Nielsen Hayden genealogy
John Willard
- 1692-
Name John Willard Gender Male Death 19 Aug 1692 Gallows Hill, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts 
[1] Person ID I33750 Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others Last Modified 9 Apr 2021
Family Margaret Wilkins d. 5 Nov 1751, Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts Family ID F19888 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 9 Apr 2021
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Notes - He was judicially murdered in Salem in 1692, for the made-up offense of witchcraft. He had been a constable whose duties included bringing the accused before the court; in the course of this work, he began to doubt the truth of the accusations, and as a result became a target of those caught up in the "witchcraft" delusion. Among those testifying against him were his wife's grandfather Bray Wilkins and her aunt Margaret Wilkins, both of whom are, like his wife Margaret Wilkins, ancestors to DGH.
It is notable that his wife's father Thomas Wilkins and his wife Hannah Nichols, unlike several members of his family, were among the small number of people who signed the petition against the Salem minister Samuel Parris who did so much to foment the homicidal mania that killed over two dozen innocent people. Thomas Wilkins was one of the four "dissenting brethren" who led the anti-Parris movement from within the Salem church.
- He was judicially murdered in Salem in 1692, for the made-up offense of witchcraft. He had been a constable whose duties included bringing the accused before the court; in the course of this work, he began to doubt the truth of the accusations, and as a result became a target of those caught up in the "witchcraft" delusion. Among those testifying against him were his wife's grandfather Bray Wilkins and her aunt Margaret Wilkins, both of whom are, like his wife Margaret Wilkins, ancestors to DGH.
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Sources - [S5391] David L. Greene, "Bray Wilkins of Salem Village MA and His Children." The American Genealogist 60:1, 60:101, 1984.
- [S5391] David L. Greene, "Bray Wilkins of Salem Village MA and His Children." The American Genealogist 60:1, 60:101, 1984.