REVEREND GEORGE BURROUGHS
Reverend George Burroughs was brought up in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard in 1670, and moved to Falmouth, Maine to preach. In 1676, he returned to Massachusetts when King Philip's War erupted. He became the minister in Salem Village, but there were many disputes between him and the people. By 1683, his salary was not being paid, and he stopped meeting with the congregation. There were rumors that he was going to leave Massachusetts and return to Maine. However, because of the disputes, he returned to Salem on May 2, 1683. There were many legal disputes between Burroughs and people of the Village. Once they were sorted out, he left (Boyer, 54-56).
Burroughs would not return to Salem until May 1692, when young Ann Putnam, Jr. would accuse his apparition of torturing her. This is strange because she was only two years old when he first left Salem. She would not have known him that well (Hansen, 74). Ann would not be the only one to accuse Burroughs. Apparently, he had a reputation for being cruel to his wives. He had an incident with his brother-in-law and his wife. They were out gathering strawberries when Burroughs disappeared behind some bushes. They tried to call out to him, but received no response. They decided to head back to the house. When they arrived, Burroughs was waiting. He claimed that he heard everything they had said about him. He said, "My God makes known your thoughts unto me." His brother-in-law and wife understood him to be talking about the Devil because the Christian God does not deal with the occult (Hansen, 75-76). Burroughs was known to be a habitual liar, and he boasted of magnificent strength. This hurt him later in the trials because it was seen as preternatural (Hansen, 77).
Even though George Burroughs was a minister, it did not stop him from being examined, tried, and executed. Before being executed, Burroughs took one more shot at proving his innocence by reciting the Lord's Prayer, perfectly. This stunned the crowd. Witches were not be able to say the Lord's Prayer. However, Cotton Mather made sure to calm down the crowd. In the end, George Burroughs was hanged on July 19. If that was not bad enough, when they buried him, they did not cover his body completely.
Burroughs would not return to Salem until May 1692, when young Ann Putnam, Jr. would accuse his apparition of torturing her. This is strange because she was only two years old when he first left Salem. She would not have known him that well (Hansen, 74). Ann would not be the only one to accuse Burroughs. Apparently, he had a reputation for being cruel to his wives. He had an incident with his brother-in-law and his wife. They were out gathering strawberries when Burroughs disappeared behind some bushes. They tried to call out to him, but received no response. They decided to head back to the house. When they arrived, Burroughs was waiting. He claimed that he heard everything they had said about him. He said, "My God makes known your thoughts unto me." His brother-in-law and wife understood him to be talking about the Devil because the Christian God does not deal with the occult (Hansen, 75-76). Burroughs was known to be a habitual liar, and he boasted of magnificent strength. This hurt him later in the trials because it was seen as preternatural (Hansen, 77).
Even though George Burroughs was a minister, it did not stop him from being examined, tried, and executed. Before being executed, Burroughs took one more shot at proving his innocence by reciting the Lord's Prayer, perfectly. This stunned the crowd. Witches were not be able to say the Lord's Prayer. However, Cotton Mather made sure to calm down the crowd. In the end, George Burroughs was hanged on July 19. If that was not bad enough, when they buried him, they did not cover his body completely.