Margaret Scott

Margaret Scott (née Stephenson, March 28, 1616 – ) was found guilty of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials and was executed by hanging on September 22, 1692. She was part of the last group to be executed, which also included Mary Eastey, Martha Corey, Ann Pudeator, Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, Alice Parker, and Wilmot Redd. She was the only accused person from Rowley to be executed. As a lower-class, long-term widow, having lost several children in infancy, she was a prototypical witch candidate. When her husband, Benjamin, died, he left a very small estate and she, being unable to remarry, was reduced to begging, which invited resentment and suspicion. In this manner, her circumstances were comparable to fellow victim Sarah Good. Early life Margaret was born in England, March 28, 1616, likely migrating to the colonies with her parents. From the status of her future husband, it is most probable that they were a lower class family. The first record of her in America is her marriage to Benjamin Scott in 1642. They had seven children, though only three survived to adulthood. The town of Rowley granted Benjamin land in 1664. Shortly after, he was declared a freeman. A man by the same name (presumably the same man) was fined and "admonished" for theft. Benjamin died in 1671, leaving an estate of only 67 pounds and 17 shillings, which would have to support Margaret and her family for the rest of her life, as she never remarried. Consequently, she was reduced to begging. Salem witch trials Accusation and arrest Margaret was arrested late in the course of the events, as part of the Andover witch hunt. Mary Walcott and Ann Putnam, Jr. had been brought to Andover on June 11 and again on July 26 to initiate and perpetuate the witch hunt there. Margaret's primary accusers were the two most prominent families in Rowley, the Nelsons and the Wycombs.