Mercy Lewis

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1876 illustration of the courtroom; the central figure is usually identified as Mary Walcott

Mercy Lewis was born in Falmouth, Maine. On September 30, 1689 an Indian attack killed both of her parents; as a result the 14-year-old Mercy was placed as a servant in the household of the Reverend George Burroughs. By 1691 she was a servant in Thomas Putnam’s household.^[1] She played a crucial role during the accusations of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, when 20 people were executed for witchcraft - including her former master George Burroughs.

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, Massachusetts.^[2]

Mercy Lewis is one of the featured characters in Arthur Miller's fictional play and later film The Crucible.

Sources

Mary Beth Norton, In the Devil's Snare, 2001.

Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed, 1974.

John Hale, Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft, 1702.

Carol F. Karlsen, Devil in the Shape of a Woman, 1998.

Bernard Rosenthal, Salem Story, 1993.

Charles W. Upham, Salem Witchcraft,1867.

Clarence Almon Torrey and Elizabeth Petty Bentley, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, 1985.

Notes

↑ "Salem Witch Trials Important Persons". University of Virginia. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
↑ "New England Marriages Prior to 1700". Genealogy Publishing Co., Inc.

v t e Salem witch trials

Timeline People Cultural depictions

Magistrates and court officials	Jonathan Corwin Thomas Danforth Bartholomew Gedney John Hathorne Joseph Herrick George Herrick John Richards Nathaniel Saltonstall Samuel Sewall William Stoughton Waitstill Winthrop

Town physician	William Griggs

Clergy	John Hale Deodat Lawson Cotton Mather Increase Mather Nicholas Noyes Samuel Parris Samuel Willard

Politicians and public figures	William Phips Thomas Brattle Robert Calef

Accusers	Sarah Bibber John DeRich Elizabeth Hubbard John Indian Mercy Lewis Betty Parris Samuel Parris Ann Putnam, Jr. Thomas Putnam Susannah Sheldon Mary Walcott Abigail Williams

Accused	John Alden Edward Bishop Edward Bishop III Sarah Bishop Mary Black Mary Bradbury Martha Carrier Rachel Clinton Sarah Cloyce Rebecca Eames Mary Eastey Mary English Phillip English Thomas Farrar, Sr. Abigail Faulkner Dorothy Good Elizabeth Hart Dorcas Hoar William Hobbs Mary Lacy Sarah Morey Sarah Osborne Elizabeth Proctor John Proctor Sarah Proctor William Proctor Tituba Indian

Confessed and accused others	Tituba Abigail Hobbs Deliverance Hobbs Margaret Jacobs Mary Warren Ann Foster Mary Lacey Jr. Mary Lacey Sr. Sarah Churchwell

Executed	Bridget Bishop George Burroughs Martha Carrier Martha Corey Mary Eastey Sarah Good Elizabeth Howe George Jacobs, Sr. Susannah Martin Rebecca Nurse Alice Parker Mary Parker John Proctor Ann Pudeator Wilmot Redd Margaret Scott Samuel Wardwell Sarah Wildes John Willard

Died in prison	Lydia Dustin Ann Foster Sarah Osborne Roger Toothaker

Pressed to death	Giles Corey

Born in prison	John Proctor, III

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