Timeline: Before 1692 | January 1692 | February 1692 | March 1692 | April 1692 | May 1692 | June 1692 | July 1692 | August 1692 | September 1692 | October 1692 | November/December 1692 | 1693 | The Aftermath
August 1692
August 1: a group of Boston ministers, led by Increase Mather , met and considered the issues raised by John Proctor's letter, including the use of spectral evidence. The ministers changed their position on the topic of spectral evidence. Before, they had believed that spectral evidence could be believed, because the Devil could not impersonate an innocent person. They decided that the Devil was capable of appearing to people in the guise of someone innocent of any witchcraft.
Early August: Philip and Mary English escaped to New York, at the urging of a Boston minister. Governor Phips and others are thought to have helped them in their escape. Property of Philip English in Salem was seized by the sheriff. (Later, when Philip English heard that drought and lack of tending the fields was causing a food shortage in Salem Village, Philip had a shipment of corn sent to the village.)
August 2: The Court of Oyer and Terminer considered the cases of John and Elizabeth Proctor, Martha Carrier, George Jacobs Sr., George Burroughs and John Willard.
August 5: Grand juries indicted George Burroughs, Mary English, Martha Carrier and George Jacobs Sr. The trial juries convicted George Burroughs, Martha Carrier, George Jacobs Sr., John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth Proctor, and John Willard, and they were condemned to hang. Elizabeth Proctor was given a temporary stay of execution because she was pregnant. A petition from 35 of Salem Village's respected citizens on behalf of George Burroughs failed to move the court.
August 11: Abigail Faulkner, Sr., was arrested, accused by several neighbors. She was examined by Jonathan Corwin, John Hathorne and John Higginson. Accusers included Ann Putnam, Mary Warren and William Barker, Sr. Sarah Carrier, age 7 and the daughter of Martha Carrier (convicted August 5) and Thomas Carrier, was examined.
August 19: John Proctor, George Burroughs, George Jacobs Sr., John Willard and Martha Carrier were hanged. Elizabeth Proctor remained in jail, her execution postponed because of her pregnancy. Rebecca Eames was at the hanging and was accused by another spectator of causing a pinprick in her foot; Rebecca Eames was arrested and she and Mary Lacey were examined at Salem that day. Eames confessed and implicated her son Daniel.
August 20: Regretting her testimony against George Burroughs and her grandfather George Jacobs Sr., the day after their execution, Margaret Jacobs recanted her testimony against them.
August 29: Abigail Johnson (11) and Stephen Johnson (14) were arrested.
August 30: Abigail Faulkner, Sr., was examined in prison.
August 31: Elizabeth Johnson Sr. and Abigail Johnson confessed, without implicating any others. Rebecca Eames was examined a second time, and she repeated her confession, this time implicating not just her son Daniel but also "Toothaker Widow" and Abigail Faulkner.
