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 The estimate was only reliably placed below 100,000 in scholarship of the 1970s. There were many regional differences in the manner in which the witch trials occurred. The trials themselves emerged sporadically, flaring up in some areas while neighbouring areas remained largely unaffected. In general, there seems to have been less witch-phobia in the papal lands of Italy and Spain in comparison to France and the Holy Roman Empire. There was much regional variation within the British Isles. In Ireland, there were few trials. There are particularly important differences between the English and continental witch-hunting traditions. In England the use