Sarah Good

Date of Birth: 07/04/1672 | Date of Passing: 07/19/1692 | Date of Funeral: 07/19/1692

Sarah Good was one of the first three women accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. She was also related to our member Rowan Hamilton’s family through her mother’s line, by way of the Sexton tree. It is unknown whether or not Sarah was a true witch, but the craft is definitely strong in their line, so one would believe that yes, she was. Sarah Good was the daughter of a wealthy Wenham innkeeper, but her life had been a long downhill slide since her father’s suicide from drowning. Her mother had quickly remarried in order to block the children’s inheritance rights. Sarah married a landless man who hired himself out as a laborer. But even with a chronic labor shortage in the colony, individuals hesitated hiring her husband because that would mean taking Sarah into the household, and she was considered shrewish, idle, and slovenly. With matted grey hair and a leathered, lined face, Sarah Good looked seventy years old even though she was still of child bearing age. (In fact she was pregnant at the time of her arrest.) With her clay pipe, Sarah Good even looked the part of a witch. She didn’t attend church, and recently she had been begging door-to-door and making a general nuisance of herself. Along with Tituba and Sarah Osburne, Sarah Good was among the first three women named as witches. All three were arrested on February 29th, 1692. A strong woman, Sarah nearly overpowered the sheriff who came to arrest her. During the initial questioning of the three women, Good accused Sarah Osburne of being a witch, and Tituba confessed to witchcraft. Tituba was released while Good and Osburne were sent to jail. Osburne, who was already ill, died in prison. Good’s newborn child also died in prison. Good was joined in prison by her four year old daughter, Dorcas – even though Dorcas had testified against her mother. Dorcas was to remain mentally impaired for the rest of her life as a result of her imprisonment. Even Sarah Good’s husband testified against her.