Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor (born 1652 in Lynn, Massachusetts) was accused of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials. She was the third wife of John Proctor, who was executed by hanging as a witch/wizard in 1692. Part of her life was fictitiously dramatized as part of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible and later adaptations.

Early life

Elizabeth was the daughter of William Bassett and Mary Burt. She married John Proctor, in 1674 in Salem, Massachusetts. John was about twenty years older than Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's grandmother was Ann (Holland) Bassett Burt, a Quaker and a midwife, who was brought up on charges of witchcraft in 1669. As she was not a doctor, but was successful at curing the sick, some people felt she could only have medical skills if she were a witch; one of those who testified against Ann was Phillip Read, a doctor. The Puritans felt there was something "witchlike" about Quakers. Some felt the stigma of being the granddaughter of someone thought to be a witch may have contributed to Elizabeth's persecution.

Salem Witch Trials

Accusations of witchcraft

In early March 1692, the Proctors' servant, Mary Warren, began to have fits, saying she saw the specter (ghost) of Giles Corey. John Proctor was dismissive of her claims (as he was of all the accusations) and made her work harder; he felt that witchcraft should be suspected of the bewitched girls themselves and not of the respectable women of the village. His negative reactions to the girls' accusations caused Elizabeth to become one of the next accused of practicing witchcraft.

On March 26, 1692, Mercy Lewis made the first accusations that Elizabeth's spectre was tormenting her. William Rayment, of nearby Beverly, Massachusetts, mentioned he had heard a rumor that Elizabeth Proctor would be questioned in court the next day. Appearing to go into a trance, one of the girls cried "There’s Goody Proctor! Old Witch! I’ll have her hang," but when onlookers expressed doubt, claiming that the Proctor family was well regarded in the community, promptly came out of her trance and told them it was all for "sport".

On March 29, 1692, Abigail Williams and Mercy Lewis again said they were being tormented by Elizabeth's specter. A few days later, Abigail again complained that Elizabeth was pinching her and tearing at her bowels, and said she saw Elizabeth’s specter as well as John’s.

Trial

In April 1692, 31 men from Ipswich, Massachusetts, filed a petition attesting to the upstanding character of John and Elizabeth and denying that they had ever seen anything that would indicate they were witches. In May 1692, a similar petition was filed on behalf of John and Elizabeth containing signatures of 20 men & women, including several of the wealthiest landowners of Topsfield, Massachusetts and Salem Village. It questioned spectral evidence, testified to the Christian lives that John and Elizabeth had led, stated that they “were ever ready to help such as stood in need of their help” and stated that they had no reason to believe they were witches.

On June 2, 1692, a male doctor and several women completed a physical examination of Elizabeth and several of the other accused. They looked for birth defects, moles or other markings that they believed were a sign that the person was a witch, and found none.

On August 2, 1692, the court met in Salem to discuss the fate of John and Elizabeth and several others. At some point during this time, John wrote his will, but he did not include Elizabeth. Some assume this is because he assumed she would be executed along with him. In spite of the petitions and testimonies from friends, both John and Elizabeth were found guilty, and were sentenced to death on August 5, 1692. Elizabeth, who was pregnant at the time, was granted a stay of execution until after the birth of the baby. John tried to postpone his execution, but failed. On August 19, 1692, John was executed. Elizabeth remained in jail. Action was eventually taken on the petition that John had filed to save his life and that of Elizabeth, but it was too late for John.

Release

In January 1693, several hundred people were still in prison awaiting trial. On January 27, while still in prison, Elizabeth gave birth to a son whom she named John, after his father. For some reason, Elizabeth was not executed as the court had ordered.

In May 1693, the girls began to accuse the wife of Governor of Massachusetts Phips. The Governor, believing that people were being wrongly convicted without hard evidence, ordered 153 people set free. Elizabeth was among this general release of prisoners. Before she was released, her family was required to pay her prison fees. At this time, families were required to pay for their family members room and board while in jail, as well as the cost of their executions.

Trial aftermath

Though Elizabeth was free, the ordeal was not over for her, for in the eyes of the law, she had been convicted. Although the law stated that possessions would be seized when someone was convicted, the Proctors' possessions were confiscated long before their trials, and Elizabeth could not claim any of John's property, some of which had been salvaged by this time. She could not regain her dowry, because legally, she no longer existed. Elizabeth petitioned the General Court for reversal of attainder to restore her legal rights. No action was taken for seven years, even though it was now widely accepted that innocent people had been wrongly convicted.

On April 19, 1697, the probate court at Salem ordered the Proctor heirs to give Elizabeth her dowry.

On September 22, 1699, Elizabeth married her second husband, Daniel Richards, in Lynn, Massachusetts.

The public demanded that the courts apologize, and a written apology was issued on March 18, 1702.

In July 1703, an address was made to the General Court requesting the petitions from the families be granted. Finally, action was taken to obtain the reversal of attainder for Elizabeth. The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill formally disallowing spectral evidence, but reversing attainder only for those who had filed petitions, which only applied to John and Elizabeth Proctor and Rebecca Nurse.