Martha Carrier (Salem witch trials)

Martha Carrier
An 1876 illustration of the courtroom where Martha was convicted of witchcraft.
Born	Martha Ingalls Allen (or Allin) Between 1643 and 1650 Andover, Massachusetts
Died	19 August 1692 (aged 42-49) Salem Village, Province of Massachusetts Bay
Cause of death	Execution by hanging
Monuments	The Twenty benches
Residence	Salem Village, Province of Massachusetts Bay
Nationality	American
Occupation	Housewife
Known for	Convicted of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials
Spouse(s)	Thomas Morgan (1674–1692; her death)
Children	8

Martha Ingalls Carrier (née Allen; born between 1643 and 1650 – died 19 August 1692) was a Puritan accused and convicted of being a witch during the 1692 Salem witch trials.

Martha Ingalls Allen was born between 1643 and 1650 to Andrew Allen (or Allin) (1623–1690), one of the original 23 settlers of Andover, and Faith Ingalls (1623–1690) in Andover. She was the eldest of six siblings, and had three sisters, Mary (1644–1695), Sarah (1646–1716), and Hannah (1652–1698), and two brothers, Andrew (1657–1690) and John (1661–1690).

On 7 May 1674 when she was 7 months pregnant with her eldest child, she married Thomas Carrier (1630–1739). After the marriage, they relocated to neighboring Billerica, some ten miles southwest of Andover, and lived in the north part of town near her sister Mary. Martha had eight children, one of whom died in infancy:

They returned to Andover in 1688 where they lived in poverty and were dependent on the family farm to supply them with a living. Martha nursed her father and two brothers when an outbreak of smallpox spread through the city in 1690 but could not save them. Thereby she became a land owner in her own right. Her husband and four of her children also contracted the disease. Her husband and two of the children survived. They were accused of bringing the disease to the city, but investigation has revealed that the disease was most likely brought by new immigrants from England. Thirteen people perished during the epidemic, and the Carriers were barred from entering public places.

Martha was accused of witchcraft in May 1692 by a group of young women known as the Salem Girls who consisted of Susannah Sheldon, Mary Walcott, Elizabeth Hubbard and Ann Putnam Jr, who would travel through Essex County, Massachusetts rooting out suspected witches by engaging in a theatrical display. Whether the court actually believed this act is still open to debate, but what is known is that when Martha was confronted by the girls, she acted as any rational person would when faced with their wild behavior. The girls accused her of leading a 300 strong witch army, using her occult powers to murder and afflict people with terrible diseases and of being promised the dubious position of "Queen of Hell". Martha vehemently denied these charges and in turn charged her accusers with insanity.