Bridget PLAYFER WASSELBEE OLIVER BISHOP, hanged as a witch in Salem on this day 325 years ago

Examination of a Witch, by T.H. Matteson 1853

Surname Saturday ~ PLAYFER

Hanged as a witch 325 years ago today.  Bridget Bishop was the first person hanged in the 1692 Salem witch hysteria.

Bridget Bishop, my 9^th great grandmother, is of unknown origin.  She married Samuel Wasselbee on 13 April 1660 at the church of St. Mary in the Marsh, in Norwich, Norfolk County, England.  She had two children named Wasselbee, Benjamin baptized in Norwich, and Mary’s birth recorded in Boston in 1665 as the daughter of “Samuel dec. & Bridget Wesselbee late of Norwich in England”.  I don’t know if Samuel died in England or Massachusetts.

On 26 July 1666 she married Thomas Oliver in Salem, Massachusetts.  He was also from Norwich, England.  She had a daughter named Christian Oliver, my 8^th great grandmother.  Apparently this was a contentious marriage, and the couple was sentenced in 1678 to stand gagged in public for fighting and arguing. Oliver died and  In 1680 Bridget received her first accusation of witchcraft as a widow.

About 1685 Bridget remarried for a third time to Edward Bishop. This was also his third marriage.  His first wife was Hannah UNKNOWN, and they were my 9^th great grandparents, through their son, Edward Bishop (1648- 1711) my 8^th great grandfather.  You can read about this lineage at this link: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/04/surname-saturday-bishop-of-salem.html

Edward Bishop was an older, well respected man who was a founder of the church in Beverly, Massachusetts.   On 18 April 1692 he accused his third wife of witchcraft “The Devil did come bodily unto her, and that she was familiar with the Devil, and that she sat up allnight long with the Devil”.  Soon other witnesses brought forth similar charges.  Bridget was accused of using “poppets” or dolls to bewitch victims, and of killing a baby in its cradle. She underwent the humiliation of having her body examined for marks made by the devil and "witches teats". She was tried on June 2, found guilty, and on 10 June 1692 she was the first hanging victim of the witch hysteria.

During 1692 many people were accused and imprisoned under charges of witchcraft.  There are many, many books and resources for the witch trials.  You can read social and local historians’ versions of what happened in Salem, the trials and the executions. What is more difficult to uncover is genealogical information on this family.  In 1867 Charles W. Upham wrote a book Salem Witchcraft: With an Account of Salem Village and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft.  This book confuses Sarah (Wildes) Bishop with Bridget Bishop.  Sarah Bishop, a tavern owner, was the wife of Edward Bishop’s son, Edward, Jr. This mistake has been repeated in many articles and books about Bridget Bishop and her trial. 

The court of Oyer and Terminer, which conducted the Salem Witch Trials, was disbanded in October 1692.  In 1693 Governor Phips granted several pardons to accused witches.  Over 70 people had been tried as witches, and 19 were executed.   More than 200 people had been accused.   In 1711 the state of Massachusetts cleared the names of the accused, and offered monetary restitution, but the Bishop family did not accept the settlement.  Bridget’s daughter, Christian (Oliver) Mason, my 8^th great grandmother, had died in 1693 and Bridget’s third husband, her accuser, had died in 1695.

On 12 April 1694 Edward Bishop was appointed the guardian of Susanna Mason, my 7th great grandmother, and took control of the 9 pounds she inherited from the death of her father, Thomas Oliver.  She grew up to marry John Becket of the shipbuilding family in Salem.  According to Sidney Perley in The History of Salem, "Bishop seems to have invested the money of his ward in the lot at the extreme end of Forrester Street, where it connects with Essex Street, bounded by Forrester Street on the north and east, and Essex Street on the south. This was the property of Susannah when she married John Becket, Jr."  The Becket shipyard was very close to this property.

And, just to make this more confusing, Edward Bishop, husband of Bridget, is my 9th great grandfather through his marriage with his first wife, Hannah Unknown.  His son, Edward Bishop, Jr. (1648 - 1711), my 8th great grandfather, married Sarah Wildes about 1675.  Her step mother, Sarah Averhill Wildes, was also hanged as a witch on 19 July 1692, a few weeks after Bridget Bishop's hanging.

Some genealogical sources of information on Bridget Playfer Wasselbee Oliver Bishop:

“Salem Witches 1: Bridget Bishop” by David Green, The American Genealogist, Volume 57, 1981, pages 129 – 138.

