Magistrate: Why do you tell such wicked lies against witnesses, that heard you speak after this manner, this very morning?Ĭorey: I never saw any thing but a black hog.Īfter untying one his hands, the afflicted girls began having fits, according to Parris’ records:
Upon the motion of his head again, they had their heads and necks afflicted. Magistrate: What, is it not enough to act witchcraft at other times, but must you do it now in the face of authority?Ĭorey: I am a poor creature, and cannot help it. Then the court ordered his hands to be tied. Then, on April 18, 1692, an arrest warrant was issued for Giles Corey after Ann Putnam, Jr, Mercy Lewis, Abigail Williams, Mary Walcott and Elizabeth Hubbard accused him of practicing witchcraft against them.Īfter Corey was arrested and brought in for his examination, it seems he had changed his mind about the witch trials.ĭuring Corey’s examination at the Salem Village Meetinghouse on April 19, Judge John Hathorne and Judge Jonathan Corwin repeatedly accused him of lying and even tied his hands to prevent him from practicing witchcraft in the courtroom, according to court records written by Reverend Samuel Parris:Īll the afflicted were seized now with fits, and troubled with pinches. The Corey’s troubles officially began on Monday, March 21, 1692, when Martha Corey was arrested on charges of witchcraft.Ĭorey was so swept up in the mass hysteria he reportedly believed the accusations against his wife and even testified against her on March 24.ĭuring his testimony against Martha, he spoke of the sudden illness of his ox and pet cat and described how his wife would stay up late at night and kneel by the fireplace as if in prayer but he never heard her recite any prayers. The “Trial of Giles Corey” illustration by Charles Reinhardt, circa 1878
These actions made Martha Corey seem suspicious and by mid-March, rumors began to swirl that Martha was a witch. When the Salem Witch Trials began, Giles and Martha Corey were some of the first people to attend the pre-trial examinations at the Salem Village Meetinghouse.Īs the examinations went on, Martha began to doubt their validity and even tried to persuade Giles from attending further examinations by hiding his riding saddle. This death forever tainted Corey’s reputation in Salem and later came back to haunt him during his witchcraft trial. Many locals, especially Thomas Putnam, suspected Corey had paid money to win his freedom. He stood trial, during which John Proctor testified that he heard Corey admit he had beaten Goodale, but in the end Corey was only fined for his actions. After Mary died in 1684, Corey married a widow named Martha Panon in 1690.Ĭorey was considered by many to be a violent man after he was charged with beating his farmhand, Jacob Goodale, to death with a stick in 1676. His wife died shortly after and he married a London immigrant, Mary Brite, on April 11, 1664. Giles Corey’s Early Life:Ĭorey first lived in Salem town but then moved to Salem Village in 1659 and became a farmer. Giles Corey was a successful farmer from Salem village who was accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.īorn in Northampton, England, in 1621, Corey immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony sometime after he married his first wife, Margaret.