Elizabeth Howe


Elizabeth Howe was one of the accused in the Salem witch trials. She was found guilty and executed on July 19, 1692.

Background

Elizabeth Jackson Howe was born circa 1637 near Rowley, Yorkshire, the daughter of William and Joane Jackson. Elizabeth married James Howe in April 1658; the couple had six children, and resided in Topsfield, Massachusetts.
Topsfield was a Puritan community. They were a deeply pious society, with an extreme religious focus not only as a community but also on an individual basis. They believed firmly in the devil, and felt that he was not only an enemy to mankind, but to the Puritans specifically. "The devil, as envisioned by the people of Salem, was a short, black man with cloven feet who stood about as high as a walking stick". The fight against the devil was viewed as an individual religious responsibility.

Accused of witchcraft

The Perley family of Ipswich, Massachusetts, were among the chief accusers of Elizabeth Howe. They had a ten-year-old daughter they claimed was being afflicted by Howe. The child complained of being pricked by pins and sometimes fell into fits. In their testimony against Howe, on June 1, 1692, they quoted their daughter as saying, "I could never afflict a dog as Good Howe afflicts me." At first the parents did not believe their daughter's accusations. They took the child to several doctors who told them she was "under an evil hand". Her condition continued for two or three years, until "she pined away to skin and bones and ended her sorrowful life". Howe was accused of afflicting several other girls within Salem Village. The identities of the girls Elizabeth Howe was accused of afflicting are recorded in the transcript of her examination:
On May 28, 1692 a warrant was released for the arrest of Elizabeth Howe by John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin. She was to be apprehended and taken to the home of Lieutenant Nathaniel Ingersolls. She stood charged with "Sundry Acts of Witch-craft done or on the of Mary Walcott, Abigail Williams, and others of Salem Village." She was apprehended by Ephraim Wildes, constable of Topsfield, on May 29, 1692. A copy of her original warrant can be read below. This transcript was taken from The Salem Witchcraft Papers.

Imprisonment

The accused "witches" were, "bound with cords and irons for months, subjected to insulting, unending examinations and excommunication from the church". In Marion L. Starkey's The Devil in Massachusetts it says, "...they were periodically subjected by prison officials, especially by the juries assigned to search them for witch marks". While Elizabeth Howe was imprisoned in these conditions she was able to rely on the support of her family. Her daughters, and occasionally her blind husband, would take turns in making regular trips to Boston. Starkey said they would bring her "country butter, clean linen, and comfort".

Trial

Court conditions verged on the point of ridiculous during the Salem witch trials. There are many pauses in court records because of the chaos that surrounded trials of the supposed witches. For instance, "afflicted" girls would throw themselves on the ground in hysterical fits, and when the examinant moved their body the afflicted individuals would cry out in pain. Magistrate Samuel Sewall of Boston recorded his observation about the conditions he found in the meeting house. His diary reads, "Went to Salem, where in the meeting house, the persons accused of witchcraft were examined... 'twas awful to see how the afflicted persons were agitated".
Such was the case of Elizabeth Howe's trial which began on May 31, 1692. The following is a true account of the examination of Elizabeth Howe as witnessed by Samuel Parris. This account is taken from The Salem Witchcraft Papers, Transcripts of the Legal Documents from the Salem Witch Trials. When Howe was brought in for examination Mercy Lewis and Mary Walcott, two of her main accusers, fell into a fit. She was accused by Mary of pinching and choking her in the month of May. Ann Putnam, Jr. added her accusations to these by saying she had been hurt three times by Howe. When asked how she pleaded to the charges made against her, Elizabeth Howe boldly responded, "If it was the last moment I was to live, God knows I am innocent of any thing of this nature."
Actual examination:

Indictments against Elizabeth Howe

These indictments are transcripts of the legal documents taken from The Salem Witchcraft Papers.Anno Regis et Reginae