“Bridge (Playfer) (Wasselbe) (Oliver) Bishop: Her Origin and First Husband”, by Robert Charles Anderson, The American Genealogist, Volume 64, 1989, page 207.

Six Women of Salem: The Untold Story of the Accused ant their Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials, by Marilynne Roach,  2013, (see the afterward on pages 378 - 380 for additional genealogical information on the Bishop, Oliver and Mason families).  

My BISHOP lineage can be seen at this link:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/04/surname-saturday-bishop-of-salem.html  

My WILDES lineage can be seen at this link:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/08/surname-saturday-wildes-of-topsfield.html  

My PLAYFER genealogy:

Generation 1:  Bridget Player, born in England, married first to Samuel Wasselbee on 13 April 1660 at the church of St. Mary in the Marsh, Norwich, Norfolk, England; married second to Thomas Oliver on 26 July 1666 in Salem, Massachusetts; married third to Edward Bishop.  Two Wasselbee children, one daughter named Oliver.

Generation 2:  Christian Oliver, born 8 May 1667 in Salem, died about 1693; married about 1686 to Thomas Mason.

Generation 3:  Susannah Mason, born 23 August 1687 in Salem, died after 1769; married on 20 September 1711 in Salem to John Beckett, son of William Becket and Hannah Sibley.  He was born 10 August 1684 and died 1763 in Salem. Six children.

Generation 4: John Becket m. Rebecca Beadle

Generation 5:  Hannah Becket m. Joseph Cloutman

Generation 6:  Mary Cloutman m. Abijah Hitchings

Generation 7: Abijah Hitchings m. Eliza Ann Treadwell

Generation 8:  Abijah Franklin Hitchings m. Hannah Eliza Lewis

Generation 9:  Arthur Treadwell Hitchings m. Florence Etta Hoogerzeil

Generation 10: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents)

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To Cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Bridget PLAYFER WASSELBEE OLIVER BISHOP”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 10, 2017, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/06/bridget-playfer-wasselbee-oliver-bishop.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ OLIVER of Salem, Massachusetts

Thomas OLIVER, my 9^th great grandfather,  age 36, came to New England aboard the ship Mary Ann with his first wife, Mary Leman, two children (Thomas and John), and two servants (Thomas Doged, age 30; and Mary Sape age 12).  They arrived at Boston on 20 June 1637, but settled at Salem, Massachusetts where he bought much property.  Thomas Oliver was listed as a calenderman on the ship records.  The definition of a calenderman was one who operated a machine called a calender or mangle at a paper pulp mill or laundry.  The calender pressed cloth or paper between rollers to make them smooth or the proper thickness.

Thomas Oliver’s first wife, Mary, spoke out in support of the Salem church teacher Roger Williams.  Roger Williams was controversial because he was politically and theologically out of step with the Puritan church.  He was thus exiled from Salem, and ultimately exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Mary Oliver was punished in 1638 for “berating our elders”.  Thomas Oliver was brought to court for his inability to control his wife, and they were exiled back to England in 1649.  Sometime before 1666 Mary died and Thomas Oliver returned to Salem, where he still owned all his property.

On 26 July 1666 in Salem Thomas Oliver married for a second time to Bridget Playfer, the widow of Samuel Wasselbee.  They had one daughter, my 8^th great grandmother, Christian Oliver, born in 1667.  This was not a happy marriage.  Thomas beat Bridget.  They were brought to court several times, and in January 1669 they were charged with fighting in public and sentenced to pay a fine or be whipped with ten stripes.  They were brought to court again in 1677:

 “Bridget, wife of Thomas Oliver,.. for calling her husband many opprobrious names, as old rogue and old devil, on Lord’s days; she was ordered to stand with her husband, back to back on about an hour with a paper fastened to each of their foreheads, upon which their offence should be fairly written” (TAG, July 1981 see below)

In 1678 Thomas Oliver died without a will.  His estate was settled on 24 April 1679 and Bridget was named administrix.  She lost all the property he had accumulated when his debtors claimed many debts.  Bridget was left penniless, and had to petition the town of Salem for relief.  The people of Salem found Thomas Oliver’s death suspicious, and his children accused her of betwitching him to death.  Bridget received her first accusation of being a witch in 1680, and the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.

The twice widowed Bridget brought herself out of poverty by marrying the prosperous and well respected man Edward Bishop around 1687.  This marriage was not happy either, and Bridget found herself accused of witchcraft again in the 1692 hysteria. In my opinion, the events of both marriages led to her accusations.  She was the first person to be executed by hanging during these trials on 10 June 1692.

