The Legacy of the Salem Witch Trials in New Britain
By Amy Kirby | New Britain Historical Society Director at October 30, 2023 | 6:00 pm | Print
Samuel Wardwell was born in Boston in 1643. His father and uncle, Thomas and William, had immigrated and settled there in 1630. It is notable that Thomas and William Wardwell were devout Puritans, but followed a reverend with unorthodox views. As described in the 1867 Documents and Records Relating to the Province of New Hampshire: 1623-1686, the brothers did not hide their beliefs, and were obliged to live in a remote settlement in New Hampshire for a number of years.
A son of Thomas Wardwell, Samuel, was the subject of a very tragic episode of American history – the Salem Witch Trials. Samuel Wardwell was one of the twenty people executed in this great travesty of justice and humanity. In all, five men, fourteen women, and two dogs were hung; and one man was pressed to death. Now, I should point out here that while this is obviously a source of mixed feelings for Samuel’s descendants, what we understand today of the nature of these trials and of Samuel’s actions do bring honor to his memory. A story in the August 29, 2023 Los Angeles Times puts it well that in addition to the theories (i.e. bored adolescents or hallucinogenic mold in grain), there were a number of complexities including family and political rivalries and power struggles. Samuel Wardwell certainly fit this idea; he was occasionally accused of wrongdoings by other families, likely due to the fact that he had married above his class and that his wife had a sizable inheritance. And while most people seemed to like him, he had a hobby that further cast suspicion on him during the witch hysteria…the telling of fortunes. A book by Enders Robinson entitled Salem Witchcraft and Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables describes his ordeal. While debated among historians, the book is also a source of theory that Wardwell built the House of Seven Gables in Salem, where he worked as a carpenter for a time.
He was living in Andover at the time of the witch trials, and a few people took issue with this. For as many “fortunes” Wardwell told, some of these were or became true. A combination of coincidence and intuition perhaps, but at this time and place such things were all too real to many. Also unfortunate to Wardwell was the fact that his accusers were not shy about their own “transgressions” in using the services of what they now perceive to be witchcraft.
After being accused and arrested in August of 1692, Samuel was compelled – like so many others – to confess to witchcraft and name others involved. This he did at first, certainly out of concern for himself and his family, but at the expense of others. However, Wardwell did not accuse others of witchcraft, only a couple of women he suspected of interrupting his brother-in-law’s funeral by setting fire to his house and drinking the funeral wine.
At one of his court appearances, Samuel courageously put his conscience ahead of his own life. He pleaded innocence and recanted his testimony about his witchcraft, noting that his confession was coerced and completely false. At the same time, he resignedly noted that this would not save his life. He was correct – he was found guilty and hanged five days later along with seven others. The court decided to use him as an example to keep others from recanting their “confessions,” but fortunately no others were executed after that day. His wife and daughter were subsequently accused, but later reprieved. But through a recent law that reveals the true nature of witch accusations, the family’s assets were seized. The children grew up in foster care and poverty, and it was twenty years before Samuel Wardwell Jr. was able to obtain compensation for his family’s financial loss.
Now, 322 years later, our own Chief James Wardwell is certainly aware of the scrutiny that comes with his position. Perhaps he inherited Samuel’s intuition which he translated into good police work, and perhaps he considers the lessons of justice in Samuel’s fateful court case. When discussing his family heritage, Wardwell said that “We are a product of our environment and our heritage simultaneously. Through my life I have been no stranger to justice and injustice and I have always strived to achieve fair outcomes in all situations.” We are certainly fortunate today that exceptional abilities can be a great asset to a person, and not a source of suspicion of witchcraft!
