Andover, Massachusetts, a town located approximately 15 miles northwest of Salem Village, holds a significant and often tragic place in the history of the Salem Witch Trials. This colonial settlement, initially established as an inland plantation in 1634, became a formal town in May 1646, likely named in honor of Andover, England. The first recorded town meeting occurred in 1656 at the home of settler John Osgood, laying the groundwork for a community that would soon face unprecedented turmoil.
During the harrowing events of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, Andover found itself disproportionately affected by the pervasive hysteria. More individuals were accused and arrested for witchcraft from Andover than from any other town in New England, highlighting the depth of fear and paranoia that gripped the region.
The Pre-existing Climate of Fear in Andover
The atmosphere in Andover leading up to and during the trials was already charged with apprehension. The Massachusetts Bay Colony had recently seen its charter revoked by the Crown, creating political instability and uncertainty. Within the town itself, differing ideological views between two pastors caused a split in the local church, further fragmenting community cohesion. Moreover, the constant threat of Indian raids in nearby towns like Haverhill and Billerica contributed to a pervasive sense of insecurity and vulnerability. This complex blend of political, religious, and external threats provided fertile ground for the witch hysteria to take root and flourish in Andover.
Martha Carrier: The First Andover Accusation
The spread of the witch hysteria from Salem Village to Andover was tragically swift. One of the first and most notable accused from Andover was Martha Carrier. Known for her strong will and outspoken nature, traits that were not admired by the Puritans of the era, Martha found herself in a land dispute with her neighbor, Benjamin Abbot. Following their disagreement, Abbot fell ill and attributed his sickness to Carrier’s bewitching him, later testifying that she had even caused the death of one of his cows.
On May 28, 1692, Martha Carrier was arrested alongside her sister, Mary Toothaker, her brother-in-law, Roger Toothaker, and their nine-year-old daughter, Margaret. During her examination on May 31 by Judges John Hathorne, Jonathan Corwin, and Bartholomew Gedney, several of the ‘afflicted girls’ from Salem, including Susanna Sheldon, Mary Walcott, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Ann Putnam, Jr., testified against her. Despite her pleas of not guilty and accusations that the girls were lying, Martha’s own young children were coerced into testifying against their mother. Ann Foster further implicated her in July. Sadly, while her children would eventually survive the ordeal, Martha Carrier was convicted on August 2 and tragically hanged on August 19, 1692, alongside George Burroughs, George Jacobs, Sr., John Proctor, and John Willard.
The Spreading Frenzy: Timothy Swan and the Ballards
By July 1692, the hysteria intensified with a young, ailing man named Timothy Swan beginning to accuse various individuals, including Mary Ayer Parker, Mary Tyler Post Bridges, Rebecca Blake Eames, and Frances Alcock Hutchins. Swan was often joined in his accusations by Ann Putnam, Jr. and Mary Walcott, two of the key ‘afflicted girls’. The number of accusations in Andover rapidly escalated. Between July 15 and September 7, Dudley Bradstreet, acting as Justice of the Peace, issued approximately 30 arrest warrants for Andover residents suspected of witchcraft, a number that would continue to grow.
Later that summer, when the wife of Andover resident Joseph Ballard fell ill, her family suspected witchcraft. Mr. Ballard sought the assistance of Ann Putnam, Jr. and Mary Walcott from Salem Village to identify the culprit. Upon visiting Elizabeth Ballard, the girls claimed she had been bewitched by several Andover residents, including Ann Foster, her daughter Mary Lacey Sr., her granddaughter Mary Lacey, Jr., and many others. The Ballards then enlisted the help of Reverend Thomas Barnard, a protégé of the influential Reverend Cotton Mather. Both Barnard and Mather were staunch believers in witchcraft and the existence of an ‘invisible empire’ threatening the pious people of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This belief stood in stark contrast to the views of Barnard’s co-pastor, Reverend Frances Dane, who had openly condemned the witch hunt from its inception. Nevertheless, Reverend Barnard played a pivotal role in exacerbating the hysteria and organizing prayer meetings against the Devil.
