Wilmot Redd (a.k.a. Wilmot Read and Wilmot Reed) (early 17th century – September 22, 1692) was one of the victims of the
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...
of 1692. She was born in
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsu ...
, and executed by
hanging
Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
on September 22, 1692. Her husband was Samuel Redd, a fisherman. She was known for her irritability, but she was given little serious attention.
Trial
Redd was apprehended on May 28, 1692, by local constable James Smith. The warrant was signed by Magistrates
Jonathan Corwin and
John Hathorne
John Hathorne (August 1641 – May 10, 1717) was a merchant and magistrate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Salem, Massachusetts. He is best known for his early and vocal role as one of the leading judges in the Salem witch trials.
Hatho ...
. The charge brought against her was one of having "committed sundry acts of
witchcraft
Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
on bodys of
Mary Walcott &
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.
Early life
Lewis and her family were refuge ...
and others in Salem Village to their great hurt."
A preliminary examination took place on May 31, 1692, at Nathan Ingersoll's house in
Salem Village
Danvers is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the beach ...
. This was Redd's first meeting with the children she allegedly bewitched. They promptly fell into fits, and when asked what she thought ailed them, Redd said, "I cannot tell." Urged to give an opinion, she stated, "My opinion is they are in a sad condition."
Indicted as a witch, Redd was accused of "detestable arts called Witchcraft and Sorceries wickedly, mallitiously
icand felloniously used, practiced & exercised at the Towne of Salem."
Death and legacy
Redd's body was buried in a common grave whose location is now unknown. Memorial markers for her exist at Old Burial Hill in Marblehead - which late Marblehead resident, town historian and "The Spirit of 76 Lives Here" author Virginia Gamage purchased - and in the garden of the King Hooper Mansion at 8 Hooper Street in Marblehead and the Salem Witch Trials Memorial in Salem. In addition, the town has named the pond her home was adjacent to, "Redd's Pond".
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Redd, Wilmot
1692 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Executed people from Massachusetts
Executed American women
People executed in the Salem witch trials
People from Marblehead, Massachusetts