- Mary Bradbury
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Mary Bradbury Born Mary Perkins
Hillmorton, County Warwick, EnglandDied December 20, 1700
Salisbury, Essex, MassachusettsKnown for Accused Salem Witch Convicted & Later Exonerated Spouse Thomas Bradbury Parents John Perkins, Judith Gater Relatives Ray Bradbury Mary Perkins Bradbury (baptized September 3, 1615 – December 20, 1700) was tried, convicted and sentenced to hang as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692.[1]
Contents
Early life
Mary Perkins was daughter of John and Judith (Gater) Perkins, baptized in 1615 at Hilmorton, County Warwick, England. Her family immigrated to America in 1631, sailing on the "Lyon" from Bristol.
In 1636 she married Thomas Bradbury of Salisbury, Massachusetts, considered one of its most distinguished citizens.
Witch trials
In the notorious witch trials of 1692, Mary Bradbury was indicted for (among other charges):
"Certaine Detestable arts called Witchcraft & Sorceries Wickedly Mallitiously and felloniously hath used practiced and Exercised At and in the Township of Andivor in the County of Essex aforesaid in upon & against one Timothy Swann of Andivor In the County aforesaid Husbandman -- by which said Wicked Acts the said Timothy Swann upon the 26th day of July Aforesaid and divers other days & times both before and after was and is Tortured Afflicted Consumed Pined Wasted and Tormented..."
Witnesses testified that she assumed animal forms; her most unusual metamorphosis was said to have been that of a blue boar.
Another allegation was that she cast spells upon ships.
Over a hundred of her neighbors and townspeople testified on her behalf, but to no avail and she was found guilty of practicing magic and sentenced to be executed.
Through the ongoing efforts of her friends, her execution was delayed. After the witch frenzy had passed, she was released. By some accounts she was allowed to escape. Others claim she bribed her jailer.
Another account claims that her husband bribed the jailer and took her away to Maine in a horse and cart. They returned to Massachusetts after the witch hysteria had died down.
Mary Bradbury died of natural causes in her own bed in 1700.
In 1711, the governor and council of Massachusetts authorized payment of £578.12s to the claimants representing twenty-three persons condemned at Salem, and the heirs of Mary Bradbury received £20. A petition to reverse the attainder of twenty-two of the thirty-one citizens convicted and condemned as a result of the trials was passed by the Massachusetts General Court in 1711, and in 1957 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts reversed the stigma placed on all those not covered by earlier orders.
Descendants
Children of Thomas and Mary (Perkins) Bradbury were:
- Wymond Bradbury (1637–1669) m. Sarah Pike, daughter of Major Rober Pike - Judith Bradbury (1638–1700) - Thomas Bradbury (1640–1718) - Mary Bradbury (1642–1667) - Jane Bradbury (1645–1729) m. Henry True - Jacob Bradbury (1647–1669, Barbados) - William Bradbury (1649–1678) m. Rebecca Wheelwright - Elizabeth Bradbury (1651-?) - John Bradbury (1654–1678) - Ann Bradbury (1656–1659) - Jabez Bradbury (1658–1677)
Her descendants include:
- Ray Bradbury, American science fiction writer.
- Bradbury Robinson (1752–1801), a great-great grandson, fought for the patriots at the Battle of Concord (1775) and testified that the British fired first.[2][3]
- Bradbury Robinson (1884–1949), threw American football's first legal forward pass.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, transcendentalist,a fourth great-grandson of Mary Bradbury, descendant through her daughter Judith.
Sources
- Bradbury, John Merrill, Bradbury Memorial: Records of Some of the Descendants of Thomas Bradbury of Adamenticus, York, 1634 also of Salisbury, Massachusetts, 1638, 1890
- Perkins Family History (hand-written documents, written at various dates from the 17th century-present- Des Plaines, IL)
References
- ^ "The Salem Witch Trials 1692". Archived from the original on 2008-02-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20080222045436/http://www.mayflowerfamilies.com/Salem+Witches/salem_witch_trials.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
- ^ Statements of American combatants at Lexington and Concord contained in supplement “Official Papers Concerning the Skirmishes at Lexington and Concord” to The Military Journals of Private Soldiers, 1758-1775, by Abraham Tomlinson for the Poughkeepsie, NY museum, 1855.
- ^ "Colonial towns, by the numbers". http://www.wickedlocal.com/lexington/fun/entertainment/arts/x1605763724. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
Salem witch trials Timeline · People · Cultural depictions Magistrates Town physician William GriggsClergy Politicians and public figures Accusers John DeRich · Elizabeth Hubbard · Mercy Lewis · Betty Parris · Ann Putnam, Jr. · Susannah Sheldon · Mary Walcott · Abigail Williams · Sarah Bibber · Samuel Parris · John Indian · Richard TangoAccused John Alden · Edward Bishop · Edward Bishop III · Sarah Bishop · Mary Black · Mary Bradbury · Martha Carrier · Rachel Clinton · Sarah Cloyce · Rebecca Eames · Mary Eastey · Mary English · Phillip English · Thomas Farrar, Sr. · Abigail Faulkner · Dorothy Good · Elizabeth Hart · William Hobbs · Mary Lacy · Sarah Morey · Sarah Osborne · Elizabeth Proctor · John Proctor · Sarah Proctor · William Proctor · Tituba IndianConfessed and accused others Tituba · Abigail Hobbs · Deliverance Hobbs · Margaret Jacobs · Mary Warren · Ann Foster · Mary Lacey Jr. · Mary Lacey Sr. · Sarah ChurchwellExecuted 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 WillardDied in prison Pressed to death Born in prison John Proctor, IIICategories:- People from Salem, Massachusetts
- Alleged witches
- 1615 births
- 1700 deaths
- American prisoners sentenced to death
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