This is a blog post about the Oliver family, not just about Bridget, the accused witch.  I will write more about Bridget (Playfer) (Wasselbee) (Oliver) Bishop in a blog post to be posted 10 June 2017, the 325^th anniversary of her death.  Please stay tuned!

To read about my BISHOP lineage (from Bridget’s third husband, Edward Bishop – yes, I descend from both Bridget through her Oliver marriage, and Bishop through his marriage with his first wife Elizabeth) please see this link:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/04/surname-saturday-bishop-of-salem.html

For the truly curious:

Salem Witchcraft with an account of Salem Village and a history of opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects, by Charles W. Upham, NY: Frederick Unger Pub Co, 1978, 2 volumes.

A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England. by James Savage, Boston MA: Little Brown & Co., 1860, volume 3, page 311.

David L. Green, "Salem Witches I: Bridget Bishop", The American Genealogist, July 1981

The Olivers of the Sagdahoc, Georgtown, Maine, by Eliot Chandler

Salem Village Witchcraft: A Documentary Record of Local Conflict in Colonial New England, by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, 1972.  See pages 155 and 156 for the case of Bridget Oliver Brought to Court for Using Foul Language against Her Husband,  January 1678

My OLIVER lineage:

Generation 1:  Thomas Oliver, born about 1601 probably in Norwich, England, died before 24 June 1679 in Salem, Massachusetts; married first to Mary Leman on 29 January 1626 at St. Andrew’s in Norwich, England; married second on 26 July 1666 in Salem to Bridget Player, widow of Samuel Wasselbee.  She died by hanging in Salem on 10 June 1692.  One child.

Generation 2:  Christian Oliver, born 8 May 1667 in Salem, died about 1693; married about 1686 to Thomas Mason.  One child.

Generation 3:  Susannah Mason m. John Becket

Generation 4:  John Becket m. Rebecca Beadle

Generation 5:  Hannah Becket m. Joseph Cloutman

Generation 6:  Mary Cloutman m. Abijah Hitchings

Generation 7:  Abijah Hitchings m. Eliza Ann Treadwell

Generation 8:  Abijah Franklin Hitchings m. Hannah Eliza Lewis

Generation 9:  Arthur Treadwell Hitchings m. Florence Etta Hoogerzeil

Generation 10:  Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Surname Saturday ~ OLIVER of Salem, Massachusetts”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 13, 2017, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/05/surname-saturday-oliver-of-salem.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ WILDES of Topsfield and Salem, Massachusetts

WILDES/WILD/WILDE

John Wild (1619 – 1705), my 9^th great grandfather, and his brother, William, arrived in New England on board the ship Elizabeth on 10 April 1635.  John was listed as 17 years old, William was age 30.  They both first lived in Ipswich, and then John removed to Topsfield, Massachusetts. In several documents he was listed as a carpenter.   Although it appears that the brother, William, left no children, there are extensive records to be found on him in the court, land and probate records.

 About 1648 John Wild married Priscilla, the daughter of Zacheus Gould and they had eight children, who are listed in land records and in John’s last will and testament.  Priscilla died in 1663, and John remarried that same year to Sarah Averill, the daughter of William Averill of Ipswich.  Sarah was hanged as a witch during the witchcraft hysteria of 1692.  John then remarried to Mary, the widow of George Jacobs, who was also hanged as a witch.   George and Mary Jacobs were my 9^th great grandparents in another lineage.  It is interesting that these two “witch widows” married each other, don’t you think?

Sarah Wilde, born about 1651, was my 8^th great grandmother.  She married Edward Bishop, Jr. about 1675.  Edward Bishop (1648 – 1711) was the son of Edward Bishop (1620 – 1705) the third husband of my 9^th great grandmother, Bridge (Playfer) Oliver Wasselbee Bishop, who was also hanged as a witch on 10 June 1692.   You can see that this extended family was very affected by the witchcraft hysteria, and it touched many of the family members.  Sarah and Edward relocated to Rehoboth, Massachusetts during the time of the witch trials, to get away from the hysteria.  Rehoboth is more than 60 miles away from Salem. 

There are many good books out there on the 1692 Salem witch trials, and many include good sketches of the Wildes family. 

