Susannah North

Bef 1621 - 1692  (> 70 years)

• Name	Susannah North  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Birth	Bef 30 Sep 1621	Olney, Buckinghamshire, England   [2, 5]
  Gender	Female
  Immigration	1640	Massachusetts, USA
  	With Richard North
  Witchcraft Accusation	1669	Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts, USA   [3, 5]
  	William Sargent accused Susannah of witchcraft. George Martin sued Sargent for slander against Susannah and a higher court dismissed the witchcraft charges
  Witchcraft Accusation	1692  [1, 5]
  	She was accused of being a witch by several residents of Salem Village and was arrested and tried for witchcraft. She defended herself defiantly but was found guilty and hanged, along with four other women
  		Witchcraft (Salem)-Trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom were executed by hanging (14 women and five men). One other man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death after…
  Residence	1692	Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts, USA   [1]
  Death	19 Jul 1692	Massachusetts, USA   [5]
  	Cause: Executed for Witchcraft
  	Hanged for witchcraft in Salem Village
  Burial	Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, USA   [5, 6]
  		Burial Monument-MARTIN Susannah Susannah North Martin ~ Executed for Witchcraft -- Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem MA + https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8292/susannah-martin
  		Historical Marker-Salem Witch Trials Memorial site located adjacent to, but outside Burying Point Cemetery. This commemoration dedicated to the victims of the Salem Witch Trials was erected in 1992.
  		Memorial-Salem Witch Trials Salem Witch Trial Memorial -- Salem, Essex, Massachusetts ~ Memorial site located adjacent to, but outside Burying Point Cemetery. This commemoration dedicated to the victims of the Salem Witch Trials was erected in 1992 + https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2648383/salem-witch-trials-memorial
  Person ID	I22595	A Tree Called Smith
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

  
  

  Father	Richard North,   b. 1590, Romsey, Hampshire, England d. 1 Mar 1667, Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 77 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Joan Bartram,   b. 1594, Olney, Buckinghamshire, England d. Abt 1630, Olney, Buckinghamshire, England (Age 36 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	29 Nov 1610	Olney, Buckinghamshire, England   [7]
  Family ID	F9698	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	George Martin, Sr,   b. 1617, Romsey, Hampshire, England d. 23 Nov 1686, Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 69 years)
  Marriage	1642	Massachusetts, USA   [2]
  Family ID	F8788	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - Bef 30 Sep 1621 - Olney, Buckinghamshire, England Immigration - With Richard North - 1640 - Massachusetts, USA Marriage - 1642 - Massachusetts, USA Witchcraft Accusation - William Sargent accused Susannah of witchcraft. George Martin sued Sargent for slander against Susannah and a higher court dismissed the witchcraft charges - 1669 - Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts, USA Residence - 1692 - Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts, USA Death - Cause: Executed for Witchcraft - 19 Jul 1692 - Massachusetts, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Biographies and Histories

  Bio-MARTIN Susannah North (Witchcraft) Susannah North Martin - Victim of the Salem Witch Trials -- FindaGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8292/susannah-martin

  
  

  Burials		Burial Monument-MARTIN Susannah Susannah North Martin ~ Executed for Witchcraft -- Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem MA + https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8292/susannah-martin
  		Memorial-Salem Witch Trials Salem Witch Trial Memorial -- Salem, Essex, Massachusetts ~ Memorial site located adjacent to, but outside Burying Point Cemetery. This commemoration dedicated to the victims of the Salem Witch Trials was erected in 1992 + https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2648383/salem-witch-trials-memorial

  
  

  Witchcraft » Slide Show		Witchcraft (Salem)-MARTIN Susannah North George died in 1686, leaving Susannah an impoverished widow by the time of the second accusation of witchcraft in 1692. Inhabitants of nearby Salem Village, including Joseph and Jarvis Ring, had named Susannah a witch and stated she had attempted to recruit them into witchcraft. She was also accused by John Allen of Salisbury, a man who claimed…
  		Historical Marker-Salem Witch Trials Memorial site located adjacent to, but outside Burying Point Cemetery. This commemoration dedicated to the victims of the Salem Witch Trials was erected in 1992.
  		Witchcraft (Salem)-Trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom were executed by hanging (14 women and five men). One other man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death after…

  
  

