Reverend Samuel Parris

Samuel Parris was the son of an Englishman. He was sent to Massachusetts in 1673 to study at Harvard University. When he was twenty years old, his father died and he inherited the land his father owned in Barbados. Shortly thereafter, he left Harvard and moved to Barbados, began leasing his family’s sugar plantation, and established himself as a credit agent for other sugar planters, which allowed him to accumulate a significant amount of wealth. It was in Barbados where he acquired his two slaves, one of which was Tituba.

After living in Barbados for seven years, he took his two slaves and moved to Boston and married Elizabeth Eldridge. A year later they had their first child, a boy named Thomas. That following year, they had their second child, a girl named Betty, followed by Susahanna five years later.

He was rather unpleased working as a merchant despite all of wealth he had accumulated while in Barbados, and began substituting for absent ministers and speaking at informal gatherings of the church in 1686. He hoped to become a minister and really wanted to become Salem’s village preachers. Parris eventually did so in July of 1689, which left the community members completely outraged. The community members of Salem Village were so displeased that Parris became a minister that they began tampering with his salary. By October, the people refused to support his salary, funded by a tax they had to pay, and refused to pay for and supply him with fire wood to make it through the cold winters. As a result, Parris began preaching and speaking of the conspiracy in the village against him and the church and warned that it was because Satan had infested the people of Salem and caused them to turn against him and the church.

Also in 1691, Parris’ oldest daughter Betty and his niece Abigail Williams (who lived with him) became afflicted b the tales of Tituba. Tituba was from Barbados and often told the girls stories of voodoo and engaged them in fortune telling, all activities that violated Puritan beliefs and practices. Shortly thereafter, Betty began developing symptoms and acting strangely. She claimed to have felt pinching, prickling, and even chocking sensations. Several physicians were not able to diagnose her with any problems or medical condition. However, Dr. William Griggs offered that Betty was suffering due to witchcraft. Upon hearing the news, Parris organized many prayer gatherings and days of fasting in an attempt to alleviate his daughter’s symptoms. He even went as far as beating Tituba into confessing, and “fanning the flames of witchcraft suspicions from his pulpit.”

After the witchcraft hysteria ran its course in Salem, people were even more displeased with Parris, and Parris was slow to recognize his mistakes. It was not until 1694 that he formally apologized, but even that was not enough. Dissatisfaction with Parris continued until 1697, when he eventually left the village and was replaced by Joseph Green. He moved to Stowe and later died in 1720.