Bridget Bishop

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Bridget Bishop (ca. 1632, England – 10 June 1692 Salem, Massachusetts) was the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692. (All together about 72 people were accused and tried.)

Recent historical interpretation: "A resident of Salem Town"

Bridget Bishop may have been a resident of Salem Town, not Salem Village, where the allegations started. Perhaps she was previously confused with another alleged witch, Sarah Bishop of Salem Village. However she may have been accused because she owned one or more taverns, played shuffleboard, dressed in provocative clothing, and was outspoken. One interpretation of the historical record suggests that she was a resident of Salem Town and thus not the tavern owner. Perhaps she did not know her accusers. This would be supported in her deposition in Salem Village before the authorities stating "I never saw these persons before, nor I never was in this place before.". The indictments against her clearly note that she was from "Salem" which meant Salem Town, as other indictments against residents of Salem Village specified their locations as such.

In the transcripts there is some indication of confusion between Sarah Bishop, wife of a tavern owner in Salem Village, and Bridget Bishop, not a tavern owner and a resident of Salem Town.

Family

Various sources give her maiden name as Playfer (or perhaps Playford).

She was married three times:

Her first marriage around 1660 was to Capt. Samuel Wasselbe.

Her second marriage on 26 July 1666 was to Thomas Oliver, a widower and prominent businessman. She was earlier accused of bewitching Thomas Oliver to death, but was acquitted for lack of evidence. They had one daughter, Christian (born 8 May 1667), who later married Thomas Mason.

Her last marriage circa 1687 was to Edward Bishop, a prosperous sawyer, whose family lived in Beverly.

Nature of allegations

Bishop was accused of bewitching five young women, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Jr., Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and Elizabeth Hubbard, on the date of her examination by the authorities, 19 April 1692.

William Stacy, a middle aged man in Salem Town, testified that Bishop had previously made statements to him that other people in the town considered her to be a witch. And when he confronted her with allegation that she was using witchcraft to torment him, she refused to deny it.

Another local man, Samuel Shattuck, accused Bishop of bewitching his child and also of striking his son with a spade. He also testified that Bishop asked him to dye lace, which apparently was too small to be used on anything but a poppet, or primitive voo-doo doll.

John and William Bly, father and son, testified about finding poppets in Bishop's house and also about their pig that appeared to be bewitched, or poisoned, after a dispute with Bishop.

There were also allegations that Bishop's specter appeared in the rooms of several men while they slept and attacked them. This, along with the fact that she had worn red outfits, has been used to suggest that the good Puritan men of Salem feared Bishop's sexual prowess. However, as has been noted, red was not an unusual color for Puritan women to wear, Bishop would have been about 60 years old at the time of her trial and was not likely the most attractive woman in town. These incidents bear more of the hallmarks of sleep paralysis where the victims likely did imagine that Bishop really was there and was attacking them.

All of this together with Bishop's conflicting statements and spiteful attitude during her examination made the case against her appear to be very strong to the jurors and judges. The transcripts of Bridget Bishop's trial have been used in Cry innocent, an interactive theater performance that takes place in Salem.