A Pressing Matter

The “justice” had lasted for two days…one by one the stones were put in place, forcing more and more weight downward upon the old man. “Do you submit?”… silence followed…“Are you prepared to be tried by God and Country?”…again, silence followed…he knew that for the sake of his heirs, it would be best to remain silent. But alas the weight became too much for the old man, and with his last labored breath he uttered the words, “Damn you Sheriff, I curse you and I curse Salem.” And with those last words the pressing was complete. There had been no trial, no conviction, just an execution. Giles Corey was gone, but he would not be forgotten.

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          By the time Giles Corey was 80 years old, he had 4 children, been married 3 times, and owned a very prosperous 150-acre farm, which employed several farm hands. For an uneducated, church-going man, Giles had done very well for himself and his family, and created a lifestyle that anyone would have killed for. All this would begin to change the winter of 1692.

          That winter, Martha Corey, Giles’ third wife, questioned the sincerity of accusations made by teenage girls, who claimed to be afflicted by witchcraft. She too would soon find herself at the end of these accusers’ pointed fingers, and eventually sent to Salem jail. Giles of course, spoke against the girls’ accusations, and in April of 1692, found himself in front of the magistrate accused of wizardry at the hands of Ann Putnam, Jr., Mercy Lewis, Abigail Williams, Mary Walcott, and Elizabeth Hubbard. He was imprisoned with Martha, and 5 months later was brought to court. He declared himself, “Not guilty.”

          However it was not the words in court that sealed his fate, it was the silence. “Not guilty,” were to be the last two words Giles Corey muttered in court. He knew that the next question could spell disaster for his heirs. “Are you prepared to be tried by God and Country?” Again he stood his ground in silence. For an uneducated man, he knew that his silence stood as a refusal for trial, and without consent from Giles himself, the court could not try nor convict him. But his silence was not for his protection, it was for his heirs. English law stated that if he did not participate in the trial, he may choose the heir of his worldly possessions. He had already deeded his farm to his sons-in-law at the time of his death, and needed to protect it. If he agreed to a trial, and was found guilty, his family’s inheritance would be handed over to the Sheriff. Trials had made the sheriff a wealthy man, and he had much to gain if Giles would agree to a trial, for he knew, just as in the many trials before, “guilty” would be the only outcome. 

          English law issued the punishment of death by pressing, an illegal and blatant violation of the “Body of Liberties.” The higher Sheriff of Essex County, George Corwin, nephew of judge Corwin, was to hand down the punishment. He had Giles stripped of his clothes and forced into an empty grave-like hole in a nearby field. “Will you submit?” Corwin asked. Silence followed. A board was placed upon Giles and stones were placed on top. This pattern of questioning and stone laying continued for two days. It became more difficult for Giles to breathe below the weight of the stones. The Sheriff became frustrated, and at times would mount the stones and question “Are you prepared to be tried by God and Country?” Finally Giles broke his silence, “More weight,” his lips muttered in the hopes that God would take him and end this cruel punishment. With his body succumbing to the weight, and his chest no longer able to move the stones with every breath, Giles Corey was gone. 

          The curse of Giles Corey lived on from that September day. In 1696, while still in office, Sheriff George Corwin died of a heart attack at the age of 30. Centuries later, in 1978, former Salem Sheriff, Robert Cahill suffered a rare blood disease, heart attack, and stroke, while also in office.  After a cause of his ailments could not be found, Cahill retired and began to research Salem history. He had tracked back numerous names and records of Salem Sheriffs who had come before him; all of whom suffered from ailments of the heart or blood while in office. He also found the prognosis was no better for those who had come after him. 

          However, Giles’ curse was two fold. Not only had he cursed the Sheriff, he cursed Salem. Legend states that his ghost can be seen when tragic events occur. In 1914, witnesses stated they had seen Giles Corey before and again after the Great Salem Fire. A fire that was said to have started in the area of Gallows Hill, the same hill where his beloved Martha, and others accused of witchcraft, took their last breath.

          Eventually Corey’s grasp on Salem Village lessened and the office of Essex County Sheriff released; but not before Salem Village was renamed Danvers, and the Sheriff’s office was moved to Middleton. Giles Corey’s death on September 19, 1692, played a vital role in the history of the witch trials. His public and gruesome death did not sit well with colonists, and they began to build opposition to the trials. Shortly after Corey’s death, the hysteria surrounding witchcraft began to fade and ended in 1693, when the Governor put an end to all trials, after his wife was accused of witchcraft.

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Thank you to the following resources that made this blog possible.

