Abigail Faulkner’s Desperate Plea from Prison: 52 Ancestors 2026 “A Document with Personality”

 

Convicted of Witchcraft and Afraid for Her Family: A Petition Filled with Fear and Fury

Abigail Dane Faulkner: 1652-1729 (7^th Great-grandaunt)

 

I recently blogged about John Dane’s role as a juror in the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Among John Dane’s cousins who were convicted of witchcraft—possibly by John himself—was his cousin Abigail Dane Faulkner. She was sentenced to death, but thankfully her execution was delayed due to her pregnancy—even the judgmental Puritans could not justify killing an innocent unborn child along with its mother. Thus Abigail was still in prison when Massachusetts Governor William Phips disbanded the Court of Oyer and Terminer and forbade the use of spectral evidence in October 1692.

To provide some background, Abigail Dane was one of Reverend Francis Dane’s daughters. She married Francis Faulkner in 1675, and they had six children and were expecting a seventh when she was “examined” by the witchcraft court in August of 1692 after claims from girls, one only twelve years old, that she had bewitched them. She was encouraged to confess but she told the court that “God would not have her confess that yt she was not guilty of.”

Engraving of Salem Witch Trial scene--Wikimedia Commons

While Phip’s action basically brought a halt to the witchcraft trial proceedings, it did not lead to the release of those charged or convicted of witchcraft. They were still in the Salem prison as winter set in. Conditions were horrible. Several of those charged or convicted died from disease and the elements in the jail before they could be tried or executed. Desperate, afraid and angry, Abigail Faulkner wrote a petition to Governor Phips on December 3, 1692, begging to be released. It is an amazing document. Her despair and anger are obvious in every stroke of the pen. The transcript of her petition follows:

The humblee Petition of Abigall: Falkner unto his Excellencye S'r W'm Phipps knight and Govern'r of their Majestyes Dominions in America: humbly sheweth

That your poor and humble Petitioner having been this four monthes in Salem Prison and condemned to die having had no other evidences against me but the Spectre Evidences and the Confessors w'ch Confessors have lately since I was condemned owned to my selfe and others and doe still own that they wronged me and what they had \said against me was false: and that they would not that I should have been put to death for a thousand worldes for they never should have enjoyed themselves againe in this world; w'ch undoubtedly I shouled have been put to death had it not pleased the Lord I had been with child. Thankes be to the Lord I know my selfe altogether Innocent & Ignorant of the crime of witchcraft w'ch is layd to my charge: as will appeare at the great day of Judgment (May it please yo'r Excellencye) my husband about five yeares a goe was taken w'th fitts w'ch did very much impaire his memory and understanding but w'th the blessing of the Lord upon my Endeavors did recover of them againe but now through greife and sorrow they are returned to him againe as bad as Ever they were: I having six children and having little or nothing to subsist on being in a manner without a head to doe any thinge for my selfe or them and being closely confined can see no otherwayes but we shall all perish Therfore may it please your Excellencye your poor and humble petition'r doe humbly begge and Implore of yo'r Excellencye to take it into yo'r pious and Judicious consideration that some speedy Course may be taken w'th me for my releasement that I and my children perish not through meanes of my close confinement here w'ch undoubtedly we shall if the Lord does not mightily prevent and yo'r poor petitioner shall for ever pray for your health and happinesse in this life and eternall felicity in the world to come so prayes

from Salem Prison Your poor afflicted humble sevants Petition'r

Decem[ber] the 3d: 1692 *Abigall: Falkner

Abigail Dane Faulkner's petition to Gov. Phips

Abigail’s frustration and anger at her accusers is obvious in her opening statements. She notes that she was convicted based only on “spectral evidence”, the type of evidence Phips had just decreed would no longer be accepted. She noted that all the witnesses’ confessions against her had been withdrawn: “w'ch Confessors have lately since I was condemned owned to my selfe and others and doe still own that they wronged me and what they had \said against me was false: and that they would not that I should have been put to death for a thousand worldes.” The people who testified against her had admitted to herself and to others that they lied at her trial. Thus there was no legitimate evidence that she was a witch. She stated that “I know my selfe altogether Innocent & Ignorant of the crime of witchcraft…as will appeare at the great day of Judgment.” Abigail’s words ring with sincerity and her conviction that God recognizes her innocence.

The details she provides about her family situation are heart-breaking. She is in despair over her husband’s illness. She confesses, “my husband about five yeares a goe was taken w'th fitts w'ch did very much impaire his memory and understanding but w'th the blessing of the Lord upon my Endeavors did recover of them againe but now through greife and sorrow they are returned to him againe as bad as Ever they were…” It is hard to diagnose Francis Faulkner from the distance of 334 years, but it sounds as if he might have had a stroke, or that he suffered from debilitating depression or mental illness. Whatever the cause of his illness, in the past Abigail had been forced to take charge of providing for the children. Now there was no one to earn money, provide food, or do the backbreaking work required to just keep children alive in the unforgiving weather of a Massachusetts winter.

