John Richards (Salem witch trials) John Richards (Salem witch trials) John Richards (died April 2, 1694) was a colonial military officer, businessman, politician, and magistrate, best known for his participation in the Salem witch trials in 1692. John Richards was born in England, and traveled with his parents in 1630 to North America as part of the first major wave of migration to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1644 Ricards was enrolled in the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, which he would remain involved with for the rest of his life. A resident of Dorchester for most of his life, he operated a mill, and
Thomas Oliver (Salem witch trials) Thomas Oliver (Salem witch trials) Thomas Oliver (c. 1601 England—June 1679 Salem, Essex Co, MA) was the second husband of Bridget Bishop, who on 10 June 1692 became the first victim of the Salem witch trials. He is a major link in the old and well-known theory that his widow, Bridget Bishop, was executed on trumped up charges because her in-laws were jealous of what she had inherited from him. Upham's "History of the Salem Witchcraft Trials" makes clear that her marriage to Thomas Oliver is a determining factor in the witchcraft prosecution of Bridget Oliver Bishop. Oliver married Mary