eldritchhobbit

Speaking of author Ray Bradbury, one of my biggest “lightbulb moments” this year was learning that the October King himself was a descendant of one of the women tried, convicted, and sentenced to death as a witch in the infamous Salem Witch Trials.

It's true!

(Ray Bradbury. Photo by Alan Light. Source.)

Fortunately, Mary Bradbury managed to evade her sentence and live to the ripe old age of eighty-five.

Here is a fascinating article from Genealogy Magazine: “The Witchcraft Trial of Mary Perkins Bradbury.”

Visiting Mary Bradbury’s burial place is also part of J.W. Ocker’s Odd Things I’ve Seen 2019 Halloween Die-ary here.

To quote from Historic Ipswich:

The papers connected with her trial, as well as those of the others, who were, some of them, more unfortunate, have been preserved, and are to be seen on the tiles in the Clerk of Courts Office in Salem, Mass… We copy them from the original.

The answer of Mary Bradbury to the charge of witchcraft or familiarity with the Devil:

“I do plead not guilty. — I am wholly innocent of such wickedness through the goodness of God that hath kept me hitherto. I am the servant of Jesus Christ and have given myself up to him as my only Lord and Saviour, and to the diligent attendance upon him in all holy ordinances, in utter contempt and defiance of the Devil & all his works as horrid and detestable; and have endeavored accordingly to frame my life & conversation according to the rules of his holy word, and in that faith and practice resolve, by the help and assistance of God, to continue to my life’s end. For the truth of what I say as to matter of practice, I humbly refer myself to my brethren and neighbors that know me, and to the searcher of all hearts for the truth & uprightness of my heart therein, human frailties & unavoidable infirmities excepted, of which I bitterly complain every day.”

(”The Witch No. 3.” Source.)

And according to the Salem Witch Museum:

“Mistress Bradbury was convicted and sentenced to death on September 9. While the petition and overwhelming support of her friends and neighbors did nothing to change the judges’ minds, Bradbury eluded the hangman’s noose. With the help of her many friends, and her wealth, she escaped from jail and lived as a fugitive. She remained in hiding into 1693, finally returning to her family in May of that year. She died in 1700 at the age of 85.

“In September of 1710, her family petitioned for a reversal of the conviction, which was granted in October of that year.

“Additional note: One of Mary Bradbury’s eleven children, a son named Wymond, married Sarah Pike, daughter of Major Robert Pike. Among Mary Bradbury’s descendants are two distinguished literary figures: Ralph Waldo Emerson (a fourth great-grandson) and Ray Bradbury (a seventh great-grandson).