family in Danvers circa 1891 Since the girls were too young to do so themselves, Thomas Putnam and three other men, Edward Putnam, Thomas Preston and Joseph Hutchinson, filed complaints against the women on the girl’s behalf on February 29th.
In January of 1692, Ann Putnam, Jr., and the other “afflicted girls” began displaying strange symptoms: barking like a dog, suffering seizures and complaining of being pinched by invisible spirits.īy the end of February, a local doctor declared them bewitched and the girls named three women responsible for tormenting them: Tituba, Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good. They had 10 children together, including their eldest child, Ann Putnam, Jr, who was born in 1679. In 1678 he married Ann Carr, of Salisbury, who also came from a wealthy family. Putnam was a sergeant in the local militia and had previously fought in King Phillip’s war. Thomas Putnam was born on January 12, 1652, into a wealthy, third-generation Salem family that owned a substantial amount of land in Salem Village and Essex County. Many historians believe the Putnam family used the witchcraft hysteria in Salem as a way to get revenge against their neighboring rivals and enemies. Putnam himself accused and testified against 43 people while his daughter testified against 62 people. Thomas Putnam was the father of afflicted girl Ann Putnam, Jr, and many historians consider him to be a major influence in the Salem Witch Trials.
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