Samuel Parris
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Samuel Parris (1653 – February 27, 1720) was the Puritan minister in Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials; he was also the father of one of the afflicted girls, and the uncle of another.[1]
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[edit] Life
He was born in London, England, the son of cloth merchant Thomas Parris. His family was one of modest financial success and religious nonconformity, not unusual for this time in London[2]. He emigrated to Boston in the early 1660s, where he attended Harvard University at his father's behest. When his father died in 1673, Samuel left Harvard to take up his inheritance in Barbados, where he maintained a sugar plantation and bought two Carib slaves to tend his household, one by the name of Tituba Indian and the other John Indian.
In 1680, after a hurricane hit Barbados damaging much of his property, Parris sold a little of his land and returned to Boston, where he married Elizabeth Eldridge[3]. Together they had three children, Thomas Parris, Betty Parris, and Susannah Parris. The slaves Tituba and John remained a part of his household. Although the plantation supported his merchant ventures, Parris was dissatisfied with his lack of financial security and began to look to the ministry. In July 1689, he became minister of Salem Village (now Danvers), Massachusetts.
Salem Village was a contentious place to live and was known to be quarrelsome by neighbouring towns and villages[4]. Because of its dispersed settlement pattern there was a lack of unity and a sense of common purpose that was usually more present in more orderly and arranged communities[5]. Samuel Parris was the fourth reverend in a series of unsuccessful attempts to find a permanent minister. The first two ministers, James Bayley (1673–79) and George Burroughs (1680–83), stayed only a few years each, departing after issues with the congregation failing to pay their full rate. The third, Deodat Lawson (1684–88), left but with less contention.
There was tension when he arrived because of his delaying his acceptance of the position, factionalism already present within the town, and his lack of ability for resolving his parishoner's disputes[6]. There were also disputes over Samuel Parris' pay and once again, the town proved reluctant to pay their minister his due wages. This came to head in October 1691 in a town meeting where a portion of the town vowed to stop paying his wage. The issue was further antagonized by Parris' perceived arrogance when he purchased gold candlesticks for the meetinghouse and new vessels for the sacraments. These issues, and others that were more personal between the villages, continued to grow unabated. In this atmosphere, serious conflict may have been inevitable[7].
The events that led to the Salem witch trials began when his daughter Betty Parris, and her cousin Abigail Williams, accused the family's slave Tituba, and Sarah Good of witchcraft. In February 1692, Betty Parris began having "fits" that the doctor and other ministers could not explain. It soon spread to include her cousin, Abigail Williams, among others. The hysteria and trials lasted sixteen months, concluding in May 1693.
His church brought charges against him for his part in the trials, leading him to apologize for his error. However, despite the intense dislike of the villagers, Parris stayed on for another four years after the panic had run its course. In 1697, he accepted another preaching position in Stow, and eventually moved on to Concord and Dunstable before his death in the town of Sudbury on February 27, 1720.
[edit] Fiction
Parris features in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, set against the backdrop of the witch trials. In the play, his daughter Betty Parris is the first to become ill because of supposed witchcraft. He is also a character in the book "Tituba of Salem Village" by Ann Petry, another work of fiction relating to the witch trials. In the 1957 and 1996 film adaptations of Miller's play, he was portrayed by Jean Debucourt and Bruce Davison, respectively.
[edit] References
- ^ Gragg, Larry (1990). "A Quest for Security".
- ^ Gragg, Larry. pp. 1-2.
- ^ Gragg, Larry.
- ^ Gragg, Larry.
- ^ Gragg, Larry.
- ^ Marion L, Starkey (1949). "The Devil in Massachusetts".
- ^ Marion L, Starkey. pp. 26 - 28.
[edit] Further reading
- Fowler, Samuel P., An Account of the Life and Character of the Rev. Samuel Parris, of Salem Village, (Salem 1857)
- Gragg, Larry. A Quest for Security: The Life of Samuel Parris, 1653-1720. Greenwood: New York. 1990. ISBN 978-0313272820
- Upham, Charles W., Salem Witchcraft. Reprint from the 1867 edition, in two volumes. Dover Publications: Mineola, NY. 2000. ISBN 978-0486408996
- Webber, C.H. and W. S. Nevins, Witchcraft in Salem Village, (Boston, 1892)
