Samuel Parris
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Samuel Parris (1653 – February 27, 1720) was the Puritan minister in the town of Salem Village (now Danvers, Massachusetts) during the Salem witch trials, as well as the father to one of the afflicted girls, and uncle of another.
[edit] Life
Samuel Parris was born in London, England, the son of cloth merchant Thomas Parris. He emigrated to Boston in the early 1660s, where he attended Harvard University. When his father died in 1673, Samuel left Harvard to take up his inheritance in Barbados, where he maintained a sugar plantation and bought two Carib slave women to tend his household, one by the name of Tituba.
In 1680 he returned to Boston, where he married Elizabeth Eldridge, and they had three children together; the slaves Tituba and John remained a part of his household. Although the plantation supported his merchant ventures, Parris was dissatisfied and began to preach at local churches. In July of 1689, he became minister of Salem Village, Massachusetts.
He was not well liked; although his harsh preaching and rigid Puritan values may not have been unusual in the time and place, he was perceived as egotistical and greedy, especially when he demanded that he be given personal title to the Salem parsonage, in addition to his salary, as part of his compensation. This led to friction with the villagers, and some stopped contributing to his salary in October of 1691.
The events that lead to the Salem witch trials began when his daughter, Betty Parris, and her cousin Abigail Williams accused the family's slave Tituba of witchcraft. In February of 1692, Betty Parris began having "fits" that the doctor could not explain. Parris beat Tituba and compelled her to confess that she was a witch. The hysteria lasted sixteeen months, concluding with the Salem witch trials.
His church brought charges against him for his part in the trials, leading him to apologize for his error. However, despite the intense dislike of the villagers, Parris stayed on for another four years after the panic had run its course. In 1697, he accepted another preaching position in Stow, and eventually moved on to Concord and Dunstable before his death in the town of Wayland on February 27, 1720.
[edit] Fiction
Parris features in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible relating to the witch trials.
[edit] References
- Samuel Page Fowler, An Account of the Life and Character of the Rev. Samuel Parris, of Salem Village, (Salem 1857)
- Charles W. Upham, Salem Witchcraft, (Boston, 1867)
- C. H. Webber and W. S. Nevins, Witchcraft in Salem Village, (Boston, 1892)
- Essex Historical Society publications
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| Salem witch trials | |
|---|---|
| Authorities | Thomas Danforth | John Hale | Increase Mather | Samuel Parris | William Phips | William Stoughton |
| Accusers | Elizabeth Hubbard | Mercy Lewis | Betty Parris | Ann Putnam, Jr. | Susannah Sheldon | Mary Walcott | Abigail Williams |
| Accused | John Alden | Edward Bishop | Sarah Bishop | Mary Black | Mary Bradbury | Sarah Cloyce | Rebecca Eames | Mary English | Phillip English | Abigail Faulkner | Dorcas Good | William Hobbs | Mary Lacy | Sarah Morey | Benjamin Proctor | Elizabeth Proctor | Sarah Proctor | William Proctor |
| Confessed and Accused Others | Dorcas Hoar | Abigail Hobbs | Deliverance Hobbs | Margaret Jacobs | Tituba | Mary Warren |
| Executed | Bridget Bishop | George Burroughs | Martha Carrier | Martha Corey | Mary Eastey | Sarah Good | Elizabeth Howe | George Jacobs, Sr. | Susannah Martin | Rebecca Nurse | Alice Parker | Mary Parker | John Proctor | Ann Pudeator | Wilmot Redd | Margaret Scott | Samuel Wardwell | Sarah Wildes | John Willard |
| Died in Prison | Lydia Dustin | Ann Foster | Sarah Osborn | Roger Toothaker |
|
Died During Interrogation |
Giles Corey |
