Bridget Bishop First Executed Salem Witch
Edward Bishop Jr. and Wife Named Witches and Jailed 37 Weeks
Oct 19, 2009
Snippets of information about Bridget Bishop have been handed down for more than three centuries. Some are probably false, but many are documented.
Bridget Bishop Accused as a Witch
Bridget Bishop’s trial began June 2, 1692 at Salem, MA. On June 10 numerous area residents turned out to watch Bridget be the first witch hanged in Salem.
Bridget was the sort of person who stuck out like a sore thumb among her Puritan neighbors, with their strict rules of life, pinched morality and plain dress. She had a spicy way about her. Bridget probably liked a good joke, dressed in colorful clothes, was living with her third husband, and had been hauled into court and disciplined for fighting with her husband in public.
Previous Witchcraft Charge Dropped
Bridget had also been accused of witchcraft shortly after her second husband died, but was exonerated. She was a member of good standing in Rev. Hale’s congregation until the day she died. Bridget should not be confused with tavern keeper Sarah Bishop, although Bridget may have turned the house inherited from her second husband into a tavern after she wed Bishop, who was a man of ordinary prosperity.
Bridget’s maiden name was probably Playfer and she was born in England sometime between 1630 and 1640. She wed 1) George Wasselbe, 2) Thomas Oliver and 3) Edward Bishop.
Edward Bishop Jr. and Wife Sarah Charged as Witches
Edward Bishop Sr. and his daughter Hannah testified on behalf of accused witch Rebecca Nurse. Edward Bishop Jr., the son of Edward Sr. and the former Hannah Moore, had married Sarah Wild during the 1670s. Her step-mother, Sarah Wild, and Rebecca Nurse both were hanged as witches July 19, 1692.
Edward Jr. and his wife Sarah were named as witches and hauled off to prison in Boston, where they were jailed for 37 weeks. All of their property was seized. Their son Samuel paid 10 pounds to redeem it and in 1703 the entire family moved to Rehoboth, MA.
Two Bishop Family Lineages
Following are two lines of descent from Edward and Sarah (Wild) Bishop, the first through their son Samuel and the second through their son Edward.
- Samuel Bishop married Mary Jones in 1695
- Edward Bishop married Sarah Herendeen, 1733
- Sarah Bishop married John Phetteplace, 1757
- Thankful Phetteplace married Nathan Handy ca. 1790
- Lucy Handy married Charles Curtis ca. 1820
- Danforth Curtis married Susan Brown, 1860
- Charles Curtis married Edith Brown, 1881
- Florence Curtis married Homer Bentley, 1911
- Florence Bentley married John Diller, 1946
- John Diller married Corinne Hanna, 1973
The above lineage was submitted to Rosemary Bachelor in 1992 by genealogist Corinne Diller, who was then living in Houston, TX
- Edward Bishop married Susanna Putnam by 1691
- Josiah Bishop married Sarah Adams, 1716/17
- Sarah Bishop married Ezekiel Flanders, 1742
- Apphia Flanders married Eliphalet Colby by 1774
- Benjamin Colby married Hannah Rowell, 1804
- Apphia Colby married Palmer Gardner, 1831
- Charles Gardner married Catherine (Murphy) Fletcher
- Addie Gardner married Samuel Neihardt, 1891
- Catherine Neihardt married Arista O’Lensa Puffer, 1919
- Catherine Ruth Puffer married Robertson Clarke, 1955
The above lineage was submitted to Rosemary Bachelor in 1992 by family researcher Ruth Clarke of San Diego, CA, who also descends from convicted witch Susanna (North) Martin.
Additional Source: The Second Boat, Vol. 13, No. 4 (October, 1992)
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