Giles Corey

Mary MuratoriMs. DelGrego

English D11/7/11

Birth and Death of Giles Corey

• I was born in England about 1611• I was one of the six men to be executed during

the Salem witch trials of 1692•  I was pressed to death with stones for

refusing to "put myself on the country," that is, to allow myself to be put on trial

•  By the time of the trials, I was already 80, and  married to Martha, my third wife.

• I was pressed to death for refusing to cooperate with the court.

 

Childhood and Family Life

• I had three marriages• My last one before I died was with Martha Corey,

who also died in the Salem Witch Trials•  Margaret, my first wife, was the mother of

my daughters and I had no sons•  My second wife was Mary Bright; we were married

on April 11, 1664. Mary Bright died aged 63 on August 27, 1684

•  Martha had a son named Thomas

Education

• I was a wealthy land owner and educated when it came to laws.

 • But other than that, I was not very eduacated.

 

Career

• I owned an extensive plot of land, which resulted in the appearance of me being a prosperous farmer. My personality, reputation and relationships with others however tainted that picture. Although I had become a full member of the Village church and had close ties with the Porter faction in the Village, my reputation as one who lacked consideration for others in the community and as one who lead a "scandalous life," quite possibly had a significant impact on my being accused as a witch.

Religious Practices

• I was a Puritan, but I was accused of witchcraft, because of weird behavior.

•  I did kill a farmer named Jacob Goodale in early 1650's, and that did go against my practices. My reasons for pummeling him to death were unknown.

• I had to pay a fine.

Involvement of Salem Witch Hysteria•  Abigail Hobbs confessed to me of being a warlock.•  By the time of the trials, I was already 80, but that

didn't mean I wanted to die.•  I decided to take back my testify against my wife, 

which lead to greater suspicion of my involvement in witchcraft because of the stigma surrounding law.

This is my wife Martha Corey, I didn't 'rat' her out. but I did testify against her in her trial because I didn't want to look

bad infront of everyone. 

This was my trial. I was convicted, and put in jail. It was later years when I was actually pressed to death, because I refused to talk. I'd rather be killed than give in to higher officials who

are wrong.

Works Cited

Hart D. James and Leininger W. Phillip "Corey, Giles." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com.         4 Nov. 2011. http://www.encyclopedia.com.  Ray, Benjamin. “Salem Witch Trials.” Etext.virginia.edu. 2002.         4 Nov. 2011. http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/“Salem Witch Museum.”  Salem Witch Museum.com. 1996.          4 Nov. 2011 http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/education/faq.shtmlSnyder, Heather. “Giles Corey.” iath.virginia.edu. 1985.         4 Nov. 2011. http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/salem/people/gilescorey.html