Born in 1616 in Cambridge MA
Died 22 September 1692 Rowley, Essex, MA (a little town outside of Salem)
Ancestral Great Grandmother
Hanged as a Witch
Note: In the United States, those convicted of witchcraft were hung few exceptions (one was pressed to death), only in Europe were witches burned at the stake.
Margaret Stevenson Scott was elderly, about 75 years of age, penniless, helpless, and a begger. Her husband passed away in 1671 leaving her with little to sustain her life. This, coupled with the wiitchcraft hysteria of the late 1600s left her vulnerable to accusations as a witch. Her low status fed the guilt and shame of those who would not help her, causing them to anger (mostly at themselves but directed at her in the form of accusations). Making matters worse,, those accusing her were from prominent families, adding an air of authority to the accusations. What defense is there agains the condemnations that your "spector" (spirit) is attacking others during a time of high superstition?
Margaret had difficulty with the survival rate of her children, three of seven would make to adulthood, feeding the dark thoughts that she must be a witch. It was late in the witchraft crisis and many were trying to condemn as many witches as possible before the book on this was closed for good. Others were beginning to see the wrongfullness of the accusations. Margaret and eight others innocents would hang on that fateful day in late Septermber 1692, one week after the trials, weeks after their arrests. Margaret was one of the last to suffer the fate of a witch and one of the oldest of those who were executed during the Salem witch tri
als, second to Rebecca Nurse.
Reports show that Margaret Scott spent 45 days in prison from her arrest until her execution. She was hanged on Gallows Hill along with seven others on the day of her execution. Reports also show that Scott was still declaring her innocence at her execution.
In 1711, all of the accused were exonerated and their relatives offered retribution; none of Margaret's family turned up, whether out of fear or shame or disgust, not all the families came forward to accept the apology. Margaret’s name was not cleared until Oct 31, 2001, 309 yrs after her death. Margaret must have suffered extremely from the time of her arrest on Aug. 06, 1692 until her death on Sept. 22, 1692.