Evidence in the court and witnesses against Howe

There were many different types of evidence that were used to convict a supposed witch. These were confession, supernatural attributes, the witch's teat or witch's mark, anger followed by mischief, and probably most importantly spectral evidence defined by The Witches of Early America as "the supernatural phenomena thought to occur when a vision or 'spectre' of an accused witch appeared to a witness".
Anger followed by mischief is one form of evidence that was brought against Elizabeth Howe. The Perley family, who had also accused her of afflicting their ten-year-old daughter, blamed the sudden illness of the family's cow upon her. This was due, they claimed, to the fact that they had thwarted Elizabeth Howe's chance of becoming a member of the Ipswich Church. Samuel Perley stated: "the above said goode how had a mind to joyn to iPswich Church thai being unsatisfied sent to us to bring in what we knew thai se cause to Put a stoP to her coming into the Church." Samuel went on to explain a few days afterwards his cow suddenly went mad and ran into a pond drowning herself.
Spectral evidence played a key role in the Salem Witch Trials. The Witches of Early America defines spectral evidence as, "the supernatural phenomena thought to occur when a vision or 'spectre' of an accused witch appeared to a witness". The accusation of the Perley family is not a direct example of when "an accused witch appeared to a witness". However, they did bring forth spectral evidence with the story of their daughter. Apparently she told her parents that when she went near fire or water, "this witch in".
Another accusation of anger before mischief was raised against Elizabeth Howe by her own brother-in-law. From his account we learn that she asked John Howe to go with her to "Salem farmes". He told her that had she been accused of any other thing he would go with her, but because the accusation was witchcraft he "would not for ten pounds", he continued, "If you are a witch tell me how long you have a witch and what mischeve you have done and then I will go with you". His report explains that she "semed to be aingry with me". John owned a sow with six small piglets. Around sunset he recounted the sow "leaped up about and and gave one and fell ". He went on to say that he cut off the ear of the sow and the hand he used to do this became numb and full of pain for several days after. All of this he blamed upon his sister-in-law Elizabeth How.

Witnesses on behalf of Howe

Having witnessed a conversation between Samuel Perley 's little girl and Elizabeth Howe. Reverend Phillips of Rowley was able to testify in her defense on June 3, 1692. This testimony is taken from the Salem Witchcraft Papers.
A colleague of Phillips, Payson of Rowley, was also present at this "encounter" between Elizabeth Howe and the Perley 's daughter. He added his testimony as a second witness stating, "their afflicted daughter, upon something that her mother spake to her with tartness, presently fell into one of her usuall strange fitts, during which, she made no mentionof the above s'd How her name, or any thing relating to her some time after, the s'd how came in."
In her defense, Elizabeth Howe's father-in-law testified to her good nature. He said that she, " a side humain infurmitys as a Christion with Respact to as a father very dutifully & a wifife to son very carfull loveing obedient and kind Considering his want of eye sight." He concluded his witness by saying, "now desiering god may guide your honours to se a difference between predigous and Consentes I rest yours to Sarve."

Execution

Public execution was considered the most severe punishment of the time in Puritan Massachusetts. Convicted witches were hanged on Gallows Hill. Elizabeth Howe was hanged on July 19, 1692, along with Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, Sarah Wildes and Susanna Martin.
The execution methods in New England were very similar to those used in England. The condemned would ride to the execution spot with a minister. He would then elaborate on the saving grace of Jesus Christ and repentance. The minister would also preach a sermon to the crowd that had gathered to watch the execution. Historian Louis P. Masur wrote, "The ritual of execution day required that condemned prisoners demonstrate publicly that they were penitent, and the execution sermons repeatedly pounded the chord of penitence." In an ideal situation the convicted would confess to their crime, alleviating worry from the community that they were sending an unprepared soul to the next life.

Conclusion

Elizabeth Howe, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, Sarah Wildes and Susanna Martin were hanged on July 19, 1692, and buried in a crevice on Gallows hill.
Nineteen people were hanged for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials, and one man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death because he refused to attest to the indictment against him.
In 1709, many were encouraged to join in a petition with Phillip English; they began with approximately twenty-one accused witches and children of the accused; although, later many others added their sentiments. Among these were the daughters of Elizabeth Howe. They requested that their good names be restored and also wanted financial compensation for their losses during the trials. It was not until 1711 that a sum of approximately ₤598 was distributed among the survivors.