Elizabeth Hubbard

Elizabeth Hubbard is best known as the primary instigator of the Salem Witch Trials. Hubbard was 17 years old in the spring of 1692 when the trials began. In the 15 months the trials took place, 20 people were executed. Early life Elizabeth Hubbard was born in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1674. Hubbard was an orphan who lived with her uncle, Dr. William Griggs. She served as his maidservant. Involvement in Salem Witch Trials A group of girls ranging in age from 12 to 20 were the main accusers in the Salem witch trials. This group, of which Elizabeth Hubbard was a part, also included Ann Putnam Jr., Mary Walcott, Elizabeth “Betty” Parris, Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Booth, Mercy Lewis, and Mary Warren. Abigail Williams and Betty Parris were the first to experience mysterious "fits", of which symptoms included throwing of objects, screaming, and contortion of the body. Dr. Griggs, acting as town physician, concluded that the source of the girls' behavior was supernatural. As Elizabeth Hubbard was the maidservant of Griggs, it is likely that she was intimately aware of the symptoms involved in the fits. Hubbard had her first recorded fit on February 1, 1692.