PETITIONS OF TWO CONVICTED WITCHES AWAITING EXECUTION by Arianrhod Wolfchild

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

(Petition of Mary Easty)

The humbl petition of mary Eastickunto hisExcellency's S'r W'm Phipps to the honour'd Judge and Bench now Sittingin Judicature in Salem and the Reverend ministers humbly sheweth

That whereas your poor and humblepetitionerbeing condemned to die Doe humbly begg of you to take it into yourJudiciousand pious considerations that your Poor and humble petitioner knowingmyown Innocencye Blised be the Lord for it and seeing plainly the wilesandsubtility of my accusers by my Selfe can not but Judge charitably ofothersthat are going the same way of my selfe if the Lord stepps not mightilyin i was confined a whole month upon the same account that I amcondemnednow for and then cleared by the afflicted persons as some of yourhonoursknow and in two dayes time I was cryed out upon by them and have beenconfinedand now am condemned to die the Lord above knows my Innocence then andLikewise does now as att the great day will be know to men and Angells-- I Petition to your honours not for my own life for I know I must dieand my appointed time is sett but the Lord he knowes it is that if itbepossible no more Innocent blood may be shed which undoubtidly cannot beAvoyded In the way and course you goe in I question not but yourhonoursdoes to the uttmost of your Powers in the discovery and detecting ofwitchcraftand witches and would not be gulty of Innocent blood for the world butby my own Innocency I know you are in this great work if it be hisblessedyou that no more Innocent blood be shed I would humbly begg of you thatyour honors would be plesed to examine theis Afflicted Persons strictlyand keep them apart some time and Likewise to try some of theseconfesingwichis I being confident there is severall of them has belyedthemselvesand others as will appeare if not in this wor[l]d I am sure in theworldto come whither I am now agoing and I Question not but youle see andalterationof thes things they my selfe and others having made a League with theDivelwe cannot confesse I know and the Lord knowes as will shortly appearetheybelye me and so I Question not but they doe others the Lord above whoisthe Searcher of all hearts knows that as I shall answer att theTribunallseat that I know not the least thinge of witchcraft therfore I cannot Idare not belye my own soule I beg your honers not to deny this myhumblepetition from a poor dying Innocent person and I Question not but theLord will give a blesing to yor endevers

(Reverse) To his Excellency S'r W'mPhipps:Govern'r and to the honoured Judge and Magistrates now setting inJudicaturein Salem.

(Petition of John Proctor)

SALEM-PRISON, July 23, 1692.

Mr. Mather, Mr. Allen, Mr. Moody, Mr.Willard,and Mr. Bailey

Reverend Gentlemen.

     Theinnocency ofourCase with the Enmity of our Accusers and our Judges, and Jury, whomnothingbut our Innocent blood will serve their turn, having Condmened usalreadybefore our Tryals, being so much incensed and engaged against us by theDevil, makes us bold to Beg and Implore your Favourable Assistance ofthisour Humble Petition to his Excellency, That if it be possible ourInnocentBlood may be spared, which undoubtedly otherwise will be shed, if theLorddoth not mercifully step in. The Magistrates, Ministers, Jewries, andallthe People in general, being so much inraged and incensed against us bythe Delusion of the Devil, which we can term no other, by reason weknowin our own Consciences, we are all Innocent Persons. here are fivePersonswho have lately confessed themselves to be Witches, and do accuse someof us, of being along with them at a Sacrament, since we were committedinto close Prison, which we know to be Lies. Two of the 5 are (CarriersSons) Youngmen, who would not confess any thing till they tyed themNeckand Heels till the Blood was ready to come out of their Noses, and ‘tiscredibly believed and reported this was the occasion of making themconfessthat they never did, by reason they said one had been a Witch a Month,another five Weeks, and that their Mother had made them so, who hasbeenconfined here this nine Weeks. My son William Proctor, when he wasexamin'd,because he would not confess that he was Guilty, when he was Innocent,they tyed him Neck and Heels till the Blood gushed out of his Nose, andwould have kept him so 24 Hours, if one more Merciful than the rest,hadnot taken pity on him, and caused him to be unbound. These actions arevery like the Popish Cruelties. They have already undone us in ourEstates,and that will not serve their turns, without our Innocent Bloods. If itcannot be granted that we can have our Trials at Boston, we humbly begthat you would endeavour to have these Magistrates changed, and othersin their rooms, begging also and beseeching you would be pleased to behere, if not all, some of you at our Trials, hoping thereby you may bethe means of saving the shedding our Innocent Bloods, desiring yourPrayersto the Lord in our behalf, we rest your Poor Afflicted Servants,

JOHN PROCTOR, etc.

 

found at: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_E&P.HTM