Andover Bewitched: Pardoning the Last "Witch"

After more than 300 years, the last person convicted of practicing witchcraft during the 1692 witch trials has been formally exonerated.

Jun 01, 2022

After more than 300 years, the last person convicted of practicing witchcraft during the 1692 witch trials has been formally exonerated. In today’s edition of Andover Bewitched, read about Andover resident Elizabeth Johnson Jr. and the long path to clearing her name. If you’re joining for the first time, you can read the synopsis of the 1692 trials here.

I also want to send a shout-out to Marilyn Helmers and Deb Sofio for sending along the exciting news that Elizabeth Johnson Jr.’s case had finally succeeded last Thursday, June 26, 2022.

Elizabeth Johnson Jr. was 22 years old when she was accused and convicted of witchcraft. Like many others convicted at the time, she faced the threat of execution by hanging. And unlike the twenty victims who were executed, Elizabeth Johnson Jr. was saved at the last moment by the governor’s intervention. Her case is unusual because she was never executed, nor was she ever pardoned — at least, not until last week.

Those who were executed were cleared in the decades following the trials as the start to reparations for the grieving families. Meanwhile, many of the others who were convicted were cleared in other legislation in the eighteenth century and in the 1957 and 2002 laws. But Elizabeth Johnson Jr. has been left out of every official pardon… until now.

How was Elizabeth Johnson Jr.’s name cleared?

On May 26, 2022, the Massachusetts Senate passed a law to clear her name in an act led and filed by State Senator Diana DiZoglio.1 You can listen to Senator DiZoglio’s compelling speech to hear more about Elizabeth’s story and the long path to clearing her name.2

This 2022 act officially amended a resolve shared in 1957 to add Elizabeth Johnson Jr.’s name to the list of those formally pardoned by the Massachusetts government. Elizabeth is the last person who was convicted of practicing witchcraft during 1692 but who had not yet been officially pardoned. With this act, the witch trials are finally and completely put to rest.

These final legal efforts began in a North Andover civics classroom. Teacher Carrie LaPierre and her eighth grade students researched Elizabeth Johnson Jr. after they discovered the discrepancy in the earlier legal proceedings.3 The class studied the steps necessary to change the law and set this case in motion in 2021. Without them, Elizabeth Johnson Jr.’s condemnation would probably have remained to this day and beyond.

Why wasn’t she already exonerated with the others?

In my last entry of Andover Bewitched, I wrote about some of the efforts to set things right after the witch trials. Legislation passed in 1711 cleared the names of many of those executed for witchcraft, paving the way for the families of these victims to receive financial compensation for their lost loved ones and for seized property and jail fees.4

In 1957, another Massachusetts law was passed to exonerate others convicted of the crime, like Ann Pudeator.5 Since this bill did not enumerate the names of the others convicted, a 2002 amendment listed the rest of those convicted by name – finally including everyone except Elizabeth Johnson Jr.

People who were accused but never convicted did not have a criminal record because of the trials and did not need to be cleared. People who were convicted and executed were mostly exonerated in 1711. Elizabeth Johnson Jr. slipped through the cracks during each of these three legal actions, in part because she had no descendants fighting for her name to be heard.

Who was Elizabeth Johnson Jr.?

Elizabeth Johnson Jr. was born in Andover in 1670. She lived with her parents near Andover village, in what is today North Andover.

Elizabeth was the granddaughter of Reverend Francis Dane, who spoke out explicitly against the trials. Because of Dane’s outspoken disagreement with the trials, many of his family members were accused of witchcraft, including Elizabeth’s mother, grandmother, and many others.

She was arrested on August 11 and brought to the prison at Salem Village. She immediately confessed to witchcraft – she said that she had gone to gatherings of witches and had afflicted her neighbors. She also testified against some of the other people who had already been accused, like George Burrows and Martha Carrier.

While many other people who confessed to witchcraft were pronounced “not guilty” or released from prison, Elizabeth Johnson Jr. remained in prison. Finally, in January 1693, Elizabeth Johnson Jr. went to trial.

By early 1693, most of the hysteria of the witch trials had begun to wane. The special court was dissolved and a new jury oversaw the completion of the last cases. Most of the cases heard in 1693 were pronounced not guilty or “ignoramus” (i.e., there was not enough evidence for a trial). Of the fifty-two witchcraft cases heard in early January, 30 were thrown out as “ignoramus” and 19 were tried and declared not guilty.6

However, Elizabeth Johnson Jr. was pronounced guilty “of covenanting with the Devil, for which she stood indicted… as also guilty of the felony by witchcraft for which she stood indicted.”7

Elizabeth Johnson Jr., Mary Post, Sarah Wardwell, and five others were set to be executed for witchcraft. Then, Governor William Phips stepped in and put an end to it. The executions were canceled and no more of the accused were condemned to die. In the months following, the remaining prisoners were released and returned to their homes, Elizabeth included.

There are no records documenting Elizabeth Johnson Jr.’s death, and it appears that she was not married.

Did Elizabeth ever try to clear her own name?

The 1711 bill that cleared the names of many of the accused did not include Elizabeth or several people who were executed, including Ann Pudeator, Wilmot Redd, Susannah Martin, and more.

In 1712, Elizabeth wrote a letter petitioning to have her name inserted into the Act so that she could also receive reparations for her “Long Imprisonment.” Here are her words:

“I was condemned by the Court as Salem in the year 1692 as will appear by the Records of the Trials at said court, but my name is not inserted in said act. Being very desirous of the favour of that act, am bold humbly to pray your honours to represent my case to the General court at their next Session… allow me something in consideration of my charges by reason of my long imprisonment…”8

Her name was not added to the act in 1712, though we do not know why. Perhaps the Massachusetts courts were ready to be done with the trials and did not want to risk reopening the Act to accommodate Elizabeth.

Why does it matter that Elizabeth Johnson Jr.’s name is now cleared?

Elizabeth had no descendants. She never married and did not have children. She survived the witch trials and, as far as is evident in the historical record, did not continue to suffer as a result of the trials during the rest of her life. Over 300 years have passed since the trials and her death, so you might be wondering why it matters at all that the record was changed.

Today, we still remember the executed victims of the witch trials in memorials and in the stories we tell.

But if you’ve been reading along with Andover Bewitched, you know that the story of the trials is so much bigger than those 20 victims. Many people’s lives were torn apart by the chaos and suspicion as these communities were torn apart. The accused — even if they were eventually pronounced not guilty — were carted from their homes to the dank and cramped prisons to await intense and sometimes violent trials.

Elizabeth Johnson Jr. survived the trials but spent many months in jail fearing for her life up to the very end of her imprisonment, when she was condemned to die.

Ultimately, Elizabeth’s case makes me think of the old adage, “if not me, then who?” She had no descendants to fight on her behalf, and yet, this inspiring North Andover classroom heard the injustice of her story and fought to make it right regardless. They listened to her story, despite the hundreds of years that had passed, and saw that they had the power to make a small change – to set the record straight.

If they didn’t, who knows what could have happened — perhaps Elizabeth Johnson Jr. would never have been officially pardoned. But these students spoke out, and they acted, as did the Massachusetts Senate, and now Elizabeth Johnson Jr.’s story has finally come to a just close.

Thank you for reading! If you would like to learn more about the 1692 witch trials, stay tuned. Let me know your questions or ideas in the comments below. I love to hear from you!

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—Toni