Bridget Bishop

Bridget Bishop was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England sometime in the early 1630s. Though there is no solid evidence, many believe her maiden name to have been Playfer. She was married three times, a fact that would be used against her during her trial.

She was first married in Norfolk, England to Samuel Wasselby. They had two children, neither of which survived their first year. Though it is not known when Wasslby died, Bridget was in Salem by 1660, where she would marry the widower, Thomas Oliver. Their marriage was an abusive one, with both being brought into court at one point because their fights were disturbing their neighbors. When Thomas died in 1679, at least one of his colleagues (despite the popular misconception that Bridget’s step-children were her accusers, there is no evidence they were involved) accused her of murdering him with witchcraft and she was put on trial early the following year.  She was acquitted.  

Bridget married her 3rd husband, Edward Bishop, a sawyer,  sometime around 1685 (It is important to note that there were at least FOUR different Edward Bishops living in the area at the time, so despite popular misconception, Bridget Bishop never owned or was involved in the running of an illegal tavern, that was SARAH Bishop of Beverly).  

Bridget was known for being a strong willed woman, and was often in court in conflicts with her neighbors, so she was deemed a natural candidate to be tried and executed first.  Bridget was the only one of the accused to be hanged alone.  Her trial was on June 2nd of 1692, and she was executed on the 10th.