Some WILDES resources:

The Great Migration:  Immigrants to New England 1634 – 1635, by Robert Charles Anderson, Volume VII, pages 402 – 407 (sketch of John Wild)

The Ancestry of Dudley Wildes, 1759 - 1829, of Topsfield, Massachusetts, by Walter Goodwin Davis, 1959.

A Wildes Genealogy: The family of John Wild of Topsfield, Mass., and his descendants in Old Arundel, compiled by Douglas Wright Cruger, 1990

The Historical Collections of the Topsfield Historical Society, by the Topsfield Historical Society, 1920, several volumes including John Wild’s probate papers in Volume 25, pages 115 -116, etc.

   

My WILDES genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Wildes, born about 1619 in England, died 14 May 1705 in Topsfield; married about 1645 to Priscilla Gould, my 9^th great grandmother.  She was born about 1625 in Great Missenden, England and died 16 April 1663 in Topsfield.  He married second on 23 November 1663 to Sarah Averhill who was hung as a witch on 19 July 1692, and married third to Mary Unknown (also my 9^th great grandmother, widow of George Jacobs who was hung as a witch on 16 August 1692, my 9^th great grandfather in another lineage).   John and Priscilla had eight children.

Generation 2:  Sarah Wildes, born about 1651; married about 1675 to Edward Bishop.  He was born 23 February 1648 in Salem and died 12 May 1711 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.  Three children.  Edward Bishop was the son of Edward Bishop (1620 – 1705) who was married three times, once to Bridget Playfer, who was the first woman hung as a witch in Salem on 10 June 1692.

Generation 3:  James Bishop m. Sarah Holmes

Generation 4:  Sarah Bishop m. Daniel Poland

Generation 5:  Martha Poland m. Alexander Mears

Generation 6:  Samuel Mears m. Lydia W. Burnham

Generation 7: Samuel Mears m.  Sarah Ann Burnham

Generation 8: Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen

Generation 9: Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder

Generation 10: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo,  "Surname Saturday ~ WILDES of Topsfield and Salem, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 1, 2015, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/08/surname-saturday-wildes-of-topsfield.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ BISHOP of Salem, Massachusetts

Edward Bishop, my 9^th great grandfather,  was born in England and appears in the Salem, Massachusetts records in 1645 when he was admitted to the church.  He was a farmer and a sawyer.  Edward was married three times, and I descend from his marriage with his first wife, Hannah, but I also descend from his second wife, Bridget (Playfer) (Wasselbee) Oliver, who is best known for being the first person executed in the Salem witch hysteria of 1692.

Edward Bishop, was appointed guardian of Susannah Mason, the only child of Christian, who was the only child of Bridget by her husband Thomas Oliver.  Thus my 9^th great grandfather was appointed guardian to my 7^th great grandmother in a different lineage.  

Edward’s son, Edward Jr. and his wife Sarah Wildes, were also arrested during the witch hysteria, but avoided execution by escaping the Boston jail.  Sarah’s mother, Sarah (Averill) Wildes, was executed on 19 July 1692.  The escapees were my 8^th great grandparents, and their son, James, (my 7^th great grandfather) was born about seven years later.   James was a bricklayer and a mason in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

My BISHOP lineage:

Generation 1: Edward Bishop, born about 1620 in England, died about 1705 in Salem, Massachusetts; married first about 1645 to Hannah Unknown, mother of three children; married second in August 1667 to Elizabeth Lambert; married third to Bridget Playfer, widow of Thomas Oliver and Samuel Wasselbee.

Generation 2: Edward Bishop, born 23 February 1648 in Salem, died 12 May 1711 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts;  married about 1675 to Sarah Wildes. Three children.

Generation 3: James Bishop, baptized 14 August 1699 in Salem, died between 31 October and 10 December 1764 in Salem; married first on 28 March 1724 in Ipswich to Sarah Holmes, mother of ten children. Married second on 13 December 1750 to Sarah Millet.

Generation 4: Sarah Bishop, baptized on 19 May 1728 in Ipswich; married on 18 October 1747 to Daniel Poland, so of John Poland and Abigail Davis.  He was born about 1724 and died 19 August 1768 in Salem. 

Generation 5: Martha Poland, born 4 August 1754 in Ipswich, died 17 February 1843 in Essex, Massachusetts; married on 22 April 1773 in Wenham, Massachusetts to  Alexander Mears.  He was born about 1750 in England, died 3 April 1824 in Essex. Twelve children.