• Sources

  [S2282] Ancestry.com, A chronological record of the principal events that have occurred in Amesbury, Massachusetts, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT; Date: 2004;). A chronological record of the principal events that have occurred in Amesbury, Massachusetts [S164] Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2004;), Source number: 132.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: APS. [S1427] Ancestry.com, New England, Salem Witches and Others Tried for Witchcraft, 1647-1697, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2000;). [S582] Ancestry.com, U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2010;), Place: New England; Year: 1640; Page Number: 207. [S10439] Find a Grave Monument (Witchcraft), NORTH Susannah 1621-1692. Victim of the Salem Witch Trials. The youngest of four daughters of Richard North and Joan (Bartram) North, her baptism is reported as September 30, 1621 at Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. Her mother died when she was a child. In 1639, Richard North immigrated to New England and settled his family at Salisbury, Massachusetts. Susannah married the widower George Martin in 1646 at Salisbury. George and Susannah Martin moved to Amesbury, Massachusetts in 1654. George Martin is shown as one of the first settlers of Amesbury on a commemorative plaque in the Amesbury-Golgotha Burying Ground. ---Susannah and George were the parents of eight children. Through her daughter, Jane, Susannah is the 5th great grandmother of U. S. President Chester A. Arthur. In 1669, William Sargent accused Susannah of witchcraft. George Martin sued Sargent for slander against Susannah and a higher court dismissed the witchcraft charges. George Martin died in 1686 and Susannah remained in Amesbury. In 1692, at the age of 71, she was accused of being a witch by several residents of Salem Village (now the Town of Danvers), which is located about 25 miles south of Amesbury. ---Susannah was arrested and tried for witchcraft. None of the accused were represented by council and during her trial, she defended herself defiantly. She was found guilty and hanged on July 19, 1692, along with four other women. All were placed in a shallow unmarked grave. Over 400 people were accused during the Salem witchcraft hysteria. Of those convicted, twenty were executed and four died in prison. In May, 1693, all of the remaining accused that had been arrested were released, but only after their families had paid jail and court costs. --- In 1709, a petition was submitted requesting reversal of the convictions of 22 indiviuals. In October, 1711, this petition was approved by the General Court and in December, the Governor authorized monetary compensation to these individuals or their heirs. Susannah Martin's family did not sign this petition and she, along with others, were not included in this resolution. In 1957, an Act was passed pronouncing the innocence of "One Ann Pudeator and certain other persons." It was not until 2001 that an Act was passed amending the 1957 wording to include the names, "Ann Pudeator, Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Margaret Scott and Wilmot Redd.." ---A book published exclusively about Susannah North Martin is entitled ""A Laughing Witch: Hanging Susannah Martin"" by historian CL Gammon. Summary: "In 1692, it did not pay to be a nonconformist in Salem Village, Massachusetts. This was especially true if the nonconformist just happened to be an elderly, improvised widow. Susannah Martin found this out the hard way. Susannah Martin stood trial, received a conviction, and suffered hanging for bewitching some of the good folk of Salem, Massachusetts and the surrounding area. More than two dozen persons related the crimes Martin committed. —It seems that Susannah Martin's most heinous crime may have been that she had a sense of humor. When she heard the ridiculous accusations made against her, she laughed aloud. When the stern judge asked her what she was laughing at, she replied, "Well I may at such folly." While Martin's laughter may have doomed her, it is unlikely that she would have escaped even if she had been somber and had held her tongue. —This brief volume deals with the accusations against, the trial, the conviction, and the execution of Susannah Martin for the infamous crime of witchcraft. While Martin was just one of the twenty persons killed by authorities in Salem (at least five others died in jail), her story is unique to the extent that she was one of the very few accused persons who saw and pointed out publicly the absurdity of the whole affair. —Sadly, her story is not a comedy; it is a tragedy. Had the accusers, or more so, the judges been as able to release a boisterous laugh as was Susanna Martin's, we would view Salem Village in 1692 in a very different light. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8292/susannah-martin Burial Monument-MARTIN Susannah Susannah North Martin ~ Executed for Witchcraft -- Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem MA + https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8292/susannah-martin [S10434] Find a Grave Memorial, Salem Witchcraft Trials Memorial. Memorial site located adjacent to, but outside Burying Point Cemetery. This commemoration dedicated to the victims of the Salem Witch Trials was erected in 1992. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2648383/salem-witch-trials-memorial Memorial-Salem Witch Trials Salem Witch Trial Memorial -- Salem, Essex, Massachusetts ~ Memorial site located adjacent to, but outside Burying Point Cemetery. This commemoration dedicated to the victims of the Salem Witch Trials was erected in 1992 + https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2648383/salem-witch-trials-memorial Historical Marker-Salem Witch Trials Memorial site located adjacent to, but outside Burying Point Cemetery. This commemoration dedicated to the victims of the Salem Witch Trials was erected in 1992. [S136] Ancestry.com, U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2012;), Genealogical Publishing Co.; Baltimore, MD ; Volume Title: Second Supplement To Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700. U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 Genealogical Publishing Co.; Baltimore, MD, USA; Volume Title: Second Supplement To Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700