Susannah Martin
| Susannah Martin | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Susannah North 1621 England |
| Died | July 19, 1692 (aged 70) Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony |
| Cause of death | Hanging |
| Residence | Salisbury, Province of Massachusetts Bay |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) | George Martin |
| Parent(s) | Richard North and Joan Bartram |
Susannah Martin (baptized September 30, 1621 – July 19, 1692) — born Susannah North — was one of fourteen women executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials of colonial Massachusetts.
The English-born Martin was the fourth daughter, and youngest child, of Richard North and Joan North (née Bartram). Her mother died when she was a child. Her stepmother was Ursula North. Martin was baptized in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England on 30 September 1621. Her family moved to Salisbury, Massachusetts around 1639 when she was about 18 years old.
On August 11, 1646 at Salisbury, Susannah married a widower George Martin, a blacksmith with whom she had eight children, including a daughter Jane, a great-great-great-great grandmother of United States President Chester A. Arthur.
In 1669, Susannah was first formally accused of witchcraft by William Sargent, Jr. In turn, George Martin sued Sargent for two counts of slander against Susannah, one for accusing her of being a witch, and another for claiming one of her sons was a bastard and another was her "imp". Martin withdrew the second count, but the Court upheld the accusation of witchcraft. A higher court later dismissed the witchcraft charges.
By 1671, the Martin family was again involved in legal proceedings dealing with the matter of Ursula North's inheritance, most of which Ursula had left to her granddaughter, Mary Jones Winsley. The court sided against Susannah and George, although Susannah was able to bring five further appeals, each being decided against her.
George died in 1686, leaving Susannah an impoverished widow by the time of the second accusation of witchcraft in 1692. Inhabitants of nearby Salem Village, including Joseph and Jarvis Ring, had named Susannah a witch and stated she had attempted to recruit them into witchcraft. She was tried for these charges, during which process she proved by all accounts to be pious and quoted the Bible freely, something a witch was said incapable of doing. Cotton Mather countered Susannah's defense by stating in effect that the Devil's servants were capable of putting on a show of perfect innocence and Godliness.
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