Biography
John Willard was born 15 January 1657 in Massachusetts and died 22 August 1692 Salem witch trials of Hanging execution for witchcraft. He married Margaret Wilkins (1670-) 1688 in Massachusetts.
Salem witch trials
1876 illustration of the courtroom; the central figure is usually identified as being Mary Walcott
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused, nineteen of whom were found guilty and executed by hanging (fourteen women and five men). One other man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to plead, and at least five people died in jail. It was the deadliest witch hunt in the history of the United States.
John Willard[1] was one of the people executed for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials of 1692. He was hanged on Gallows Hill, Salem on August 19, 1692.
At the time of the first allegations of witchcraft Willard was serving as a constable in the village of Salem and his duties included bringing the accused before the court. Soon, however, he began to doubt the truth of the accusations and in May 1692 he refused to make any more arrests. In retaliation Ann Putnam, Jr. and others accused him of witchcraft, and of murdering thirteen citizens.[2]
Some of his in-laws made accusations. Benjamin Wilkins would tell the court that Willard had previously beat his wife. Samuel Wilkins testified that he had repeatedly been irritated and afflicted by something in a dark colored coat—and that it was John Willard. John Wilkins would blame the death of his wife, after having delivered a baby, on John Willard... [p]atriarch, Bray Wilkins, would say that he came down with his illness after John Willard had looked at him with an evil eye. Willard was found guilty of witchcraft on August 5, 1692. On August 19, 1692, he was hanged, along with John Proctor, George Burroughs, George Jacobs, Sr., and Martha Carrier. Willard maintained his innocence until the very end.[3]
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| John Willard (c1690-) | |||
Siblings
Residences
See Also
- wikipedia:en:John Willard - Wikipedia
- John Willard
- Willard in Essex County, Massachusetts