John Proctor (Salem witch trials) John Proctor (Salem witch trials) John Proctor (March 30, 1632 – August 19, 1692) was a landowner in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was the son of John Proctor, Sr. (1594–1672) and Martha Harper (1607–1667). He was hanged on August 19, 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Salem Witch Trials after being falsely accused and convicted for witchcraft. John Proctor was born in Suffolk, England. When he was just three years old, his parents brought their family to America. They sailed from London, England, on 12 April 1635 on a ship called the "Susan and Ellen". Upon
Witch trials in the early modern period region, the witch hunts declined during the 1630s, at a time when the communities living there were facing increased disaster as a result of plague, famine, economic collapse and the Thirty Years' War. Furthermore, this scenario would clearly not offer a universal explanation, for trials also took place in areas which were free from war, famine, or pestilence. Additionally, these theories - particularly Behringer's - have been labeled as oversimplified. Although there is evidence that the Little Ice Age and subsequent famine and disease was likely a contributing factor to increase in witch persecution, Durrant argues that one cannot make