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Mary Parker (Salem witch trials)

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Mary Parker
Born
Mary Ayer

c. 1637
Died(1692-09-22)September 22, 1692
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
NationalityEnglish
Known forConvicted of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials

Mary Parker (née Ayer) of Andover, Massachusetts Bay Colony, the daughter of John Ayer,[1] was executed by hanging on September 22, 1692, with several others, for witchcraft in the Salem witch trials. She was a 56 year old widow. It is believed that Mary Parker’s family buried her body on their property, as was tradition for those who were executed.[2] Mary's husband, Nathan, died in 1685.[3] Nicholas Noyes officiated. Her daughter, Sarah Parker, was also accused. Historians have identified three others persons named Mary Parker who lived in colonial Massachusetts at the same time who are sometimes conflated with the woman who was executed.[3][4]

References

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  1. ^ Anderson, R.C., Reitwiesner, W.A., Roberts, G.B. (1977) "The Matrilinear Line of President Ford" The American Genealogist 53:56
  2. ^ "Mary Parker Home, Site of". Salem Witch Museum. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  3. ^ a b Kelly, Jacqueline "The Untold Story of Mary Ayer Parker: Gossip and Confusion in 1692." Revised for presentation at the Berkshire Conference. June 2005.
  4. ^ Robinson, Enders A. "Salem Witchcraft and Hawthorne's House of Seven Gables", pp. 251-55. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books. 1992.

Further reading

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  • Upham, Charles (1980). Salem Witchcraft. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 2 vv, v.2 pp 324–5, 480.