The Witchcraft Delusion in New England: Its Rise, Progress, and Termination (Vol. 3 of 3)Mather, Cotton
History
The Witchcraft Delusion in New England: Its Rise, Progress, and Termination (Vol. 3 of 3)
Mather, Cotton
Witchcraft -- New England
AS Philip English was a Man of a large Estate for those Days, and
carried on an extensive Business, it may be thought singular that Mr.
Calef should make no Mention of his Case in his Work. It may be that
he had not sufficient Data for the Purpose; or, more probably, it
may have been, that for certain Reasons he chose to leave the Matter
in the Hands of the two Ministers of the Old South, who, or one of
whom, had not the Independence to work openly with Mr. Calef, but who,
clandestinely, took the Part of the Accused, and helped him to escape.
However this may have been, so far as Mr. Willard was concerned,
enough will have been seen in Mr. Calef's Work to cause an Agitation
of the Question. And yet, it will appear, from what is to follow, that
Mr. Moody (then with Mr. Willard in the Old South) was the principal
Instrument in the Protection and final Escape of Mr. English and his
Wife from the Jaws of a "blind Ferocity."
The Testimony of William Beale, which follows was probably contrived by
certain Parties to recover Property owned or claimed by Mr. English.
At the Time of his Arrest, he owned a Ship of 170 Tons, named the
Porcupine, which was commanded by Robert Bartel, whose Son, William
Bartel, was living in 1739, at the Age of 45.
Mr. English, it is said, was an Episcopalian. Whether his Sentiments
had anything to do with his being proceeded against, does not appear.
He stated that by the Prosecution he was damaged £1,500. A Petition
of his to the Committee appointed by the General Court to compensate
Sufferers may be seen in Mr. Woodward's _Collections_, ii, 233. It is
curious to see now the Awards made to the Survivors of those whose
Mothers and Fathers had been judicially murdered! A few Pounds seems to
have settled the Account.
What follows, previous to William Beale's Testimony, although once
printed, will be quite new, probably, to the Majority of Readers; and
it is due to the Memory of a persecuted Family to perpetuate it in
Connection with the wicked Attempt at their Ruin.
About the Year 1810, the Rev. Timothy Alden was engaged in preparing
a Catalogue of Books for the Massachusetts Historical Society. While
in this Employment he procured from the Rev. William Bentley, D.D., of
Salem, the ensuing Account of Mr. English. What led to this Result was
Mr. Alden's Endeavors to obtain Information concerning a Portsmouth
Gentleman. Mr. Alden was then much interested in Portsmouth Affairs.
Dr. Bently proceeds: "In the Times of the Witchcraft in Salem Village,
no Person distinguished for Property, and known in the commercial
World, was accused but Philip English.[181] He came young into America,
from the Island of Jersey, lived in the Family of Mr. Hollingworth, a
rich Inhabitant of Salem, and afterwards married his only Daughter and
Child, Susanna. The Wife had received a better Education than is common
even at this Day [1809], as Proofs I hold sufficiently discover.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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