EXCEEDINGLY RARE EXAMPLE OF SALEM WITCH TRIAL JUDGE, JONATHAN CORWIN
Most unusual autograph document signed by Salem Witch Trial Judge, Jonathan Corwin , measuring 3″ x 7.75″, Essex County, MA, July 21, 1701. This artifact of the witch trials was written in Corwin’s hand recording the appearance of a Joseph Harris Sr. in the court of Essex County, Massachusetts. Boldly signed in lower right corner. Verso is a clipped piece of a related document in which Harris Sr. bequeaths his son three acres in Beverley, MA. A rare example of Corwin’s role as local magistrate.
Jonathan Corwin (1640-1718) was a notable New England merchant, politician, and magistrate most known for his ties to the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Between 1692 and 1693 he, along with fellow magistrate John Hawthorn, held hearings in which early testimony was gathered from Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne, the first three women to be accused of witchcraft. Due to the lack of records retained during this period, it is difficult to pinpoint Corwin’s exact role in the trial, although it known that he signed several arrest warrants. Following the events in Salem, Corwin would be appointed to the Massachusetts Governor’s Council while also serving as a judge in Essex County from 1692 to 1708. Today, Corwin’s home is the only surviving structure in Salem directly related to the Witch Trials, and can be visited by the public.