Sarah Good

Sarah Good married Daniel Poole. Poole died leaving behind a great amount of debt. Good then married William Good and both were forced to deal with the debt. When they could not pay creditors, they were thrown into poverty. William was sent to jail and they had to hand over their property to creditors. Good was homeless and forced to seek shelter with her neighbors, moving from house to house with her daughter, Dorcas Good. They rented rooms and were beggars. Good did not attend church.

Good was the first to be accused of witchcraft in Salem, in 1692. Abigail Williams, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Ann Putnam, Jr. claimed to be bewitched under her hand. During Good’s trial, one of the accusers fell into a fit and when she stopped, she claimed Good attacked her with a knife. She produced a portion of it and stated that the weapon had been broken during the assault. A townsman stood and told the court that it was from his knife and it broke the day before. The girl had witnessed it and he produced the other half. The judge simply scolded the girl for exaggerating.

Also during Good’s trial, others who testified claimed to have seen her flying through the sky on a stick to get to “witch meetings.” Her husband testified against her, stating that he had seen the Devil’s mark on her body, right below her shoulder. He told the court he had reason to believe that she was a witch presently, or would soon become one. Dorcas was later forced to testify against her, saying she was a witch and had seen her mother consorting with the devil.

Good was described by the people of Salem as filthy, bad-tempered, and strangely detached from the rest of the village. She was often associated with the death of livestock and would go door to door, asking for charity. If a person refused, Good would walk away muttering under her breath. She claimed she was only saying the Ten Commandments but those who turned her away would later claim she was chanting curses in revenge. When asked to say the Commandments at her trial, she could not cite a single one. Good denied these allegations and argued her innocence. She proclaimed that Tituba and Sarah Osborne were the real witches. Good was pregnant with a second child at the time of her trial.

During the hearing, William Good is quoted saying, "it was her bad carriage to [me] and indeed say I with tears that she is enemy to all good." Despite the overwhelming sentiment against her, Good adamantly denied Magistrate John Hathorne's accusations. When Hathorne in the pre-trial hearings asked, "Why do you hurt these children?" Good responded, "I do not hurt them. I scorn it." She also stated repeatedly, "I am falsely accused."