Margaret Scott

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Margaret Stephenson Scott (of the Covey and Comstock/Huntley lines was hanged as a witch at Salem on 22 September 1692. 

Frances Wycombe vs. Margert Scott
"The deposition of frances wycom who testifyeth and saith that quickly after the first court at (Salem) about wicthcraft margerit Scott whom I very well knew: or hir Apperance came to me and did most greviously torment me by choaking and almost presing me to death: and so she did continue affleting me by times tell the 5'th August 1692 being the day of hir examination allso during the time of hir examination margerit scott did most greviously afflect me: and also severall times sence: and I belive in my heart that margerit Scott is a wicth and that she has often affleted me by acts of wicthcraft."
frances Wycom owned: to the grand Inquest: that the above written evidence: is the truth upon oath: Sept'r 15: 1692: Jurat in Curia.
[Essex County Archives, Salem - Witchcraft vol2/page45]

Phillip Nelson and Sarah Nelson vs. Margaret Scott
[also] phillip Nellson and Sarah his wife doe testifie and say that for Two or Three years be fore #[the said] Robert Shilleto dyed we have often hard him complaining of margerit Scott for hurting of him and often said that she was a wicth and so he continewed complaining of Margarit Scott saying he should never be well so long as margaret Scott lived & so he Complayned of Margret Scott: att times until he dyed
Phillip Nelson and Sarah his wife affirmed: upon their oath to the grand Inquest that the above written evidence: is the truth. Sept'r 15: 1692  Jurat in Curia
[Essex County Archives, Salem - Witchcraft vol2/pae45]

Her stone at the memorial in Salem:

The following excerpt was taken from: Mary Beth Norton's Salem Witchcraft in the Classroom at www.common-place.org · vol. 6 · no. 2 · January 2006

Mark Rice chose to examine the case of Margaret Scott, a stereotypical witch accused and tried late in the crisis. Mark showed that precisely because she was a classic witch, accused of maleficium (bewitching her neighbors’ livestock and children) as well as of spectral attacks on the afflicted, her fate was essentially sealed by the fact she was tried after the Court of Oyer and Terminer had come under sharp attack from critics of the court’s seeming reliance on spectral evidence.

Two students wrote biographies of executed women who had attracted scant attention from earlier scholars: Jacqueline Kelly researched Mary Parker of Andover in an innovative way, and Mark Rice uncovered the background to the accusation of Margaret Scott of Rowley. Mark Rice carefully reconstructed the life of Margaret Scott of Rowley. Because the testimony and other documents in her case became separated from the bulk of the surviving legal records, they were not printed in Boyer and Nissenbaum’s Salem Witchcraft Papers, and thus few scholars have paid any attention to her. Brief versions of the papers follow, with links to full texts of the revised papers (essentially as presented at the Berkshire Conference) on the Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive Website.

Mark Rice, "Specters, Maleficium, and Margaret Scott"

Until recently, the story of Margaret Scott, executed September 22, 1692, as part of the Salem witch trials, was a mystery. With the discovery of depositions related to her trial, it is now possible to use the names, places, and events mentioned in the court records to finally discover Margaret Scott’s story. The information yielded by these documents shows that Margaret Scott was a victim of bad luck and even worse timing. These two aspects, more than any supernatural forces, led to the demise of Margaret Scott.

Margaret Scott fits the stereotype of the classic witch identified and feared for years by her neighbors in Rowley, Massachusetts (a small town to the north of Salem). Margaret had difficulty raising children, something widely believed to be common for witches. Her husband died in 1671, leaving only a small estate that had to support Margaret for years. Margaret, who was thus forced to beg, exposed herself to witchcraft suspicions because of what the historian Robin Briggs has termed the "refusal guilt syndrome." This phenomenon occurred when a beggar’s requests were refused, causing feelings of guilt and aggression on the refuser’s part. The refuser projected this aggression on the beggar and grew suspicious of her.

It also appears that when Margaret Scott was formally accused, it occurred at the hands of Rowley’s most distinguished citizens. Formal charges were filed only after the daughter of Captain Daniel Wicom became afflicted. The Wicoms also worked with another prominent Rowley family, the Nelsons, to act against Margaret Scott. The Wicoms and Nelsons helped produce witnesses, and one of the Nelsons sat on the grand jury that indicted her.

Frances Wicom testified that Margaret Scott’s specter tormented her on many occasions. Several factors may have led Frances to testify to such a terrible experience, including her home environment and its relationship with Indian conflicts. She undoubtedly would have heard first-hand accounts of bloody conflicts with Indians from her father, a captain in the militia. New evidence shows that a direct correlation can be found between anxiety over Indian wars being fought in Maine and witchcraft accusations.

Another girl tormented by Margaret Scott’s specter was Mary Daniel. Records show that Mary Daniel probably was a servant in the household of the minister of Rowley, Edward Payson. If Mary Daniel, who received baptism in 1691, worked for Mr. Payson, her religious surroundings could well have had an effect on her actions. Recent converts to Puritanism felt inadequate and unworthy and at times displaced their worries through possession and other violent experiences.

The third girl to be tormented spectrally was Sarah Coleman. Sarah was born in Rowley but lived most of her life in the neighboring town of Newbury. Her testimony shows the widespread belief surrounding Margaret Scott’s reputation.

Both the Nelsons and Wicoms also provided maleficium evidence—a witch’s harming of one’s property, health, or family—against Margaret Scott. Both testimonies show evidence of the refusal guilt syndrome.

However, what sealed Margaret Scott’s fate was the timing of her trial and its relation to the witchcraft crisis. Evidence from the girls in Rowley coincided chronologically with important events in the Salem trials. Frances Wicom initially experienced spectral torment in 1692, "quickly after the first Court at Salem." Frances also testified that Scott’s afflictions of her stopped on the day of Scott’s examination, August 5. Mary Daniel deposed on August 4 that Margaret Scott afflicted her on the day of Scott’s arrest. The third afflicted girl, Sarah Coleman, testified that the specter of Margaret Scott started to afflict her on August 15, which fell ten days after the trial of George Burroughs and Scott’s own examination. Additionally, the fifteenth was only four days before the executions of Burroughs and other accused witches who were not "usual suspects" and thus brought considerable attention to the Salem proceedings.

By the time that Margaret Scott appeared in front of the court, critics of the proceedings had become more vocal, expressing concern over the wide use of spectral evidence in the Salem trials. The court probably took the opportunity to prosecute Margaret Scott to help its own reputation. Margaret Scott’s case involved not only spectral evidence but also a fair amount of testimony about maleficium. Scott exhibited many characteristics that were believed common among witches in New England. The spectral testimony given by the afflicted girls further bolstered the accusers’ case. To the judges at Salem, Margaret Scott was a perfect candidate to highlight the court’s effectiveness. By executing Scott, the magistrates at Salem could silence critics of the trials by executing a "real witch" suspected of being associated with the devil for many years.

She was accused, tried and convicted unjustly of witchcraft in Salem (which ajoins Rowley), hanged on Gallows Hill on Sept 22,1692. Margaret was possibly the oldest woman hung (although that honor seems to have gone to Rebecca Nurse who was 70). Margaret would have been 75. 

A broadside from the period stated: "For the forth and last time, the procession left Salem jail for the place of execution of those persons condemned for witchcraft, on Thursday, September 22d. There were eight victims this time. Samuel Wardwell of Andover was the only man to thus suffer, the women were Mrs. Martha Cory, wife of Giles Cory, Alice Parker, wife of John Parker, and Ann Pudeator, widow of Jacob Pudeator, all of Salem, Mary (Towne) Easty, sister of Rebecca Nurse and wife of Isaac Easty of Topsfield, Margaret Scott, widow of Benjamin Scott of Rowley, aged about seventy-five, Wilmot Reed ("Mammy Red"), wife of Samuel Reed, of Marblehead, and widow Mary Parker of Andover. Upon the ladder, Mrs. Cory, protesting her innocence, concluded her life with an earnest prayer. After the sheriff had done his part in the affair, Rev. Nicholas Noyes, of Salem, turned toward the suspended bodies of the victims, and said: "What a sad thing it is to see eight firebrands of hell hanging there."  

In 1711, all the accused were exonerated and their relatives offered retribution; none of Margaret's family turned up, whether out of fear or shame or disgust, not all the families came forward to accept the apology. Margaret’s name was not cleared until Oct 31, 2001, 309 yrs after her death (see the article below). Margaret must have suffered extremely from the time of her arrest on Aug 06, 1692 until her death on Sep 22, 1692.

Massachusetts Clears Five Witches in Salem Trials

New York Times/November 2, 2001

Boston -- More than three centuries after they were accused, tried and hanged as unrepentant witches on Gallows Hill in Salem, Mass., five women have been officially exonerated by the state. The act, approved by the Legislature, was signed on Halloween by the acting governor, cheering the descendants of Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Wilmot Redd and Margaret Scott. The five were among 20 men and women put to death during the witchcraft hysteria of 1692. "We've had an awful lot of descendants that have been out there working for it," said Shari Kelley Worrell of Barrington, Ill., an eighth great-granddaughter of Susannah Martin. The Puritan leader Cotton Mather called her one of the most "impudent, scurrilous, wicked creatures in the world." Ms. Worrell said: "I want to make sure that people know she was not a witch. History will now record her as being what she really was." Ms. Worrell said she felt pity for her distant ancestor, who could have lived had she admitted to being a witch. "How would I feel dying as a Christian martyr, having people think I worshiped the devil?" she asked. The state has tried to make amends before. In 1711, more than two decades after the trials, all the accused were exonerated and their relatives offered retribution. But, whether out of fear or shame, not all the families came forward to accept the apology. A 1957 state resolution cleared the name of one more victim, Ann Pudeator, and "certain other persons" who were unlisted. State Representative Paul E. Tirone, who helped shuttle this year's act through the Legislature, said the "other persons" should be cleared by name. "These people were victims of hysteria, and they paid deeply with their lives," said Mr. Tirone, whose wife, Sharon, is a descendant of Sarah Wildes, who was exonerated in 1711. The history lesson, he said, is one that modern Americans should keep in mind in the wake of Sept. 11 if they are tempted to eye their neighbors with suspicion. "Sometimes when things like this happen we need to take a breath, and look at it," Mr. Tirone said. "We just can't paint blame with a wide brush."