Her terror and desperation are obvious in the next line: “I having six children and having little or nothing to subsist on being in a manner without a head to doe any thinge for my selfe or them and being closely confined can see no otherwayes but we shall all perish…”

As a woman, she knows that she is considered less important than a man in the Puritan world. She closes her letter with flattery and kind words to the Governor, obviously trying to emphasize her respect and obedience to him as a man and a person of power. She begs him as “your poor and humble petition'r”  to “take it into yo'r pious and Judicious consideration” to free her. She closes with the following prayer for Phips: “yo'r poor petitioner shall for ever pray for your health and happinesse in this life and eternall felicity in the world to come…”

Governor's address on Abigail Faulkner's petition

It appears that her petition had effect. She was released at some point late in December 1692 after Phips received the document. The date of the release order is unknown. She was back home in Andover well before her baby was born in March of 1693.

I do not know if Abigail wrote the petition herself, or if she dictated it to a relative. Since her father was Cambridge-educated, he probably taught all his children to read and write, so it is possible she may have hand-written the document. What I do know is that her feelings, personality and strength of will are apparent in each sentence, no matter who prepared the final document.

 

Sources:

Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project. Salem Witchcraft Papers: SWP No. 052: Abigail Faulkner, Sr.. University of Virginia. https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n52.html

Historical Sketches of Andover. Chap. 3, Witchcraft at Andover. Pg. 217-218. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/21636/images/dvm_LocHist007471-00133-0?usePUB=true&_phsrc=FrD715&_phstart=default&usePUBJs=true&currentPageIsStart=&useCurrentPageInfo=&showinfopanel=true&pId=248

Salem With Trial Engraving. Wikimedia Commons. https://picryl.com/media/salem-witch-trial-engraving-444cbd

 

The Wrong Side of History and the Wrong Side of Family: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt “What Surprise Me Most”

 

John Dane Jr. Sitting in Judgment of His Cousins in the Salem Witch Trials

John Dane Jr. 1642-1707 (Maternal 7^th Great-Granduncle)

 

While researching my 8^th Great-Grandfather John Dane, I ran across information about his son John Dane, my 7^th Great-Granduncle, that absolutely stunned me. He served as a juror for some of the Salem Witch Trials, which meant he was hearing testimony against and rendering verdicts upon his own cousins, who were the children and grandchildren of his uncle, Reverend Francis Dane. Some of those cousins were sentenced to death. How could a good Puritan like John Dane turn against his own family in this way?

I have been unable to find birth records for John Dane, but his gravestone states he died in 1707 in his 65^th year, which would indicate he was born in 1642 or 1643. His parents were John Dane and Eleanor Clark of Ipswich, Massachusetts. He was the oldest of their two sons. He left several parcels of land in his will, so it appears he was engaged in farming.

John Dane married Abigail Warner on December 27, 1671, and they lived in Ipswich. The couple had six children—three sons and three daughters—over a period from 1673 to 1691.

The Salem Witch trials began in 1692. Under English law, a Court of Oyer and Terminer was called up to hold inquiries into all charges of treason, felonies, and misdemeanors. The name comes from the French phrase oyer et terminer which literally means “to hear and to determine.” Massachusetts Governor William Phipps called for the court to be appointed to hear the witch trials, and local officials were told to summon a pool of jurors. Each community was asked to contribute jurors, with local magistrates responsible for issuing the summonses.

I have found some of the summons paperwork, but John Dane Jr.’s name was not on the Ipswich summons. He may have been called up at a later date, covered by a different summons document. Since the jurors were issued summonses requiring them to serve, John Dane had little choice in the matter. He had to participate once he was summoned. In a small society like early colonial Massachusetts, the Puritan culture demanded conformity and obedience.

Cover of the book where the jurors' letter appears

Some records from the period provide partial lists of jurors. John Dane’s name is on at least one of the lists I located. But most significantly, John Dane Jr. was one of twelve signatories on a 1697 letter expressing regret for their actions as jurors. While the original letter did not survive, a transcription was printed in a 1700 book titled “More Wonders of the Invisible World” by Robert Calef. The letter reads as follows:

“Some that had been of several juries have given forth a paper, signed with our own hands in these words. We whose names are underwritten, being in the year 1692 called to serve as jurors in court in Salem, on trial of many who were by some suspected guilty of doing acts of witchcraft upon the bodies of sundry persons.

