Abigail+Williams

What happened to Abigail Williams? Posted by: Nicole Hammond and Gabrielle Jean

Research Summary: Abigail Williams, 12 years of age, played a huge role in the Salem Witch Trials as one of the main accusers. Abigail lived with her uncle Rev. Samuel Parris. People say she has gone crazy due to the horrific lifestyle she possesses. Abby was the serv e nt at the Proctor house. According to Arthur Miller, after being the servent so long, she and John Proctor had a physical relationship. This statement was actually false. They later kicked her out, leading to Abigail not liking Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail used a type of voodoo to conjure spirits, trying to figure out who her future husband would be. Although doing voodoo took a drastic toll on the accusations of the family she was doing voodoo on, it didn't turn out well for Abigail in the end. Abigail claimed that she had been being bitten and injured by some sort of spirit, therefore leading to her accusations on the Proctor family.

Abigail and her friends and cousins were questioned on February 29th 1692. Dr. Griggs examined the girls and determined that they were under the influence of an "Evil Hand". Abigails accusations continued. Abigail Williams made 41 complaints and gave testimony in seven cases. It is not fully clear why Abigail suffered fits and accused so many people but many say it was because of the attention she strived for. Because of the lifestyle Abigail lived, it was said that she strived for the attention she never got and she wanted to over power adult authority. There are no records of what happened to Abigail Williams after the year of 1692. Many suggested that she died unmarried but without any evidence, it couldn't be certain.

Source: Marilynne K Roach,."That Child, Betty Parris," Essex Institute Historical Collections Vol. 124, No. 1 1988: 1-27. Bernard Rosenthal, Salem Story, 1993. []

Annotation: This website gave a lot of in depth information about Abigail Williams. What isn't already said above, can be found here. The website is mostly about Abigail's accusations and troubles growing up. It also involves many others that were involved either in her life, or with the trials.