Edward Bishop (Salem witch trials) Edward Bishop (Salem witch trials) Edward Bishop was involved in the witchcraft hysteria of 1692. Four men named Edward Bishop lived in Salem at the time of the trials. Most of the early genealogical works, such as those by Savage and Pope, were confused; and some stated as much. Savage states that an Edward Bishop was living in Salem, Massachusetts as of 1639. Edward Bishop Sr. was born around 1620 in England. Edward Bishop Sr. married Hannah More. The reconstructed vital records of Salem Massachusetts lists baptisms for 3 children of Edward Bishop Sr. (by his first wife Hannah) between
Witch trials in the early modern period Witch trials in the early modern period Witch-phobia and prosecutions for the crime of witchcraft reached a highpoint from 1580 to 1630 during the Counter-Reformation and the European wars of religion, when an estimated 50,000 persons were burned at the stake, of which roughly 80% were women, and most often over the age of 40. Throughout the medieval era mainstream Christian doctrine had denied the existence of witches and witchcraft, condemning it as pagan superstition. The work of Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century helped lay the groundwork for a shift in Christian doctrine by which certain Christian theologians eventually