The Infamous “Touch Test” and Mass Arrests
On September 7, 1692, Reverend Barnard orchestrated one of the most diabolical schemes of the witch trials: the ‘Touch Test.’ He ordered all accused individuals to gather at the Andover meeting house where the ‘afflicted girls’ were being held. The prevailing belief was that if a witch touched the body of the person they had bewitched, the afflicted individual would instantly recover and identify their tormentor. Barnard, after reciting a prayer, blindfolded the accused and compelled them to approach the ‘afflicted girls.’ As the accused drew near, the girls would fall into fits, claiming to be cursed. However, upon being touched by the accused, they would immediately emerge from their fits and identify the person who had touched them as their afflicter. This ‘evidence’ was deemed sufficient to warrant the arrest of the accused as witches.
Justice of the Peace Dudley Bradstreet subsequently issued arrest warrants for 18 men and women implicated in the ‘Touch Test,’ including Sarah Lord Wilson and her 14-year-old daughter, Sarah, Jr., as well as Mary Tyler and her daughter, Johanna, among others.
Resistance and Redemption in Andover
Initially, Andover’s elite, including prominent figures like Captain Osgood and Deacon Frye, urged their friends and family members to confess. They genuinely believed Reverend Thomas Barnard’s message that confession offered a path to eternal life and would protect them from trial and execution. Many confessed, hoping to avoid a worse fate. However, as numerous wives and children were imprisoned, these pillars of the church began to realize the extent of the deception and the fanaticism of their younger minister, Barnard. Fully grasping the grave implications of the hysteria, they turned to their older, more skeptical minister, Reverend Frances Dane, and began to organize a formidable resistance movement. Under Reverend Dane’s guidance, they initiated decisive actions to secure the release of their incarcerated family members.
Throughout the legal proceedings, more than 40 Andover citizens, predominantly women and children, were formally accused of having made a covenant with the Devil. Three Andover residents—Martha Carrier, Mary Ayer Parker, and Samuel Wardwell—were convicted and executed. Five others, including Mary Lacey Sr., Abigail Faulkner Sr., Sarah Wardwell, Elizabeth Johnson, Jr., and Ann Foster, either pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial. Those who were not executed were later granted reprieves by Governor William Phips, though sadly, Ann Foster died in prison before her release. Before the hysteria finally subsided, an astonishing 80% of Andover’s residents had been drawn into the witch hunt, giving the town the unfortunate distinction of having the most confessed witches and the highest number of children arrested during the trials.
Andover’s Legacy and Modern Day
The resistance led by Reverend Frances Dane, coupled with numerous petitions, eventually led to a decisive shift in public opinion against the trials. Even the once-radical Minister Cotton Mather began to question the spectral evidence upon which many convictions were based, coming to believe that innocent people were being unjustly hanged. Ultimately, it was Andover that played a crucial role in leading the campaign to bring the infamous witch trials to an end.
By 1705, Andover’s growing population expanded southward, leading to the division of the town into two parishes, North and South, in 1709. Today, the original town center is known as North Andover, home to approximately 28,000 residents. Its development is diverse, with industrial areas along the Shawsheen and Merrimack Rivers and more agricultural lands to the southwest. North Andover now serves as a significant bedroom community for the greater Boston area.
The old burying ground in what is now North Andover still marks the original center of the early town, where the meeting house once stood surrounded by clusters of colonial homes. Remarkably, the Benjamin Abbot House, built in 1685 and home to Martha Carrier’s accuser, still stands today at 9 Andover St. This privately owned historical landmark remained with the Abbot family for eight generations until 1933 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, serving as a tangible link to a tumultuous past. The story of Andover serves as a poignant reminder of the dangers of mass hysteria and the importance of critical thinking in times of fear.
