GEORGE JACOBS AND THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT HYSTERIA

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THE GEORGE JACOBS STORY

George Jacobs

• The exact date that George Jacobs came to Massachusetts is unknown but in 1692 he was living in Salem village, now called Danvers Mass, with his wife Mary.
• Mary and George had George Jr., Ann and perhaps other children.
• George Jr. married Rebecca (Andrew) Frost and was also living in Salem village in 1692. George Jr. and Rebecca had George III, Margaret, John, Jonathan, and Mary.
• George Sr. attended church in Salem irregularly and was apparently a man of few words, when he spoke, he was direct and some said he had a "salty tongue". These characteristics did not make George popular with many inhabitants of Salem village.

The Witchcraft Hysteria

• The puritans of New England had many fears. Some justified and others unjustified.
• The Indian wars had died down a bit but during the King Phillips war there were many settlers who lived in the outskirts of the more heavily populated areas who were killed. In 1690, there was still a strong fear of Indian attacks. These fears were justified.
• Puritan ministers routinely attributed unexplainable events such as draught, foul weather, and illness as the work of the Devil. The Devil was a part of the lives of the Puritans. They had a very real fear of the Devil in their everyday life. These fears were exaggerated and unjustified.
• The witchcraft hysteria began in the home of the Reverend Samuel Parris. The result was that Tituba, a black servant of the Rev Parris, was accused of witchcraft. Apparently Tituba had been telling stories about magic to Betty Parris, the Reverend's nine year old daughter, and her cousin Abigail Williams.
• Tituba was tried for witchcraft and her witchcraft trial led to the accusations of others as being witches. Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne were likewise accused.
• Betty Parris, Abigail Williams and several other young girls were drawn into the events. The "afflicted girls" would have "seizures" and accuse others of witchcraft during the seizures. The whole process began to rapidly grow and involve many people: judges, more afflicted children, and more accused.
• Anyone accused of witchcraft was put in chains until their trial, sometimes for months. The town seized their property. Family members including children, were left to fend for themselves. When the trial began, if the accused were unable to offer plausible explanations, including being led to the Devil by another, they were hanged. The "afflicted children" were present at the trials and played an important part in the trial. They usually had seizures, which helped condemn the accused.

George Jacobs Trial

Painting "Trail of George Jacobs of Salem for Witchcraft", TH Matteson, 1885; Courtesy, Library of Congress

• One of the "afflicted children" was Sarah Churchill, a servant of George Jacobs. She had heard George refer to the afflicted girls as "witch bitches".
• George was brought to trial after being in chains for several weeks. When accused of being a wizard (male witch) by the magistrates, he stated "You tax me for a wizard; you may as well tax me for a buzzard".
• George was indeed "salty tongued".
• During the trial, the magistrates brought up George’s perceived lack of participation in regular evening prayer. They then requested that George, who could not read or write, recite the Lord’s prayer. George stumbled over the words and to the magistrates this was damming evidence that George was possessed by the Devil.
• When accused, George replied to the magistrates: "Well burn me or hang me. I’ll stand in the truth of Christ".
• George Jr. and his wife Rebecca were also accused. They however, escaped to what is now Wells, Maine. They are the progenitors of the Jacobs family of southern Maine. George Sr's granddaughter, Margaret Jacobs, was not so lucky. She was jailed and tricked into accusing George Sr. Her later withdrawal of her confession was not allowed and George Sr. was hanged on August 19, 1692 on Gallows Hill along with: Reverend George Burroughs, John Proctor, Martha Carrier, and John Willard.
• In September 22, 1692 there were 8 more hangings. In all, there were 19 hanged for witchcraft in Salem. However, those who failed to admit guilt or accuse another in leading them to the Devil such as George Jacobs, Giles Cory, and the Rev. George Burroughs had begun to change the thinking of the townspeople and the hangings were ended in Salem.
• In 1711 the town of Salem officially recognized the travesty of the trials and granted monetary reparation to the families of those who had been executed.

If you have 6 or more Jacobs descendants of George and Mary Jacobs of Salem and would like to be included in the list of descendants noted above, send you request to Charlie King.

If you are interested in researching the any of the George Jacobs family lines shown above, you may contact:

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