George Corwin

George Corwin (February 26, 1666 – April 12, 1696) was the High Sheriff of Essex County, Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials, which he signed warrants for the arrest and execution of those condemned of witchcraft. Corwin was also responsible for choosing the execution site in Salem for the 19 innocent people hanged. On September 16, 1692, he was ordered by the Court of Oyer and Terminer to preside over the interrogation under torture of Giles Corey, who was pressed to death for refusing to stand trial for witchcraft.[1]

Corwin died of a heart attack on April 12, 1696, at the age of 30, after which his burial was delayed by a Salem resident named Phillip English, who was accused during the Witch trials, and had his property seized by Corwin.[2] English put a lien on Corwin's corpse, and delayed its burial until he had been reimbursed for the property he lost to Corwin.[3] He was eventually reimbursed, allowing the burial to proceed.

George Corwin was the grandson of John Winthrop the Younger, the Governor of Connecticut.[4] His wife, Lydia Gedney,[5] was the daughter of Bartholomew Gedney, one of the magistrates involved in the witch trials.

References
  1. "Salem Witch Trials: George Corwin and Stephen Sewall.... Autographs | Lot #56037". Heritage Auctions. Retrieved Jun 5, 2020.
  2. "George Corwin (1666-1696) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved Jun 5, 2020.
  3. "Robert Calef, More Wonders of the Invisible World". www.piney.com. Retrieved Jun 5, 2020.
  4. Corwin, Edward Tanjore (Jun 5, 1872). "Corwin Genealogy (Curwin, Curwen, Corwine) in the United States". Green. Retrieved Jun 5, 2020 – via Google Books.
  5. Finch, Jessie Everts Howell (Jun 5, 1965). "The ancestral lines of Chester Everts Howell, 1867-1949: of Elmira, New York, U.S.A." Howell associates. Retrieved Jun 5, 2020 – via Google Books.
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