Samuel sewall biography

Salem Witch Trials in History and Literature
An Undergraduate Course, University of Virginia
Spring Semester

Although described as a "generous, compassionate. . . man of conscience," the late-seventeenth-century New England Puritan Samuel Sewall sat on the court of judges who condemned nineteen innocent men and women to be hanged as witches during the Salem witchcraft trials of Both Sewall's private diary and the books he published during his lifetime depict his agony over the decisions and his lingering personal distress. Fearful of God's judgment upon himself and his family, he eventually proclaimed his humiliation to God and the Colony in a confession of guilt read before the congregation of South Church in Boston.

Born in England in , Sewall immigrated to Newberry, Massachusetts in At the age of fifteen, he began theological studies at Harvard to obtain a Bachelors degree and he then continued to achieve a Masters degree. The pursuit of a Masters degree for most people meant a calling to the ministry. However, instead of preaching, in Sewall married Hannah Hull, the daughter of John Hull, a wealthy mint master in Boston, Massachusetts. With this marriage, Sewall inherited business responsibilities, and thus he began the life, which he would continue until his death, as a merchant in Boston. The choice of ministry or merchandise troubled Sewall, but in reality, his decision to become an active apprentice with Hull was inevitable. During this time period, gradually power was moving away from the pulpit and into the hands of the wealthy: the merchants.

With wealth and power came the opportunity, or rather commitment, to public service. Sewall did not shy away from these duties, but rather embraced them. In he became of member of the South Church in Boston which enabled him to become a freeman of the colony in In , Sewall was elected to the Court of Assistants (the legislative body of the Massachusetts Bay Colony), and in May of , Governor Sir William

    Samuel sewall biography

  • How did samuel sewall die
  • Samuel sewall apology

    • Samuel Sewall (congressman)

    American judge

    For the Salem Witch Trials judge, also a Chief Justice, see Samuel Sewall.

    Samuel Sewall (December 11, – June 8, ) was an American lawyer and congressman. He was born in Boston in the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

    Biography

    After attending Dummer Charity School (now The Governor's Academy), Sewall graduated from Harvard College (A.B. , A.M. , honorary LL.D. ) and set up practice as a lawyer in Marblehead. He served as a member of the state legislature in , and from to

    He represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from to , representing the 10th congressional district, and previously ran for the 1st congressional district in While in the House, he was appointed an impeachment manager for the impeachment proceedings against Senator William Blount. From to served as a judge of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, becoming chief justice in He died at Wiscasset in Massachusetts' District of Maine while holding a court there. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in

    American novelist Louisa May Alcott was Sewall's great niece. His younger sister, Dorothy, was Alcott's great-grandmother. In , he married Abigail Devereux; they had a family of at least six sons and two daughters. Sewall's great-grandfather Samuel Sewall was a judge at the Salem witch trials in colonial Massachusetts, and subsequently Chief Justice of Massachusetts.

    Sewall was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society on June 1, Sewall died seven days later on June 8, apparently before he could formally respond, so his disposition regarding membership is unknown.

    In , Fort Sewall in Marblehead, Massachusetts, was renamed for him.

    References

    1. ^ Graves, Eben W. (). The Descendants of Henry Sewall () of Manchester and Coventry, England,

    Samuel Sewall

    For the jurist and US congressman, see Samuel Sewall (congressman). For the American lawyer, abolitionist, and suffragist, see Samuel Edmund Sewall.

    Judge in Colonial America ( – )

    Samuel Sewall (; March 28, – January 1, ) was a judge, businessman, and printer in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, best known for his involvement in the Salem witch trials, for which he later apologized, and his essay The Selling of Joseph (), which criticized slavery. He served for many years as the chief justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature, the province's high court.

    Biography

    Sewall was born in Bishopstoke, Hampshire, England, on March 28, , the son of Henry and Jane (Dummer) Sewall. His father, son of the mayor of Coventry, had come to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in , where he married Sewall's mother and returned to England in the s.

    Following the Restoration of Charles II to the English throne, the Sewalls again crossed the Atlantic in , settling in Newbury, Massachusetts. Like other local boys, he attended school at the home of James Noyes, whose cousin, Reverend Thomas Parker, was the principal instructor. From Parker, Sewall acquired a lifelong love of verse, which he wrote in both English and Latin. In Sewall entered Harvard College, where his classmates included Edward Taylor and Daniel Gookin, with whom he formed enduring friendships. Sewall received his B.A. in and his M.A. in In he served as librarian of Harvard for nine months, the second person to hold that post. 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. In he became a member of the Military Company of Massachusetts.

    Sewall's oral examination for the MA was a public affair and was witnessed by Hannah Hull, daughter of colonial merchant and mintmaster, John Hull. She

    Samuel Sewall

    Samuel Sewall was born at Bishop Stoke, Hampshire, England on March 28, In , Sewall came with his family to settle in Newbury, Mass. Ten years later he graduated from Harvard. Sewall married Hannah Hull, the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the colony, in and began a career as a merchant. In , Sewall was appointed by the General Council to run the printing press. Sewall used his position to publish articles of his own and achieve greater notoriety. From to Sewall served on the Governor's Council.

    Governor Phips appointed Sewall to the Court of Oyer and Terminer on May 27, Sewell's diary entries provide important information about the Salem witch trials. The diary entries reveal little personal reservations or remorse concerning his own role in the conduct of the trials. In December , however, Sewall wrote a proclamation for a day of fast and penance and reparation by the government for the sins of the witchcraft trials. Sewall publicly apologized for his role in the trials.  Each year after Sewall set aside a day in which he fasted and prayed for forgiveness for his sins in the Salem trials.

    Though his role in the Salem trials brought Sewall infamy, he continued to receive notoriety for his publication of The Selling of Joseph. Considered the first anti-slavery piece published in the colonies, The Selling of Joseph presents religious arguments against slavery. Countering the prevailing social theory of the time, Sewall argues all men are created equal, using examples to prove his argument. Never one to adhere to prevailing social norms, Sewall adamantly opposed wearing then-fashionable white powder wigs and never conceded this position.

    Sewall died on January 1, at his Boston home.

    SALEM TRIALS HOMEPAGE

  • Who was the first to be executed in the salem witch trials