Salem witch trials in 1692. Faulkner admitted she was “angry at what folk said,” and the Devil may have temporarily overtaken her, causing harm to her neighbors. Women who did not conform to the norms of Puritan society were more likely to be the target of an accusation, especially those who were unmarried or did not have children. General: Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused, nineteen of whom were found guilty and executed by hanging
George Jacobs (Salem witch trials) Nathaniel Hawthorne. He holds a book and points at Jacobs' granddaughter, as if challenging her to substantiate her earlier written statements. In the foreground are a girl and boy who are having fits, allegedly caused by Jacobs' wizardry. The boy is unknown but the girl may be either Jacobs' servant or accuser Ann Putnam Jr. Jacobs appears as a minor character in the 1996 film "The Crucible," based on Arthur Miller's 1953 play about the Salem witch trials. He was portrayed by William Preston. George Jacobs (Salem witch trials) George Jacobs Sr. (1609–1692) was an English colonist in his 70s