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Biography

Thomas Putnam, Jr. was born 22 March 1652 in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States to Thomas Putnam (1615-1686) and Ann Holyoke (1621-1665) and died 3 June 1699 Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States of unspecified causes. He married Ann Carr (1661-1699) 25 September 1678 in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts.

Salem witch trials

His father, Lt. Thomas Putnam Sr. (1615–1686), was one of Salem's wealthiest residents. He was excluded from major inheritances by both his father and father-in-law. His half-brother, Joseph, who had benefited most from their father's estate, married into the rival Porter family, fueling ill will between the clans. Putnam, his wife, and one of his daughters (Ann Putnam Jr.) all levied accusations of witchcraft, many of them against extended members of the Porter family, and testified at the trials. He is responsible for the accusations of 43 people, and his daughter is responsible for 62. He and his wife had 12 children in total.

Sergeant Thomas Putnam had received a liberal education for his times, but with others whom we should call more enlightened, he took a most prominent part in the witchcraft delusion of 1692, being in fact, second to none but Rev. Parris in the fury with which he seemed to ferret out the victims of his young daughter's insane desire for notoriety. His wife also took prominent part in those proceedings. She was the sister of Mary Carr (1651-1688), wife of James Bayley (1650-1706), whose ministry at the village was the cause of so much dissension and which indirectly added to the bitterness of the witchcraft persecutions.

By nature, Mrs. Putnam was a woman of a highly sensitive temperament, apparently easily wrought upon and deceived. The Carrs seem all to have been rather weak in that respect, although of good social position. Sergeant Putnam, on the contrary, was of a decisive and obstinate nature; he had great influence in the village and did not hesitate to use it; he had been in the Narragansett fight, belonged to the company of troopers and was parish clerk. Many of the records of the witchcraft proceedings are in his hand. He wrote in a fine, clear, and beautiful hand.

It was in the houses of Thomas and of Rev. Mr. Parris that the "bewitched" children first met to accomplish their pranks. In the "circle" were the daughter Ann, and a maid-servant of Mrs. Putnam, Mary Lewis by name. Afterward, at the trials of the accused persons, Mrs. Putnam was often seized with strange attacks and imagination, evidently produced by the over-excitement and consequent strain on her brain. At these times she was a prominent witness, but after this was all over and Parris was attempting to retain his hold on the parish and to dicker with the inhabitants over terms of settlement, she seems to have refused him her aid or encouragement.

That Sergeant Putnam and probably his wife were firm believers in the whole matter there seems to be but little doubt. He showed a lamentable lack of common sense, but so did many others. The strain was too much for him and he died shortly after the trials; his wife followed him to the grave a few weeks later." (Eben Putnam, Volume 1, History, pp. 38-39, 1891.)


Marriage and Family

Both Thomas Putnam and Ann Putnam Sr. died in 1699, leaving 10 children orphans, two children having predeceased them. With the exception of Deliverance (and the infant deaths), all of the above named children, were alive in 1715. See Ann Putnam's will.

Children, born in Salem Village:

  1. Ann, b. 18 Oct. 1679. Primary accuser during Salem witch trials
  2. Thomas, b. 9 Feb. 1681; bapt. 1st Ch., Salem, Aug. 1681; aged 14 and upwards, 4 Sept. 1699, when he chooses his cousin, John Putnam Jr., as guardian.
  3. Elizabeth, b. 29 May 1683; bapt. 1st Ch., May 1784; aged 14 and upwards, in 1702; guardianship to Jonathan Putnam.
  4. Ebenezer, b. 25 July 1685; bapt. Oct. 1685; 10 Oct. 1699, aged 14, appoints his uncle Edward, guardian.
  5. Deliverance, b. 11 Sept. 1687; bapt. 1st Ch., 1 July 1688; not mentioned in her sister Ann's will, 1715, presumably dead; Rev. Jos. Green in his diary notes the funeral of "Dell Putnam" under date of Dec. 31, 1712.
  6. Thomas Putnam's child, d. 17 Dec. 1689, not quite four mos.
  7. Timothy, bapt. in Salem Village, 26 April 1691.
  8. Experience, bapt. at Salem Village, 20 Nov. 1698; m. David, son of Isaac and Sarah (Emery) Bailey, b. 12 Dec. 1687, and nephew to Rev. James Bailey, who m. Mary, sister of Ann (Carr) Putnam, died before 1722. Ch. David, who probably d. previous to 1722; Elizabeth, Jonathan, Nathan. Experience (Putnam) Bailey received a legacy from her uncle, Joshua Bayley, in 1722.
  9. Abigail, bapt. Salem Village, 30 Oct. 1692; aged 9, 23 April 1702, guardianship to John Putnam, 3d.
  10. Susanna, b. 1694; bapt. Salem Village, 20 Nov. 1698.
  11. (Perhaps there was another daughter; "1694, Aug. 22, Sarah, daughter of Thomas Putnam, died 6 mos.; "old record.")
  12. Seth, b. May 1695; bapt. in Salem Village.



Children


Offspring of Thomas Putnam and Ann Carr (1661-1699)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Ann Putnam (1679-1716) 18 October 1679 Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States 1716 Essex County, Massachusetts
Thomas Putnam III (1681-1757) 9 February 1681 Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States 1757 Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States Elizabeth Whipple (1694-?)
Elizabeth Putnam (1683-c1715) 29 May 1683 Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States 1715 Danvers, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States
Ebenezer Putnam (1685-)
Deliverance Putnam (1688-1712)
Infant Putnam (1689-1689)
Timothy Putnam (1691-1762)
Abigail Putnam (1692-1744) 26 February 1692 Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States 24 June 1744 Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States John Dean (?-?)
Susanna Putnam (1694-)
Sarah Putnam (1694-1694)
Seth Putnam (1695-1775) May 1695 Danvers, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States 11 November 1775 Charlestown, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States Ruth Whipple (1692-1785)
Experience Putnam (1698-)




See Also




Footnotes (including sources)

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