Garth Notley
My blogs
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Industry | Agriculture |
| Occupation | Farmer |
| Location | Salem Village, Massachusetts, United States |
| Introduction | On Monday, September 19th 1692, Giles Corey was stripped naked, a board placed upon his chest, and then, while his neighbours watched, heavy stones and rocks were piled on the board. Robert Calef, in his contemporary report of the event, added a gruesome detail: Corey's "tongue being prest out of his mouth, the Sheriff with his cane forced it in again, when he was dying." Judge Jonathan Corwin ordered Corey buried in an unmarked grave on Gallows Hill. In April of 1692, Ann Putnam, Mercy Lewis, and Abigail Williams had accused Giles Corey of witchcraft. Corey, eighty years old, was a hard, stubborn man who had expressed criticism of the recent witchcraft proceedings. Knowing he faced conviction and certain execution, he refused to stand trial. Being pressed to death was his punishment. Nineteen witches were hanged on Gallows Hill in Salem Village that summer - a monument to malicious mob rule. |