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Samuel Parris (1653 – February 27, 1720) was the Puritan minister in the town of Salem Village (now Danvers, Massachusetts) during the Salem witch trials, as well as the father and uncle of two of the afflicted girls.
Birth
Samuel Parris was born in London, England, the son of a cloth merchant. When his father died in 1673 he left the majority of his estate, including interests in Ireland and Barbados, to his eldest son. Samuel received only a twenty acre (80,000 m²) plot of land in Barbados, hardly enough to cultivate successfully. He chose to emigrate to Boston in the early 1680s, where he attended Harvard University, but failed to graduate.
He came to Salem, Massachusetts as a minister. He was a rigid Puritan and he demanded that he be given personal title to the Salem parsonage, in addition to his salary, as part of his compensation. This led to friction with the villagers, and some stopped contributing to his salary in October of 1691. The events that lead to the Salem witch trials began when his daughter, Betty Parris, and her cousin, Abigail Williams accused Tituba of witchcraft. Tituba was a Carib slave who was living with the Parris family as a servant. In February of 1692, Betty Parris began having "fitts" that the doctor could not explain. Parris beat Tituba and compelled her to confess that she was a witch. The hysteria lasted 16 months, concluding with the Salem witch trials.
Death
Samuel Parris died on February 27, 1720 in Sudbury, Massachusetts.
Fiction
Parris features in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible relating to witch trials.
References
- Samuel Page Fowler, An Account of the Life and Character of the Rev. Samuel Parris, of Salem Village, (Salem 1857)
- Charles W. Upham, Salem Witchcraft, (Boston, 1867)
- C. H. Webber and W. S. Nevins, Witchcraft in Salem Village, (Boston, 1892)
- Essex Historical Society publications
"Samuel Parris"