B Y C I A R R A VA N D E RV E E N M S . D E L G R E G O

J U N I O R E N G L I S H1 0 / 1 6 / 1 2

Reverend Samuel Parris and Elizabeth (Betty) Parris

Birth/ death of Samuel Parris

Born in 1653 in Barbados Died February 27, 1720 in

Sudbury

Childhood and Education

Samuel Parris grew up in Barbados He was the younger son of a London cloth

merchant- Thomas ParrisStudied at Harvard At age 20, after his father died, he inherited land

in Barbados and moved back after he graduated

Career and Religious Practices

After moving back to Barbados, worked in a Caribbean sugar plantation

1680- moved to Boston with his two slaves, one named Tituba

1686- he did not like being a merchant, so he began filling in for absent ministers and speaking at church meetings

In July of 1689, Samuel began as a Puritan minister and family settled in the parsonage in Salem, Massachusetts

He preached about predestination and damnation of the people

Family life

Samuel Parris married Elizabeth Eldridge when he arrived in Boston

They had three children together. The first was a son named Thomas, a daughter named Elizabeth (Betty), and another daughter named Susahanna

His niece Abigail Williams came to live with him as well

Birth/ Death of Elizabeth (Betty) Parris

She was born on November 27, 1682Died on March 21, 1760

Childhood and Career of Elizabeth

Read the bibleTake care of the houseSew, clean, cookAttend church servicesListen to her father’s preaching-

difficulty accepting predestination and damnation

She was only 9 when the Salem “epidemic” began

Involvement in the Salem Witch Trials

Elizabeth and cousin Abigail Williams began playing games such as “Ring around the Rosie” and fortune telling with the “Venus glass”

The Venus glass is an egg white suspended in water where shapes and figures could be seen about the future, i.e. social status and husband’s trade.

Both Elizabeth and Abigail began to develop strange symptoms

Symptoms of “Witchcraft”

Elizabeth forgot to run errands and was always unable to concentrate

Pinching, prickling, chocking sensationsSudden outbursts

screamed during the “Our Father” prayer and threw the bible across the church

denied father’s preaching and spoke as if damnation was “inevitable”

Dr. William Griggs suggested that these symptoms were a result of witchcraft

Salem Witch Trials

Both Elizabeth and Abigail accused Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborn of bewitching them

Samuel Parris organized meetings and days of fasting to help Elizabeth get better

He beat Tituba into confessing about the witchcraft

Preached about the awful effects of witchcraft and simply tried to distract attention away from his own family

Continued…

Mrs. Parris protested to the government using Elizabeth as a witch finder

Elizabeth was sent to live with Stephen Sewall, a distant cousin of Samuel Parris, to recover

Isolation helped stop most symptoms

Elizabeth’s family life after Salem Witch Trials

Married Benjamin Baron He was a yeoman, trader, and shoemaker in Sudbury They had four children- Thomas, Elizabeth Junior,

Catherine, and Susanna

Works Cited

Latner, Richard B. "The Salem Witchcraft Site." Salem Witchcraft. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www.tulane.edu/~salem/>.

Linder, Douglas O. "Samuel Parris." Samuel Parris. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/asa_par.htm>.

Rogasta, Seth. "Salem Witch Trials in History and Literature." Rev. Samuel Parris. N.p., 2002. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/saxon-salem/servlet/SaxonServlet?source=salem/texts/bios.xml>.

Walsh, Sarah-Nell. "Elizabeth Parris." Important Persons in the Salem Court Records. N.p., 2001. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/saxon-salem/servlet/SaxonServlet?source=salem/texts/bios.xml>.