Salem Witch Trial Genealogy
Some unique resources for those with ancestors involved in the Witch Trials of Salem
The witchcraft trials in Salem represent a very unique event in American history. Many people today have colonial ancestors who were somehow involved.
Well, in honour of Halloween, I thought I would cover a witchy topic this week. The hysteria surrounding the trials of those accused of witchcraft remains an important event in early American history. There are many people who can trace their family tree back to the people involved.
There were many dozens of people involved in the witch trials in Salem, in some capacity or another. There were the accused, the accusers, judges, jurors, and jailers. Though there are too many people for me to list individual family tree information, there are several websites that can help with your Salem witch trial research.
Salem-Witch-L - RootsWeb.com has a mailing list specifically for those researching the genealogical aspects of the Salem Witch trials. It's not a very busy list, but several years of archived messages could hold some valuable information if you are looking for ancestors involved in the trials.
Genealogy of Witch Trial Ancestors - Descendent information for 6 people who were involved in the Salem trials.
Associated Daughters of Early American Witches - A society comprised of women who can trace their ancestry back to women who were accused and/or tried for witchcraft before the end of 1699, in Colonial America. Not sure what information is offered by the group, but there is a list of "approved ancestors" on their site.
Charter Street Cemetery - A database of the headstones at the oldest cemetery in Salem, where many people involved in the witch trails are buried. There are large photos of each stone, with a transcription of the carvings (some are hard to read otherwise).
Salem Witchcraft Papers - There are links here to lists of people involved in the trials, from the accused to the judges. Names can be a good starting point for any further research, especially if you already know you have ancestors from this Colonial area. You might be shocked to find someone you recognize on one of these lists.
I was a little surprised that I didn't come across a central site that contained the descendents of these people. But it looks like the only way to find them is through all the various family trees that have been published by their descendents. I suggest visiting the RootsWeb forums, and searching by surnames.
And if you are intersted in the history behind these events (from a non-genealogy standpoint) there is a good article at Wikipedia.
