Susannah North

   Cause of her death was by hanging, as a witch.

  General Notes:

1. AF says b. Salisbury but chr 3 yrs earlier in England?
2. Salem Witch Trials - She was found guilty of witchcraft and hung in Salem
3. Pioneers of Mass, pp. 303, 331 - she filed suit against siblings over parents estate
4. Essex Docket, husband's will #17890
5. father's will # 19587


Susanna was baptized in Olney, Buchinghamshire, England September 30, 1621. She was the daughter of Richard and Joan (Bartram) North. While she was still young her mother died. She came to America with her father, stepmother, and at least one sister. She married George Martin, a blacksmith, August 11, 1646 at Salisbury, MA and had eight children. During the first 23 years of her marriage, Susanna's name appears twice in public records. In 1647 or 48, she was fined 20 shillings for an unnamed offense, and in 1667 her husband George objected to her seat placement in the meeting house. Perhaps he felt it was below her station.
In 1669, Susanna was required to post 100 pounds bond to appear in court on a charge of witchcraft, a capital offense. At the same time, George Martin sued William Sargent, Jr. for slander for saying that "...said Martyn's wife had a child at Capt. Wiggins, and was wringing its neck in Capt. Wiggins' stable, when a man entered,and she took him by the collar and told him she would be the death of him if he told"; he sued William Sargent "...for saying his wife was a witch and he would call her a witch." George also sued Thomas Sargent "... for saying that his son George Martin was a bastard, and that Richard Martin was Goodwife Martins' imp," (a witch's familiar.) Charges were dropped against Thomas Sargent, William Sargent, Jr. was found guilty of accusing Susanna of "fornication and infanticide", and George was awarded (in what appears to be a public insult) the amount of "a white wampum peague (colonial currency) or the eight part of a penny damage" by the magistrates. William Sargent, Sr. was acquitted of witchcraft slander, although, "the Court did not agree." The records of Susanna's first trial for witchcraft have not survived, but as she was around for another 23 years, we might assume that she was acquitted.
In October, 1669, George Martin was sued by Christopher Bartlett because Susanna had called him a liar and a thief. The verdict was against George and Susanna, but they had other problems to deal with. At that same court, their son Richard was "presented by the grand jury at the Salisbury Court, 1669, for abusing his father, and throwing him down, taking away his clothes, and holding up an axe against him." The court found him guilty and sentenced Richard to be "whipped ten stripes."
In 1671, George and Susanna (her sister Mary Jones would join them later) became involved in lengthy litigation over Richard North's estate. In October 1674, their inheritance would be lost when the court found against them.
On April 30, 1692, a warrant was issued for Susanna's arrest on a charge of witchcraft, and she was arrested on May 2nd. "When she saw Orlando Bagley approaching on the morning of her arrest, little did she dream of his errand. He was a personal friend of long standing, and we can but faintly imagine her surprise when..." he read the warrant.
On June 26, 1692, her trail began. Susanna pleaded not guilty, but in the end, she was found guilty.
On Tuesday, July 19, 1692, Susanna Martin, Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Wilde, and Elizabeth Howe were taken from their cells, put into a cart, and driven up the rocky road to Gallows Hill. While Rebecca Nurse prayed, Rev. Nicholas Noyes exhorted Sarah Good to confess saying "You are a witch, and you know you are a witch." She replied, calling him a liar and saying that she was no more a witch than he was a wizard and ... if you take away my life, God will give you blood to drink." Tradition says that Rev. Noyes died of an internal hemorrhage, bleeding profusely from the mouth.
In 1711, the General Court granted compensation to many of the victims or their heirs, but Susanna's children made no application to the authorities, and they received nothing. Susanna was not among those whose attainder was lifted.

SUSANNA NORTH MARTIN:
"Wid. Susanna was tried for witchcraft, at Salem, June 29, and executed July 19, 1692. She was arrested by a warrant dated April 30, examined May 20, 1692. One charge against her was that she went from Amesbury to Newbury afoot, in a "dirty season," without getting her clothing wet. She is described as a "short, active woman, wearing a hood and scarf, plump and well developed in her figure, of remarkable personal neatness;" one who "scorned to be drabbled;" "a strong minded woman, as her examination shows."

"If the trestimony of Wm. Brown (pg 75) is conclusive as to date, she was accused of witchcraft as early as 1660. In April, 1669, suit of Geo. Martin against William Sargent, for slander, in saying said Martyn's wife was a witch, the jury found for the defendant, but the court "concurred not with the jury." Geo. Martyn gave bond that his wife Susanna should appear at the next court to answer to the charge concerning suspicion of witchcraft. In Oct. 1669, she was required to acknowledge in open court that she wronged Christopher Bartlett, in charging him with lying and stealing."
OldNorfolk County Records

Susannah married George B. Martin, son of Christopher Martin and Marie Prower, on 11 Mar 1646 in Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. (George B. Martin was born in 1618 in Ramsey, Hampshire, England, died on 23 Nov 1686 in Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States and was buried in Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States.)