Mercy Wright

Mercy married John Wilson on 21 Jun 1716 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts. John (son of Joseph Wilson and Sarah Lord) was born on 23 Feb 1682 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts; died on 24 Dec 1759 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Mercy Wilson was born on 13 Aug 1717 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts; died on 31 Aug 1751 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts; was buried in Old Burying Ground, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

John married Mercy Wardwell on 31 Aug 1697 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts. Mercy (daughter of Samuel Wardwell and Sarah Hooper) was born on 3 Oct 1673 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts; died on 16 Feb 1754 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Mary Wardwell. She, her parents, and her half-sister (Sarah Hawkes, her mother's daughter by her first husband) were accused of witchcraft in the course of the great insanity. Her father was convicted and hung on 22 Sep 1692. At a new court convened on 10 Jan 1693, she and her half-sister were acquitted, but her mother was convicted. Subsequently her mother was pardoned by Governor William Phips and thus escaped execution.

Notes:

He was a weaver.

Walter married Susanna Johnson on 26 Feb 1667 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts. Susanna (daughter of John Johnson and Susan) was born about 1648 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts; died on 3 Jun 1684 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

He was a carpenter by trade, and enjoyed telling fortunes to the town youth of Andover. He probably practiced some form of folk magic. On 22 Sep 1692, at Salem, he became the last man in America to be hung for witchcraft.

From Wikipedia (accessed 3 May 2020):

Samuel Wardwell was a man accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials of 1692. He was executed by hanging on September 22, 1692, along with Alice Parker, Martha Corey, Mary Eastey, Ann Pudeator, Mary Parker, Wilmot Redd, and Margaret Scott.

Wardwell was born on May 16, 1643, to Thomas Wardwell and Elizabeth Woodruff in Boston, Massachusetts. His father had been a follower of John Wheelwright and Anne Hutchinson.

Samuel's wife, Sarah, controlled a one hundred and eighty-eight-acre estate, which she had inherited from her first husband, Adam Hawkes, upon his death. The Province of Massachusetts Bay passed a law which provided attainder for "conjuration, witchcraft, and dealing with evil and wicked spirits", which meant the loss of civil, inheritance, and property rights of those accused.

William Baker Jr., 14 years old, accused Samuel, Sarah, and their 19-year-old daughter Mercy Wardwell of witchcraft. All three confessed the very day they were interrogated.

Samuel was executed at Proctor's Ledge in Salem after retracting a "forced" confession. Eventually his widow, Sarah Wardwell, was reprieved and released. In 1712, after Sarah died, their son, Samuel Wardwell Jr., was left destitute and later sued the Colony, winning some compensation for the family's ordeals.

Samuel married Sarah Hooper on 9 Jan 1673 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts. Sarah (daughter of William Hooper and Elizabeth) was born on 7 Dec 1650 in Reading, Middlesex, Massachusetts; died between 1703 and 19 Feb 1712 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 19 Feb 1712

Notes:

She, her husband, their daughter Mercy, and her daughter by her first marriage Sarah Hawkes, were accused of witchcraft in the course of the great insanity. Her husband was convicted and hung on 22 Sep 1692. At a new court convened on 10 Jan 1693, her daughters were both acquitted, but she was convicted. Subsequently she was pardoned by Governor William Phips and thus escaped execution.

She died in Andover some time after 1703, when (along with her son Samuel) she signed a petition for the lifting of attainder, and before 19 Feb 1712, when Samuel referred to her as deceased.

Notes:

Emigrated in 1635 on the James. First at Ipswich, then Andover in 1657. He was a shoemaker.

John married Susan before 1631. Susan was born about 1611; died on 12 Sep 1683 in Andover, Essex, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

He was a shoemaker and an innkeeper. He emigrated in about 1634. First at Boston, where, with his brother William Wardwell, he was a follower of Anne Marbury Hutchinson. Both Wardwell brothers were consequently disarmed and left for Exeter in 1639 with the Rev. John Wheelwright. He and his brother were both signers of the Exeter Combination. In Exeter, he was sergeant of the train band, and was the only man in town allowed to sell alcoholic beverages.

From the fact that he first appears in the record upon admission to the Boston church on 9 Nov 1634, and his obvious association with Mrs. Hutchinson and the Rev. Wheeler, it seems very likely that he crossed the Atlantic in 1634 on the Griffin, on the same journey as William and Anne Marbury Hutchinson and their ten children.

According to Robert Charles Anderson (citation details below), he returned to Boston in 1646, dying there on 10 September of that year. According to Marjorie Wardwell Otten (citation details below), he died on that date in Exeter. It is certain that his death was recorded in the Boston records (NEHGR 9:166, Apr 1855), but that doesn't completely establish where he actually died.

Thomas married Elizabeth before 1632. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Often said, without proof, to have been Elizabeth Woodruff. Her maiden name and origins are in fact unknown.

Notes:

First appears at Reading, Massachusetts in 1645. Robert Charles Anderson has pointed out that, contrary to Savage and Pope, there is no particularly reason to suppose that this William Hooper was the same as the man of that name who appears on the passenger list of the James in 1635.

William married Elizabeth. Elizabeth died before 14 Dec 1664. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

William Hooper called Capt. Thomas Marshall "brother", from which it has been supposed that she was a sister to Thomas Marshall.