We confess that we ourselves were not capable to understand, nor able to withstand the mysterious delusions of the powers of darkness and prince of the air, but were for want of knowledge in ourselves and better information from others, prevailed with to take up with such evidence against the accused as on further consideration and better information, we justly fear was insufficient for the touching the lives of any, Deuteronomy 17.6, whereby we fear we have been instrumental with others, though ignorantly and unwittingly, to bring upon ourselves and this people of the Lord, the guilt of innocent blood, which sin the Lord saith in Scripture, he would not pardon, 2 Kings 24.4, that is we suppose in regard of His temporal judgments. We do, therefore, hereby signify to all in general (and to the surviving sufferers in especial) our deep sense of and sorrow for our errors in acting on such evidence to the condemning of any person.

And do hereby declare that we justly fear that we were sadly deluded and mistaken, for which we are much disquieted and distressed in our minds, and do therefore humbly beg forgiveness, first of God for Christ’s sake for this our error. And pray that God would not impute the guilt of it to ourselves nor others. And we also pray that we may be considered candidly and aright by the living sufferers as being then under the power of a strong and general delusion, utterly unacquainted with and not experienced in matters of that nature.

We do heartily ask forgiveness of you all, whom we have justly offended and do declare, according to our present minds, we would none of us do such things again on such grounds for the whole world, praying you to accept of this in way of satisfaction for our offense, and that you would bless the inheritance of the Lord that He may be entreated for the land.

Foreman, Thomas Fisk

Thomas Perly, Senior

William Fiske

John Peabody

John Batcheler

Thomas Perkins

Thomas Fisk, Junior

Samuel Sather

John Dane

Andrew Elliott

Joseph Evelith

Henry Herrick, Senior

 

End of the letter in the Wonders book.

I can certainly understand why John Dane would have longed for forgiveness. Rev. Francis Dane and all his children and grandchildren must have felt betrayed by John’s work on the jury. Francis Dane barely escaped being charged with witchcraft himself. Two of his daughters, Abigail Dane Faulkner and Elizabeth Dane Johnson, were accused and convicted, but escaped death. In addition, five of his grandchildren were charged with witchcraft: two of Abigail’s daughters, ages 12 and 9, and Elizabeth’s two daughters and one son, ages 22, 14 and 11. In addition, Francis’ daughter-in-law, Deliverance Haseltine Dane, was charged. Two of Francis’ nieces by marriage, Martha Carrier and Elizabeth How, were convicted and hung. The Dane family suffered greatly. It would be hard to excuse John Dane’s complicity in this suffering.

I find it interesting that the jurors stated that they felt unable “to withstand the mysterious delusions of the powers of darkness”. They seem to be blaming the devil for compelling their actions. They probably did feel compelled, but more by the opinions of their neighbors and friends who believed in the witchcraft charges. The jurors probably feared becoming targets themselves if they didn’t find the persecuted people guilty.

John Dane's headstone, courtesy of Findagrave.

John Dane died in 1707 and is buried in Hamilton Cemetery in Essex County, Massachusetts.

Sources:

“The Apology of the Salem Jury,” 1697. More Wonders of the Invisible World, or The Wonders of th Invisble World, Display’d in Five Parts. Collected by Robert Calef. Printed in London for Nath. Hillar, at the Princes-Arms, in Leaden Hall Street. 1700. https://archive.org/details/morewondersofinv01cale

The Founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Page 202. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/23628/images/dvm_GenMono005699-00116-0?usePUB=true&pId=197

Findagrave Listing for John Dane. Photo by Adrian Theirry. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52810448/john-dane/photo#view-photo=267987016

John Dane’s Commonplace Book: 52 Ancestors 2026 Prompt: A Source I Want to Understand Better”

A Life Story Told in Verse and Prose

Johne Dane: 1612-1684 (Maternal 8^th Great-Grandfather)

 

I have been fascinated for years by the commonplace book of Reverend Francis Dane, one of my 8^th great grandfathers. Commonplace books were widely used in the 17th century by scholars, writers, and educated people as a tool for reading, learning, and remembering information. They often contained quotations, passages copied from books and other written material, personal observations, and drafts of such things as sermons. I discovered that Francis was not the only Dane brother to use a commonplace book. John Dane, another of my 8^th Great-Grandfathers, wrote his own commonplace book in the late 1600s. Miraculously, both these books were preserved by Dane family members over the centuries. Both have been photographed and digitally uploaded by American Ancestors, making them available online for all modern-day researchers. John Dane’s commonplace book is a wonderful primary source that I would love to study and better understand.

