3 (1997): 355-67. The council served as the upper chamber of the legislature and as a court of appeals. Gov. Sewall's brother Stephen had meanwhile opened up his home to one of the initially afflicted children, Betty Parris, daughter of Salem Village's minister, Samuel Parris, and shortly afterward Betty's "afflictions" appear to have subsided. Sewall received his first degree, a BA, in 1671, and his MA in 1674. • The Crucible (1996 film): Judge Samuel Sewall was played by actor George Gaynes; notably, he is the first judge to begin doubting the circumstances, and by the end of the film he is asking his superior, Judge Danforth, to end the trials as he and the townspeople have tired of the deaths and executions brought on by the court. Samuel Sewall will forever be remembered as a judge in the Salem witch trials in 1692-3, less so for his apology five years later. Samuel Sewall was born in England on March 28, 1652. The New England Quarterly 70, no. Copyright © 2014 - 2020 New England Historical Society, anxiety over taking an oath as a militia captain, A Fake Priest Gets a New England Mob Boss Out of Prison, Italian Thanksgiving, or How One Ethnic Group Resisted American Food, Archduke Leopold, the Connecticut Factory Worker Who Might Have Been King, The Launch of the Cilpper Ship Ocean Telegraph. He also wrote an essay criticizing slavery in 1700 called The Selling of Joseph. Phips appointed the court for the sole purpose of bringing to trial people accused of witchcraft. Sewall was born in Bishopstoke, Hampshire, England, on March 28, 1652, the son of Henry and Jane (Dummer) Sewall. After John Hull died in 1683, Sewall was elected to replace him on the colony's council of assistants, a body that functioned both as the upper house of the legislature and as a court of appeals. This story about Samuel Sewall was updated in 2019. He kept a journal from 1673 to 1729, considered one of the most important historical documents of the time. [15], Apart from his involvement in the Salem witch trials, Sewall was somewhat liberal in his views for the time. The court found 20 people guilty and executed them. He earned two degrees from Harvard, a B.A. The judges in The Crucible are Thomas Danforth, and John Hathorne in the play, with Samuel Sewall added for the screenplay. His father-in-law, John Hull, a wealthy merchant and mintmaster, treated the young couple generously. He also wrote an essay criticizing slavery in 1700 called The Selling of Joseph. From Parker, Sewall acquired a lifelong love of verse, which he wrote in both English and Latin. For many years he served as chief justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature. He also entered local politics, and was elevated to the position of assistant magistrate in the judiciary. Lovejoy, David S. "Between Hell and Plum Island: Samuel Sewall and the Legacy of the Witches, 1692-97." [10] Not only had Sewall's home life been shaken, but in the years after the Trials, the people of Massachusetts experienced setbacks and violence, notably the Navigation Acts, the declaration of the New England Dominion, and King Philip's War. He and Hannah would have fourteen children before her death in 1717, although only a few survived to adulthood. Written in 1953 ; Set in the Puritan village of Salem, Massachusetts ; Occurs in spring, 1692 ; A crucible … In 1681 he was appointed the official printer of the colony; one of the first works he published was John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Complete List of Characters in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. After which an entertainment was made for him and many more. and an M.A. He gave them 500 pounds as a wedding gift and let them move into his mansion in Boston. Samuel Willard read his confession. [6] In 1667 Sewall entered Harvard College, where his classmates included Edward Taylor and Daniel Gookin, with whom he formed enduring friendships. [8] That year he began keeping a journal, which he maintained for most of his life; it is one of the major historical documents of the time. Sewall's Journal, kept from 1673 to 1729, describes his life as a Puritan against the changing tide of colonial life, as the devoutly religious community of Massachusetts gradually adopted more secular attitudes and emerged as a liberal, cosmopolitan-minded community. Sewall married three times. His diary recounts many of the more famous episodes of the trials, such as the agonizing death under torture of Giles Corey, and reflects the growing public unease about the guilt of many of the accused. Samuel Sewall (/ˈsuːəl/; March 28, 1652 – January 1, 1730) was a judge, businessman, and printer in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, best known for his involvement in the Salem witch trials,[1] for which he later apologized, and his essay The Selling of Joseph (1700), which criticized slavery. The Crucible premiered on Broadway on Jan. 22, 1953 with E.G. Samuel Sewall will forever be remembered as a judge in the Salem witch trials in 1692-3, less so for his apology five years later.