References:

Brooks, R. (2011, October 12). The Curse of Giles Corey. Retrieved from http://historyofmassachusetts.org/the-curse-of-giles-corey  

Citro, J. (2004). A Dreadful Wizard. In Cursed in New England: Stories of damned Yankees (pp. 15-26). Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press. 

Linder, D. (2009, September 1). The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692. Retrieved from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SALEM.HTM

Salem.org. (n.d.). Official Salem MA Guide. Retrieved from http://www.salem.org/salemfire

Seger, D. (2011, September 19). Giles Corey. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from http://streetsofsalem.com/2011/09/19/giles-corey/

USHistory.org. (n.d.). Witchcraft in Salem. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/3g.asp

  

The Palatine

Even though the “Thirty Years War” had ceased in 1648, its effects lingered throughout the 100 years that followed. The once populated Palatinate had suffered numerous years of bloodshed and religious persecution at the hands of the Roman and French Catholics. The constant battles between the German and French troops had showered the area with killings, theft, taxation, pauperism, disease, and famine. Remaining loyal to the land would surely result in death. It was time for the Palatines and other Protestants to move to the New World to free themselves from this life. However, the journey to a better life had its price.

          The Princess Augusta set sail in 1738 with 340 passengers ready for a new life and religious freedom. What a glorious name for a ship, “Princess Augusta.” However, the Princess was anything but gracious and glorious as a princess should be. Her voyage was lengthy and unforgiving. Passengers suffered from overcrowding, food and water supplies became scarce, and conditions deteriorated into disease ridden graveyards. Many lost their lives to “fever and bloody flux,” while others were robbed and deceived by those promising to escort them across the Atlantic. By the time she reached New England, her 340 passengers seeking religious freedom were a mere 150. For more than half, their journey was nevermore. However fate proved to be a worthy foe and the crew did not go unpunished for their sins. For those who did not succumb to disease and death were chastised by winter’s bitter grasp.  

          As the Princess Augusta neared Block Island on that late December day in 1738, a winter storm arose, bringing forceful gales, strong tides, and low visibility-- everything a ship fears. As the ship surrendered its body to the elements, the remaining crew attempted to steer her towards the signal fires which had directed many distressed ships in the past to safety within the cove. However, on this occasion there was no rescue, no sandy cove. Rather than guiding the ship to safety, the fires lured it to its doom upon the rocky tip of the isle. Consumed with greed the wreckers looted the ship of all her valuables and brought all passengers and their deceased companions ashore. The ship was set afire and left to the mercy of the tide as it carried her into the night. But that was not the last the islanders would see of her. To this day, the glowing, fiery ship reappears north of the island every 12th month to haunt the islanders for taking part in her destruction. The legend is known as the Palatine Light.

Block Island

Google Maps

Block Island

Google Maps

          This is just one of the many folklore versions surrounding the story of the Palatine, a ghost ship tale based on the historical wreck of the ship Princess Augusta who ran aground on Block Island on December 27th, 1738 carrying Palatine passengers. However that is where the Princess Augusta dies and the Palatine comes to life. The tale grew in popularity when writer, John Greenleaf Whittier's poem "The Palatine,” recounted one version told to him by a settler. He presumably named the poem after the number of Palatines who emigrated from Germany to New England aboard the Princess Augusta, as well as many of the other ships. The Princess Augusta eventually became known as the “Palatine” and the legendary tales as the “Palatine Light.”

          Legend or not, the story brings attention to the suffering of the thousands of Palatines before and during their emigration to New England. A monument on Block Island stands to this day, marked for the Palatine passengers who never survived the journey across the Atlantic. 

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For more information on the legend of the Palatine Light or Palatine emigration to New England, please visit the following resources or perform a Google search. There is a multitude of information on these topics.

Thank you to the following resources.

Resources: 

Bell, M. (2004, April 21). The Legend of the Palatine. Retrieved from http://www.quahog.org/factsfolklore/index.php?id=92  

McCain, D. (2009). Phantom Ships. In Mysteries and legends of New England true stories of the unsolved and unexplained (pp. 81-90). Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot. 

Powell, N. (1971). Block Island's Fiery Ghost. In Mysterious New England (pp.106-109). Dublin, N.H.: Yankee.  

Raven, R. (2007). Haunted Providence: Strange tales from the smallest state (pp. 117-122). Charleston, SC: History Press.  

Real Unexplained Mysteries. (2015, March 4). Retrieved from http://realunexplainedmysteries.com/palatine-ghost-ship-version-of-events  

        
Zuckerman, E. (2004, December 20). Legend of 18th-century ship still haunts Block Island. The Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2004/12/20/legend_of_18th_century_ship_still_haunts_block_island/?page=full