To provide some background biographical information, John Dane was born in Hertfordshire, England in 1612, the son of John Dane and his wife Frances Bowyer Dane. He left England as part of the Puritan migration, probably arriving in the Massachusetts colony around 1635, although some sources list a date as late as 1638. His widowed father and brother Francis followed him to the colony around 1636. John settled in Ipswich, while his father settled in Roxbury and Francis Dane in Andover.

John Dane married Eleanor Clark around 1637. They had six children: sons John and Philemon, and daughters Mary, Elizabeth, Priscilla Rebecca and Sarah. The Commonplace Book was written in 1682, two years before John Dane’s death, as a form of personal history for his children.

Cover of John Dane's Commonplace Book

American Ancestors’ Digital Library and Archives describes John Dane’s commonplace book as follows:

“Vellum bound book with a lappet. Contains two narratives, one in rhyme and one in prose, some religious meditations, and advice to the author's children in rhyme. The record contains some notes on sermons by Mr. Dennison, Mr. Hubbard, and Mr. Gerrish. There is also some short hand. The narratives provide the author's recollections of his childhood in England, his life as a taylor's apprentice while a young man in Hereford (England), settling in New England, and life in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

The book opens with a sort of introductory page that sets out what he will be including in the book. It reads:

 “By John Dane, senner, of Ipshwitch,

And Chiriergen, in the yer of our Lord, 1682;

Containing sum poems in waie of

Preparation for death, besides the obsaruaton

Of seauarall prouedensis in the Cose of

His lyfe, and aded seaueral meditations.

 

He that liues out full seauenty years,

And has fullfild that number,

His after time that doth apere

Is of grefe and great wonder. (psalms the 90:10)”

The book has 265 pages, which are quite small, the book being only fifteen centimeters or about six inches tall and three and a half inches wide. The cover has his signature on it.

Here is a page of the “shorthand” referenced in the description above. It looks more like a code than shorthand, but whatever John Dane called it, he was obviously using it to prevent anyone from reading what he had written. I wonder what this four-page-long passage contained.

"Shorthand" section of the commonplace book

The “two narratives” are brief memoirs of his life. He described his early years as ones of rebellion and foolish behavior. He had a sort of epiphany when he experienced a severe reaction to a bee sting. He was forced to consult a chiriergen (a seventeenth century term for a surgeon) for help with the swelling in his hand. The man made an impression on him, and after a few more adventures, he returned home to his parents and became a dutiful son and good Puritan. He then wrote about his decision to emigrate to the colonies, and his struggles upon arrival. He even reached such a point of despair that he considered taking his own life. But he persisted, and felt that the “special hand of God” had helped him. He concluded,

“Thus God hath all along preserved and kept me all my days. Although I have many times lost His special presence, yet he hath returned to me in mercy again...

Oh, loving relations, have care of quenching such notions of God’s spirit, lest you bring sorrow and affliction onto your heads and hearts, as many others have done, to their great grief and sorrow; and I can speak it, to the grief of my soul, by woeful experience.”

Portion of Dane's Poetry Narrative 

It appears John Dane hoped his narratives would help to guide his descendants in their own lives.

While John Dane began his work life as a tailor (he spells it taylor) in England, he became a chiriergen in the colonies. In the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, Noah Webster defined the word, which he spelled chiurgeon, as “A surgeon; one whose profession is to heal diseases by manual operations, instruments or external applications.” Did John Dane’s experience with the chiriergen in England following his bee sting spur his career change? One of his sons, Dr. Philemon Dane, received medical training and followed his father into the practice of medicine.

The Commonplace book apparently was inherited by John Dane’s daughter Sarah, who married Daniel Warner. She gave the book to her grandson, Philemon Warner Jr. The inside cover was inscribed by Philemon as follows: "Philemon Warner, Junr, his book, given him by his grandmother Warner, Janry 20th, 1741.” The memoir portion of the book was eventually transcribed and published in 1854 as A Declaration of Remarkable Providences in the Course of My Life by John Dane of Ipswich 1682.

I have read portions of John Dane’s verse and prose narratives. I would like to read the other sections of the commonplace book, and examine the narratives with more care. There are so many wonderful details about John Dane’s life in this handwritten account that can help me better understand life in the seventeenth century and Puritan culture and beliefs.

 

Sources:

https://digital.americanancestors.org/digital/collection/p15869coll26

A Declaration of Remarkable Providences in the Course of My Life by John Dane of Ipswich 1682 to which is added a pedigree of the Dane family, and a few notes by a member of the New England historical-genealogical society. Prepared for the NEHG Register. Boston. Samuel G. Drake. 1854.

Beyond Narrative: the Conversion Plot of John Dane’s A Declaration of Remarkable Providences. Neuman, Meredith Marie. Clark University. Early American Literature. Vol. 40, No. 2 (2005), pp. 251-277. University of North Carolina Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25057399