Elizabeth Howe

Elizabeth Howe (née Jackson; c. 1637–July 19, 1692) was one of the accused in the Salem witch trials. She was found guilty and executed on July 19, 1692. Background Elizabeth Jackson Howe was born 14 May 1637 near Rowley, Yorkshire, the daughter of William and Joanne Jackson. Elizabeth married James How in 13 April 1658 in Ipswich, MA; the couple had six children, and resided in Topsfield, Massachusetts. James Howe (b. 1659) Elizabeth Howe Jr. (b.1661) Mary Howe (b. 1664) Deborah Howe (b.1667) John Howe (b. 1671) Abigail Howe (b. 1673) Topsfield was a Puritan community. They were a deeply pious society, with an extreme religious focus not only as a community but also on an individual basis. They believed firmly in the devil, and felt that he was not only an enemy to mankind, but to the Puritans specifically. "The devil, as envisioned by the people of Salem, was a short, black man with cloven feet who stood about as high as a walking stick". The fight against the devil was viewed as an individual religious responsibility. Accused of witchcraft The Perley (also spelled Pearly) family of Ipswich, Massachusetts, were among the chief accusers of Elizabeth Howe. They had a ten-year-old daughter they claimed was being afflicted by Howe. The child complained of being pricked by pins and sometimes fell into fits. In their testimony against Howe, on June 1, 1692, they quoted their daughter as saying, "I could never afflict a dog as Good Howe afflicts me." At first the parents did not believe their daughter's accusations. They took the child to several doctors who told them she was "under an evil hand". Her condition continued for two or three years, until "she pined away to skin and bones and ended her sorrowful life". Howe was accused of afflicting several other girls within Salem Village. The identities of the girls Elizabeth Howe was accused of afflicting are recorded in the transcript of her examination: Mercy Lewis was nineteen years old during the Salem trials. When her entire family was killed in an Indian attack she was sent to be a servant in the house of Thomas Putnam. Mercy Lewis acted as key player in the accusation of Elizabeth Howe, as well as many other individuals in Salem Village. Mercy Lewis was a major contributor of spectral evidence in the examination of Elizabeth Howe.