Generation 6: Samuel Mears, born about 1798 in Essex, died 28 August 1879 in Essex;  married on 29 March 1823 in Essex to Lydia W. Burnham, daughter of Asa Burnham and Polly Bray.  She was born 19 September 1802 in Essex, died 5 September 1864 in Essex.  Nine children.

Generation 7: Samuel Mears, born 29 December 1823 in Essex, died 13 January 1904 in Lynn, Massachusetts;  married on 20 April 1844 in Essex to Sarah Ann Burnham, daughter of Henry Burnham and Sally Poland.  Five children.  Samuel  married second on 26 December 1848 in Wenham to Lydia Gray, mother of four children.

Generation 8: Sarah Burnham Mears, born 30 November 1844 in Essex, died 4 March 1913 in Essex; married on 23 May 1863 in Essex to Joseph Gilman Allen, son of Joseph Allen and Orpha Andrews.  He was born 22 May 1830 in Essex and died 9 April 1908 in Essex. Ten children.

Generation 9: Joseph Elmer Allen, born 24 September 1870 in Essex, died 12 March 1932 at the Masonic Home in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts;  married on 1 November 1892 in Essex to  Carrie Maude Batchelder, daughter of George E. Batchelder and Mary Katherine Emerson.  She was born 22 September 1872 in Chichester, New Hampshire, and died 21 January 1963 at the Sea View Convalescent and Nursing Home, Rowley, Massachusetts. Five children. 

Generation 10: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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My lineage from Bridget (Player) (Wasselbee) (Oliver) BISHOP – this lineage lived for the first nine generations in Salem, Massachusetts, until my grandmother removed to Beverly (a contiguous town) and Hamilton, Massachusetts:

Generation 1:  Bridget Player,  died 10 June 1692 in Salem when she was hung as a witch; married first on 13 April 1660 at St. Mary in the Marsh, Norwich, England to Samuel Wasselbee ; married second about 1664 to Thomas Oliver, who died 1678; married third about 1685 to Edward Bishop (see above).

Generation 2:   Christian Oliver, daughter of Thomas Oliver and Bridget Playfer; born 8 May 1667 in Salem, died about 1693; married about 1686 in Salem to Thomas Mason.

Generation 3:  Susannah Mason, born 23 August 1687 in Salem, died after 1769; married 20 September 1711 in Salem to John Becket, son of William Becket and Hannah Sibley.  He was born 10 August 1684 and died 1763 in Salem.

Generation 4: John Becket born 28 February 1715 in Salem, died 29 August 1781 in Salem; married first on 3 May 1738 to Rebecca Beadle, mother of thirteen children.  She was the daughter of Lemon Beadle and Rebecca Atwater, born 31 January 1714 in Salem, died 13 January 1758 in Salem.  John married second on 25 November 1762 in Salem to Sarah Rue.

Generation 5: Hannah Becket, born 17 November 1751 in Salem, died 18 August 1837 in Salem; married on 20 June 1770 in Salem to Joseph Cloutman, son of Joseph Cloutman and Mary Webb.  Seven children.

Generation 6: Mary Cloutman,  born about 1775 in Salem, died 28 November 1853 in Salem; married 21 December 1795 in Salem to Abijah Hitchings, son of Abijah Hitchings and Mary Gardner.  He was born about 1775 in Lynn, Massachusetts, and died 26 July 1868 in Salem. Eleven children.

Generation 7: Abijah Hitchings, born 18 January 1809 in Salem, died 18 January 1864 in Salem; married 4 December 1836 in Salem to Eliza Ann Treadwell, daughter of Jabez Treadwell and Betsey Jillings Homan.  She was born 27 August 1812 in Salem, and died 31 January 1896 in Salem.  Four children.

Generation 8: Abijah Franklin Hitchings, born 28 October 1841 in Salem, died 19 May 1910 in Salem;  married on 22 September 1864 in Salem to Hannah Eliza Lewis, daughter of Thomas Russell Lewis and Hannah Phillips.  She was born about 1844 in Salem, and died 15 February 1921 at the Danvers State Hospital, Danvers, Massachusetts. Two children.

Generation 9: Arthur Treadwell Hitchings, born 10 May 1868 in Salem, died 7 March 1937 in Hamilton, Massachusetts; married on 25 December 1890 in Beverly, Massachusetts to Florence Etta Hoogerzeil, daughter of Peter Hoogerzeil  and Mary Etta Healey.  She was born 20 August 1871 in Beverly and died 10 February 1941 in Hamilton. Eight children.

Generation 10: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents) (see above)

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Copyright © 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo