Salem Witch Judge: The Life and Repentance of Samuel Sewall

The author, a direct descendant of Samuel Sewall, provides a much-needed full assessment of the life of her notorious ancestor. The most important fact in this book is provided in the frontispiece illustration--a portrait of Sewell's apology before his congregation for his role in the witch trials and executions, known by few, if any, readers outside Massachusetts' students of history. Sewell was the only judge to apologize for his role in this horrific episode in American history. More fascinating, though, are the other extraordinary acts of repentance enacted by the judge over his long life. And his writings are nothing less than astounding--including examinations of experiences of various groups and even a piece on women - making him an equalitarian of the first order centuries ahead of his time. At the least, official historical accounts of what happened at Salem need to include information about Sewall's apology and repentance.

Author Eve LaPlante, who is a descendant of witchcraft judge Samuel Sewall, covers her subject well in this book. Life was difficult in Puritan New England with death being a common visitor to families with many children lucky to live beyond the age of five. Puritans came to America for land and religious freedom, but were not accepting to those whose beliefs differed from their own. People often questioned their salvation and figured that hard times such as diseases and death among family members was due to having angered God in some way. Prayer was the most accepted method of dealing with a sick individual. A vaccination for smallpox was viewed by many as unacceptable. Surprisingly enough, Cotton Mather was open to the idea. Women certainly took a back seat in Puritan New England with their job being the bearing of children. Puritans even questioned whether or not women would be in God's heavenly kingdom. Approximately half of the book deals with the witchcraft craze of 1692, a belief they brought over from Europe. The question of whether or not the girls believed they were afflicted will never be settled. If they did it to spice up their otherwise humdrum lives they could be charged with murder. Judge Samuel Sewall had the courage to own up to his mistake while the other judges did not. Author Nathaniel Hawthorne added a "w" to his last name to disassociate himself from his ancestor John Hathorne who was an unrepentant judge at the trials. It seems difficult to believe that judges could convict people based on spectral evidence whereby you could prove where you were at a certain time, but you couldn't prove where your "shape" was. The final section of the book relates the latter part of Judge Samuel Sewall's life and others who were influential during this time period. The author also provides us with directions to visit sites mentioned in the book. I have done previous reading on this subject during my college days, and this is one of the best sources I have come across.

The note I wrote on the inside page of this book reads as follows:"Absolutely fascinating!" How come? Because Ms. LaPlante presents us with a character who lived as a giant in his own time. But more, she offers a clear picture of the potent religious world view and powerful lens of faith through which citizens of Puritan New England perceived the world and their place in it. The reader will find this approach not only interesting but, as the author describes Sewall's engagement with life and with his God, both existentially and theologcally terrifying. The witch trials arise from the nexus of life's uncertainty in 17th century Massachusetts and a fierce and unpredictable God through whom the likes of Samuel Sewall try to discern the "realities" of good and evil. He,his neighbors and colleagues can discern wrongly . . . as Sewall himself confessed some five years after the trials he oversaw as judge. But enough of this. Ms LaPlante mines Sewall's diaries and public writings for - yes - romance! In addition, she finds him a humane and civil defender of Native Americans amid local, social contempt.Sewall wrote the first Anti-slavery tract in North America, a touching and compassionate piece. He testified from a vivid Biblical perspective in behalf of gender equality when such thinking brought widespread disdain. His personal and public presence as described by the author represent a monumental figure in early American history. You will find the book clearly written and every effort made to explain to ignorant moderns 17th century language and cultural nuances. The title tags Sewall as "Witch Judge." OK. But really, so much more. Indeed, absolutely fascinating!

This fascinating account of an early American leader's public and private life is the story of a good man who was guilty of a terrible mistake. Seeing he did wrong, Samuel Sewall had the courage to say so, and repent. Eve LaPlante paints a vivid portrait of life in early New England, especially the world of the educated elite. Religion and the Bible were the dominant intellectual features of a world ruled by fears and disagreements only too comprehensible to us now. Sewall and his peers worried about foreign relations and governmental debt, and lived in constant fear of attacks by Indians, pirates, and the French. "Salem Witch Judge" offers an intriguing journey into a world as far away as colonial America, yet at the same time as close as the human heart.

The author of American Jezebel, a biography of the life of Puritan heretic Anne Hutchinson, has now meticulously chronicled the controversy surrounding Judge Samuel Sewall's involvement in the Salem Witch Trials. In Salem, Massachusetts during the year 1692, controversy erupted as scores of innocent townspeople, mostly women, were jailed based on witchcraft accusations from several adolescents of prominent families. Noting the power these children held over their victims, the hysterics spread to other townspeople, longing for respite from their dictated existences. Salem Witch Judge uses Samuel Sewall's journals and letters to create a portrait of who the man was, what his motivations could have been, and the influence he wielded over rulings that continue to affect the American public today. Eve LaPlante pieces together the portrait of a Harvard intellectual plagued by constant self-doubt and regret. Indeed, Sewall was the only judge involved in the cruel mass hysteria that expressed remorse for his actions afterward. LaPlante writes in-depth of the daily threats to survival, the uncertainty posed by the religious "freedom" sought in the New World, and the dynamics of various war actions and political movements that affected the lives of Americans. Surrounded by such constant turmoil and lacking scientific evidence of common afflictions, inevitably the people of Massachusetts turned to supernatural explanations. Haunted by the loss of six of his children to inexplicable illness, Sewall doubted his own piety and assumed God's displeasure with something he or his wife did was the cause of his own misery and suffering. Compounded with military disasters both locally and abroad, the sense of desperation among the people of Salem created a suitable environment for chaos to thrive. Narrated by the author, a descendant of Sewall, Salem Witch Judge does well to present an alternative perspective of the historical fury motivating the executions of twenty innocents. Sewall himself began to exhibit regret and uncertainty, even in the midst of the accusations, which was in stark contrast to the actions of other judiciary members. In fact, the court that condemned the accused witches was experimental; the court of Oyer and Terminer was disbanded in October of 1692 by Governor William Phips shortly after his wife became one of the accused, despite his support of their actions previously. Mysteriously, the journals of Oyer and Terminer disappeared. Though the focus of the book is on the individual, Samuel Sewall, LaPlante does an excellent job of showcasing the lifestyle of some of America's earliest settlers, including various Psalms and prayers utilized by the Puritans. It is from this perspective that the reader is able to more fully understand the series of events that caused such an incomprehensible upheaval within a community. A more thorough account could scarcely be found within the pages of a history textbook.