> I had asked the list what research should be done (besides looking in deed > records) to find out what happened to property of those arrested (and hung) > for witchcraft, between 1692-1700. > > Jenny Gibbons suggested that perhaps my ancestor's property had been > confiscated to pay for her imprisonment and court costs. In my notes I do > have "property seized by sheriff the day they were arrested" -- which I > probably found in a book. > > I have read about Sheriff Corwin seizing property which was never returned, > either kept by Corwin or sold to cronies and relatives to pay court and > imprisonment costs. In my notes taken some years ago I also have "in > addition to the sheriff and the judges, those who benefitted financially > from the imprisonment and trials were jurors and those who kept the > prisoners. When the jails were full, the accused were 'jailed' in taverns, > inns, and barns, with the owners of the tavern/inn/or barn setting the rates > for the imprisonment costs. > > My question regarding the seized real estate... if there is no record in > deeds or mortgages, where do you go to research what happened to the real > estate owned by those who were arrested and hung? > Has anyone researched this? > > Ann Greenslade Pudeator was arrested in July 1692 and placed in a jail in > Ipswich. I have no idea why Ipswich. She was hung in Salem in September. I > assume she lived on her property until her July arrest. This had to have > been property of some value. It was on the Common (Washington Square) in > "downtown" Salem. It was on what became Washington Square and Winter Street > in 1795. It was on an important road... it led to the Beverly Ferry. In 1694 > the property is listed as being the estate of Jacob Pudeator, which it was. > By Pudeator's 1681 will, the real estate was to transfer to his "cozen" > Isaac Pudeator when Ann Pudeator died. Well, Ann died on the gallows in > Sept. 1692 so Pudeator's real estate had to be administered to after her > death. > \ > In 1694, the Administrator of the Pudeator estate was Philip English. I have > to assume the court appointed him Administrator. The records of his > administration of Pudeator's will were found filed in the Philip English > papers... not in Pudeator's probate file. Why filed in Philip English > Papers? I don't know, but that is where the Pudeator estate records were > found. > > The local historian I hired looked all over in deeds for some transfer of > the Pudeator property from PUDEATOR or from ENGLISH to someone and could > find nothing. This research was done in the 1980s for me. I am now wondering > if the research should have looked at the seller as being 1. Sheriff George > Corwin, 2. Massachusetts Bay Colony or 3. someone else? This Pudeator > property ended up being "owned" by William Browne by 1700. He owned it until > his death in 1713. Does anyone have info on William Browne? > > Regarding the property owned by Ann's son John Greenslet, Jacob Pudeator > sold it to John in 1681. > John Greenslet apparently died 1689-1690 (for sure by 1693), as his > inventory was done in 1693 by his wife/widow just prior to her second > marriage to Thomas Mason. I think John Greenslet was dead prior to the 1692 > witchcraft trials. If so, his wife was a widow with small children. I have > to assume she contined to live in their house on their land, which was next > to her mother-in-law's Ann Pudeator. After her marriage to Mason in 1693, I > assume they lived in his house in Salem (Thomas Mason owned a house and > land). > > A complete search of DEEDS (Greenslet and Mason) was done to see when John > Greenslet's house and house lot in Salem was sold or conveyed to Bartholomew > GEDNEY. No conveyance was found. > So how did Bartholomew Gedney get ownership of John Greenslet's house and > lot before 1697? The Greenslet real estate was listed as being owned by > Gedney when he died in 1697-98. The property went to Gedney's daughter who > sold it to ... ahem... Philip English by 1705. > > Did Sheriff Corwin also seize Ann Pudeator's deceased son's house in July > 1692 when he arrested Ann Pudeator? Did he then pass the property over to > trial judge Bartholomew Gedney -- wasn't George Corwin married to Gedney's > daughter? > > Any Gedney descendants on the list who can shed some light on this? > > During and after 1692, did Bartholomew Gedney become the owner of real > estate which had been owned by those accused of witchcraft? Has anyone > checked into what properties Gedney obtained during this period or what he > owned at the time of his death? Same with Corwin... did he acquire "wealth" > i.e. real estate as a result of the trials? > > With all the theories and books out about the Salem trials, I'm wondering if > any scholar has followed up on exactly what happened to the real estate > owned by the accused. > > Is there anyone on the list who has traced successfully what happened to > their ancestor's property after it was seized by the sheriff? > > -- Helen Greenslit Graves > > > > > >