Mercy Lewis

Mercy Lewis (fl. 1692) was an accuser during the Salem Witch Trials. She was born in Falmouth, Maine. Mercy Lewis, formally known as Mercy Allen, was the child of Philip Lewis and Mary (Cass) Lewis.

Mercy Lewis
Bornc. 1674/1675
Massachusetts Bay Colony (present-day Falmouth, Maine)
Died17??
OccupationMaidservant
Known forAccuser in the Salem witch trials
1876 illustration of the courtroom; the central figure is usually identified as Mary Walcott

Early life

Lewis was a refugee seeking out protection after an attack on her village. Her family later stayed in Casco Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Maine, New England, with other refugees. Rev. George Burroughs, a Puritan minister who served in Salem, Massachusetts from 1680–83, was one of the survivors of the attack by the Native Americans.[1]

After settling in Salem, Mercy Lewis's uncle, Thomas Skilling, died from an injury brought on by the attack. In 1683, the Lewis family traveled back to the island in Casco Bay. The second attack of the Native Americans in 1689 resulted in the death of Mercy's parents and made her an orphan.[1]

On September 30, 1689, an attack by Native Americans killed her grandparents, aunts, uncles and most of her cousins. As a result, the 14-year-old Mercy was placed as a servant in the household of Rev. Burroughs. By 1691, she had moved to Salem, where a married sister was living; she became a servant in Thomas Putnam's household.[2]

Salem Witch Trials

Lewis played a crucial role during the Salem witch trials in 1692, when 20 people were executed for witchcraft, including her former master, George Burroughs. Like the accusation placed on Elizabeth Proctor on March 26, 1692, Mercy was accountable for hindering Mary Eastey's release from prosecution and eventual execution after all other charges against Eastey had been dropped.[3] Accusations were made against Elizabeth Proctor that she tormented both Abigail Williams and Mercy Lewis in their homes.[4]

It is reported that Mercy Lewis was a victim of child abuse after statements were taken from witnesses such as Abigail Williams and Thomas Putnam.[5]

As a member of the Putnam household, Lewis became friends with Ann Putnam, Jr. and her cousin Mary Walcott. Putnam and Walcott's accusations would help launch the witch hysteria. In early April 1692, Lewis claimed that Satan had appeared to her, offering her "gold and many fine things" if she would write in his book; shortly thereafter, Satan appeared to her in the form of Burroughs, whom she reported "carried me up to an exceeding high mountain and showed me all the kingdoms of the earth, and told me that he would give them all to me if I would write in his book."[6]

No information or medical history was recorded on the mental state of Mercy Lewis during the Salem Witch Trails. However, it was reported that Mercy suffered from episodes of seizures. One record stated that Lewis had a violent seizure on May 7, 1692, after experiencing torture and threats from Burroughs. This act was brought on by Lewis's refusal to printing her name in a book Reverend Burroughs owned in order to clearly state her allegiance to him.[7]

Lewis also accused Mary Esty, sister of Rebecca Nurse, who would be tried and hanged.[8] Others accused by Lewis include Giles Corey, Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, John Willard, and Sarah Wildes.[9] Lewis was the subject of accusations. Ann Putnam Jr. claimed she had seen Lewis' apparition, though she said it had not harmed her.[10]

After the trials, Mercy moved to Boston to live with her aunt. There she bore an illegitimate son. By 1701, she had married a Mr. Allen in Boston.[11]

Fiction

Lewis is one of the featured characters in Arthur Miller's play (and later film) The Crucible. She is also a character in the 2014 TV series Salem, portrayed by Elise Eberle.[12]

Porpentina Goldstein used Mercy Lewis’ name as an expression of surprise and shock in the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film).[13]

References
  1. "Mercy Lewis: Orphaned Afflicted Girl". History of Massachusetts. 2014-01-21. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
  2. Carroll, Meghan; Stone, Jenny (2002). "Mercy Lewis". Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project. Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Virginia. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  3. Roach, Marilynne K. (2004-10-25). The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege. Taylor Trade Publications. ISBN 9781589795112.
  4. Breslaw, Elaine G. (1997-01-01). "Tituba's Confession: The Multicultural Dimensions of the 1692 Salem Witch-Hunt". Ethnohistory. 44 (3): 535–56. doi:10.2307/483035. JSTOR 483035.
  5. Norton, Mary Beth (2007-12-18). In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307426369.
  6. Boyer, Paul (1974). Salem Possessed. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 210.
  7. Starkey, Marion Lena (1949-01-01). The Devil in Massachusetts,a modern inquiry into the Salem witch trials ([1st ed.] ed.). New York. hdl:2027/mdp.39015007020186.
  8. Richards, Jeffrey J (2002). The Cry at Salem: America's Witch Trials. Eugene, Or.: Resource Publications. pp. 40–41.
  9. Carroll, Meghan. "Mercy Lewis". The Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  10. Norton, Mary Beth (2002). In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 134.
  11. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Genealogy Publishing Co., Inc. 1985. ISBN 9780806311029.
  12. "Salem (TV Series 2014–2017)". www.imdb.com. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  13. J.K. Rowling (18 November 2016). Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay. Pottermore. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-78110-960-1.

Sources
  • Boyer, Paul; Nissenbaum, Stephen (1974). Salem possessed the social origins of witchcraft (24 ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674785267.
  • Hale, John (2008). A modest enquiry into the nature of witchcraft [and how persons guilty of that crime may be convicted : and the means used for their discovery discussed, both negatively and affimatively, according to Scripture and experience]. Bedford, Mass.: Applewood Books. ISBN 978-1557091826.
  • Karlsen, Carol F. (1998). The devil in the shape of a woman : witchcraft in colonial New England. New York, NY [u.a.]: Norton. ISBN 978-0393317596.
  • Norton, Mary Beth (2002). In the devil's snare : the Salem witchcraft crisis of 1692 (1st ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0965460972.
  • Rosenthal, Bernard (1993). Salem story : reading the witch trials of 1692. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0521440615.
  • Torrey, Clarence Almon (1985). New England marriages prior to 1700. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0806311029.
  • Upham, Charles W. (1867).
  • Salem Witchcraft at Project Gutenberg
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