George Jacobs (Salem witch trials)
George Jacobs, Sr. (c.1620–1692) was an English colonist in his 70s in the Massachusetts Bay Colony who was accused of witchcraft in 1692 during the Salem witch trials in Salem Village, Massachusetts. He was convicted and hanged on August 19, 1692. His son, George Jacobs, Jr., was also accused but evaded arrest. Jacobs' accusers included his daughter-in-law and granddaughter, Margaret.[1]
Jacobs' body was buried near where he was hanged. In the 1950s bones were found that were believed to be his. At a ceremony in 1992 marking the 300th anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials, Jacobs' remains were reinterred at the Nurse Graveyard at the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, which is maintained as an historic site.[2]
Trial of George Jacobs
The painting below was created by Thompkins H. Matteson in 1855, and is based on the accounts of George Jacobs' granddaughter.[3]
By moving a cursor across the painting, viewers can identify Jacobs, who is being consoled by his son, also named George. The painting is entitled Trial of George Jacobs, August 5, 1692.
George Jacobs accused by his granddaughter - a reconstruction of his trial by Thompkins. H. Matteson
On the left of the painting is Chief Magistrate William Stoughton, who would later serve three terms as Governor of Massachusetts. Jacobs' principal accuser was his granddaughter, who implicated him in an attempt to save her own life. Jacobs' daughter-in-law is the woman standing and being held back. She was thought to be mentally ill (brain tumor). John Hathorne, the judge hearing the accusation, is thought to be an ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthorne. He holds a book and points at Jacobs' granddaughter, as if challenging her to substantiate her earlier written statements. In the foreground are a girl and boy who are having fits, allegedly caused by Jacobs' wizardry. The boy is unknown but the girl may be Jacobs' servant or a principal accuser Ann Putnam.
Representation in other media
Jacobs appears as a minor character in the 1996 film The Crucible, based on Arthur Miller's 1953 play about the Salem witch trials. He was portrayed by William Preston.
-
Archival photograph of George Jacobs' house taken in the later 19th century or early 20th century
-
Archival photograph of the ruin of the house taken circa 1935, before it fell down entirely in 1938[1]
- ^ HABS MASS,5-DAV,7
References and notes
- ↑ Enders A. Robinson. The Devil Discovered: Salem Witchcraft 1692. Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, IL. 2001 (1991). pp. 336–339.
- ↑ Rebecca Nurse Homestead, official site, accessed 28 April 2016
- ↑ George Jacobs, Sr., Salem Witch Trials, Virginia.edu, accessed 22 August 2008
|
---|
|
|
|
Magistrates and court officials | |
---|
|
Town physician | |
---|
|
Clergy | |
---|
|
Politicians and public figures | |
---|
|
Accusers |
- Benjamin Abbot
- Ebenezer Babson
- William Barker, Sr.
- Thomas Barnard
- Elizabeth Booth
- John Bly, Sr. and Rebecca Bly
- Thomas Boreman
- Thomas Chandler
- Nathaniel Coit
- John DeRich
- Joseph Draper
- Joseph Fowler
- Mary Fuller
- Mary Herrick
- John Howe
- Elizabeth Hubbard
- Joseph Hutchinson
- John Indian
- Nathaniel Ingersoll
- Thomas and Mary Jacobs
- Margaret Wilkins Knight
- Mercy Lewis
- Jeremiah Neale
- Sarah Nurse
- Betty Parris
- Edward Payson
- Samuel and Ruth Perley (or Pearly)
- John and Lydia Porter
- Thomas Preston
- Ann Putnam, Jr.
- Ann Putnam, Sr.
- Edward Putnam
- Hannah Putnam
- John Putnam, Jr.
- John Putnam, Sr.
- Jonathan (or Johnathan) Putnam
- Nathaniel Putnam
- Thomas Putnam
- Nicholas Rist
- Margaret Rule
- Susannah Sheldon
- Mercy Short
- Martha Sprague
- Timothy Swan
- Peter Tufts
- Moses Tyler
- Jonathan Walcott
- Mary Walcott
- Richard Walker
- Mary Warren
- Joseph Whipple
- Bray Wilkins
- John Wilkins
- Samuel Wilkins
- Abigail Williams
|
---|
|
Accused but survived (unindicted, acquitted or reprieved) |
- Arthur Abbot
- Nehemiah Abbot, Jr.
- Katerina Biss
- Edward Bishop
- Edward Bishop III
- Sarah Bishop
- Mary Black
- Anne Bradstreet
- Dudley Bradstreet
- John Bradstreet
- Mary Bridges, Sr.
- Sarah Bridges
- Sarah Buckley
- John Busse (or Buss)
- Andrew Carrier
- Richard Carrier
- Sarah Carrier
- Thomas Carrier, Jr.
- Bethiah Carter Jr.
- Bethiah Carter Sr.
- Rachel Clinton
- Sarah Cloyce
- Francis Dane
- Phoebe Day
- Elizabeth Dicer
- Rebecca Dike
- Ann Dolliver
- Mehitable Downing
- Mary Dyer
- Daniel and Lydia Eames
- Rebecca Blake Eames
- Esther Elwell
- Martha Emerson
- Joseph Emons
- Thomas Farrar, Sr.
- Abigail Faulkner, Jr.
- Abigail Faulkner, Sr.
- Dorothy Faulkner
- Elizabeth Fosdick
- Eunice Frye
- Dorothy Good
- Mary Green
- Sarah Noyes Hale (wife of John Hale)
- Elizabeth Hutchinson Hart
- Margaret Hawkes
- Sarah Hawkes, Jr.
- Dorcas Hoar
- Deliverance Hobbs
- William Hobbs
- Elizabeth Johnson, Sr.
- Stephen Johnson
- Rebecca Jacobs
- Jane Lilly
- Mary Marston
- Sarah Morey
- Sarah Murrell
- Robert and Sarah Pease
- Joan Penney (or Penny)
- Sarah Phelps
- Mary Post
- Susannah Post
- Margaret Prince
- Elizabeth Bassett Proctor
- Sarah Proctor
- William Proctor
- Sarah Davis Rice
- Sarah Rist
- Sarah Root
- Susanna Rootes
- Abigail Rowe
- Mary Rowe
- Elizabeth Scargen
- Ann Sears
- Abigail Somes
- Sarah Clapp Swift
- Mary Harrington Taylor
- Margaret Thacher
- Job Tookey
- Margaret Toothaker
- Mary Toothaker
- Hannah Tyler
- Joanna Tyler
- Mary Lovett Tyler
- Hezekiah Usher II
- Rachel Vinson
- Mercy Wardwell
- Sarah Wardwell
- Mary Whittredge (or Witheridge)
- Sarah Wilson, Jr.
- Sarah Wilson, Sr.
- Edward Wooland
|
---|
|
Confessed and accused others (in some cases later issuing retractions or recantations) | |
---|
|
Executed by hanging | |
---|
|
Pressed to death | |
---|
|
Born in prison | |
---|
|
Died in prison | |
---|
|
Escaped from custody or otherwise fled Salem or environs until the trials ended |
- John Alden
- Daniel Andrew
- Mary Bradbury
- Elizabeth Cary
- Phillip and Mary English
- Edward Farrington
- Mary Green
- George Jacobs, Jr.
- Ephraim Stevens
|
---|