Salem Witch Trials in History and Literature
An Undergraduate Course, University of Virginia
Spring Semester 2001
Born in England about 1611, Giles Corey was one of the six mento be executed during the Salem witch trials of 1692. John Proctor,George Burroughs, George Jacobs Sr., John Willard, and SamuelWardwell were all hanged after being convicted of witchcraft, whileGiles Corey was pressed to death with stones for refusing to "puthimself on the country," that is, to allow himself to be put ontrial. He emigrated from England to Salem and remained there until1659 when he relocated to Salem Farms, just south of Salem Village.There he owned an extensive plot of land, which resulted in theappearance of his being a prosperous farmer. His personality,reputation and relationships with others however tainted thatpicture. Although he had become a full member of the Village churchand had close ties with the Porter faction in the Village, hisreputation as one who lacked consideration for others in thecommunity and as one who lead a "scandalous life," quite possiblyhad a significant impact on his being accused as a witch. Becauseof Corey's previous encounters with the law, there was furthersuspicion of his guilt during the witch trials. In 1675, Coreypummeled and killed a farm worker named Jacob Goodale. He was foundguilty of the murder and ordered to pay a substantial fine.
By the time of the trials, Giles Corey was already 80, and wasmarried to Martha, his third wife. On March 19, 1692, Martha wasarrested for witchcraft. Giles, for reasons unknown to others,decided to testify against his wife, but eventually tried to recanthis deposition, which lead to greater suspicion of his involvementin witchcraft because of the stigma surrounding perjury. One monthlater, on April 19, 1692, Giles Corey was accused of witchcraft andthere was a warrant out for his arrest. There were two primaryaccusations, one from Abigail Hobbs who during her own confessionto witchcraft named Giles and Martha Corey as fellow witches, andone from Exekiell Chevers and John Putnam, Jr., who filed anaccusation on behalf of Ann Putnam, Marcy Lewis, Abigail Williams,Mary Walcott and Elizabeth Hubbard.
After his arrest, Giles Corey remained in jail with his wifeuntil his trial on September 16, 1692. He went to the trial andpleaded "not guilty" but simultaneously refused to "put himself onthe court" because of his contempt for the court. Corey was notwilling to submit himself to a trial by jury that, he believed, hadalready determined his guilt. Because the court had accepted thetestimony of the same accusers in a trial on September 9, and inall previous trials, Giles understood that there was no chance ofbeing found not guilty and that a conviction would be inevitable.In every previous trial when an accused individual had plead notguilty, not a single person was cleared so Giles preferred toundergo "what Death they would put him to" rather than be foundguilty of witchcraft and thus put to death. According to Englishlaw, Giles was ruled as "standing mute" because he would not betried by "God and my country." The Court of Oyer and Terminerstrictly adhered to the requirement that a defendant "put himselfon the country". Because Giles stood mute, he was given the dreadedsentence of peine forte et dure even though this procedurehad been determined to be illegal by the government ofMassachusetts. It was illegal for two reasons: there was no lawpermitting pressing, and it violated the Puritan provisions of theBody of Liberties regarding the end of barbarous punishment. In theentire history of the United States, Giles Corey is the only personever to be pressed to death by order of a court.
There is a strong local tradition Giles Corey refused trial inorder to avoid a conviction that would result in the forfeiture ofhis property to the government. Under English and Massachusettslaw, however, conviction could not result in the forfeiture of anestate. However, the George Corwin, the Sheriff of Essex Countryillegally seized the property of some of those arrested forwitchcraft. Before his arrest, Corey himself was clearly concernedabout his extensive estate, and he wrote a will that deeded hisland to his sons-in-law William Cleeves and John Moulton. The lawsclearly stated that landowners retained the right to give theirland to their heirs rather than forfeit it because of a conviction,and apparently Corey knew it. Thus it does not seem likely thatCorey refused to go on trial to save his property.
On or before September 18, 1692, Giles Corey was slowly pressedto death in the field next to the jail. In the literature aboutGiles Corey's tortuous death, there is reference to his famous lastwords, "more weight." These words were uttered as a final attemptto expedite his death while also showing that not even imminentdeath could convince him to go to trial. It is even told that theSheriff took his cane and pressed Giles' tongue back into his mouthjust before he died at the end of the two days of being slowlycrushed. On September 18, 1692, Giles Corey was ex-communicatedfrom the Village church so that he would not die as a member of thechurch. On September 21, 1692, Martha, his wife, was hanged onGallows Hill. It has been speculated that the publicity surroundingthe pressing of Giles may have in fact helped to build publicopposition to the witchcraft trials.
In Arthur Miller's, The Crucible, Giles Corey is aprominent character in part because of his unique role in the witchtrials. Giles' colorful past, his willingness to be tortured beforecompromising his own values, and his role in his wife's convictionare the factors which make him such a vibrant character. AlthoughMillers' presentation of Giles Corey in The Crucibleis notpurely historical, his place in the witch trials will never beforgotten. Giles Corey did in fact testify against his wife infront of the court, and he seems to have stood mute as an act ofdramatic defiance. Henry W. Longfellow's Giles Corey of SalemFarms is another piece of literature that portrays Giles Coreyin a strong and powerful manner. In his play, Corey's character isdefined by his last conversation with his friend Capt. RichardGardner. In the play, Giles Corey says: "I will not plead. If Ideny, I am condemned already, in courts where ghosts appear aswitnesses, and swear men's lives away. If I confess, then I confessto a lie, to buy a life which is not a life, but only death inlife. I will not bear false witness against any, Not even againstmyself, whom I count least...I come! Here is my body; ye maytorture it, but the immortal soul ye cannot crush!"
This passage shows why the character of Giles Corey attractsattention not only when examining court documents from 1692 butalso the present day literature. Giles Corey will be rememberedunambiguously in literature and history because of his act ofsupreme defiance to the Salem witch trials.
