Sarah Bibber
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Sarah Bibber (or Vibber or Vibert; born c. 1656 – year of death unknown) was involved in the infamous Salem witch trials in 1692, both as an accuser of witchcraft, as well as being accused of being a witch herself.
Bibber was one of the "afflicted" who testified against the accused in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. She is mentioned in indictments, gave depositions and testified under oath against 15 people accused of witchcraft. These were Mary Bradbury, George Burroughs, Giles Corey, Mary Easty, Sarah Good, Dorcas Hoar, Elizabeth How, George Jacobs, Sr., Susannah Martin, Rebecca Nurse, Alice Parker, John Proctor, Ann Pudeator, Job Tookey and John Willard. She also was mentioned in the indictment of Mary Witheridge.[1]
Others, including John and Lydia Porter, Joseph Fowler, Thomas and Mary Jacobs, Richard Walker and Sarah Nurse testified against Bibber, claiming that she was involved in witchcraft.[1] In 1692 Bibber's age was given as being about 36 years old. She was married to John Bibber and they had a 4-year-old child. Various court documents list their town of residence as Salem or Wenham. Her surname is variously given in the documents as Bibber, Biber and Vibber.
Sarah Bibber v. Sarah Good:
The Deposition of Sarah Bibber aged about 36 years who testified and said that since I have been afflicted I have often seen the Apparition of Sarah Good but she did not hurt me tell the 2 day of May 1692 though I saw her Apparition most grievously torture Mercy Lewes & Jon. Indian at Salem. on the 11th April 1692: but on the 2: may 1692 the Apparition of Sarah good did most grievously torment me by pressing my breath almost out of my body and also she did immediately afflict my child by pinching of it that I could hardly hold it and my husband seeing of it took hold of the Child but it cried out and twisted so dreadfully by reason of the torture that the Apparition of Sarah good did afflict it with all that it got out of its fathers arms to: also several times since the Apparition of Sarah Good has most grievously tormented me by beating and pinching me and almost Choking me to death and pricking me with pins after a most dreadful manner
Sarah Bibber owned this her testimony to be the truth one the oath she had taken: be fore us the Jurors for Inquest: this: 28dy of June 1692
Sworn. in Court June 29th 1692.
And further Adds. that she very believes upon her Oath that Sarah Good had bewitched her[2]
Bibber was described by those who testified against her as a "loose-tongued creature, addicted to fits," a woman who quarreled often with her husband when she would call him "very bad names," would have "strange fits when she was crossed," a woman of turbulent spirit and "double tongued." She was observed to be "very idle in her calling" and given to gossiping and making mischief among her neighbors.[1]
The testimony of Thomas and Mary Jacobs against Bibber stated that
... Bibber would be very often speaking against one and another very obscenely and those things that were false and wishing very bad wishes and very often and she wish that when her child fell into the river that she had never pulled . ... her child out and Bibber use to wish ill wishes to herself and her children and also to others: the neighborhood where she lived amongst after she buried her first husband has told us that this John Bibber wife could fall into fits as often as she pleased.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Sarah Bibber profile Archived 2010-12-15 at the Wayback Machine, VibertFamily.com; accessed June 4, 2015.
- ^ Records of the Trial and Execution of Sarah Good, 1692
External links
- Profile Archived 2010-12-15 at the Wayback Machine, Vibert Family genealogical website
- The Salem witchcraft papers, Volume 1: verbatim transcripts of the legal documents of the Salem witchcraft outbreak of 1692/edited and with an introduction and index by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum
- The 1692 Salem Witch Trials: Documents and Participants University of Virginia
- Entries from Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt Linked to Digital Facsimile Images
- v
- t
- e
court officials
- Jonathan Corwin
- Bartholomew Gedney
- John Hathorne
- Joseph Herrick
- George Herrick
- John Richards
- Nathanial (or Nathaniel) Saltonstall
- Samuel Sewall
- William Stoughton
- Waitstill Winthrop
- William Griggs
- Thomas Barnard
- George Burroughs (convicted of witchcraft and hanged)
- Francis Dane
- John Hale
- John Higginson
- Deodat Lawson
- Cotton Mather
- Increase Mather
- William Milbourne
- Nicholas Noyes
- Samuel Parris
- Edward Payson
- Samuel Phillips
- Samuel Willard
and public figures
- Thomas Danforth
- James Russell
- William Phips
- Thomas Brattle
- Robert Calef
- Thomas Maule
- Benjamin Abbot
- Ebenezer Babson
- William Barker Sr.
- Thomas Barnard
- James Best Jr.
- James Best Sr.
- Elizabeth Booth
- John Bly Sr. and Rebecca Bly
- Thomas Boreman
- Thomas Chandler
- Nathaniel Coit
- Mary Daniel
- John DeRich
- Joseph Draper
- John Emerson
- Ralph Farnum Sr.
- Hannah Foster
- Joseph Fowler
- Mary Fuller
- Mary Herrick
- John Howe
- Elizabeth Hubbard
- Joseph Hutchinson
- John Indian
- Nathaniel Ingersoll
- Thomas and Mary Jacobs
- Henry Kinney
- Margaret Wilkins Knight
- Mercy Lewis
- Abigail Martin Jr.
- Jeremiah Neale
- Sarah Nurse
- Betty Parris
- Edward Payson
- Samuel and Ruth Perley (or Pearly)
- Samuel Pickworth
- Thomas Preston
- Ann Putnam Jr.
- Ann Putnam Sr.
- Edward Putnam
- Hannah Putnam
- John Putnam Jr.
- John Putnam Sr.
- Jonathan (or Johnathan) Putnam
- Nathaniel Putnam
- Thomas Putnam
- Nicholas Rist
- Margaret Rule
- Susannah Sheldon
- Mercy Short
- Martha Sprague
- Timothy Swan or Swann
- Christian Trask
- Peter Tufts
- Moses Tyler
- Jonathan Walcott
- Mary Walcott
- Richard Walker
- Mary Warren
- Joseph Whipple
- Bray Wilkins
- John Wilkins
- Samuel Wilkins
- Abigail Williams
- Daniel Wycom or Wicom or Wycombe
- Frances Wycom or Wycome or Wycombe
- Arthur Abbot
- Nehemiah Abbot Jr.
- John Alden
- Abigail Barker
- Katerina Biss
- Edward Bishop
- Edward Bishop III
- Mary Black
- Anne Bradstreet
- Dudley Bradstreet
- John Bradstreet
- Mary Bridges Sr.
- Sarah Bridges
- Sarah Buckley
- John Busse (or Buss)
- Andrew Carrier
- Richard Carrier
- Sarah Carrier
- Thomas Carrier Jr.
- Bethiah Carter Jr.
- Bethiah Carter Sr.
- Rachel Clinton
- Sarah Cloyce
- Elizabeth Colson
- Mary Colson
- Francis Dane
- Phoebe Day
- Elizabeth Dicer
- Rebecca Dike
- Ann Dolliver
- Mehitable Downing
- Mary Dyer
- Daniel and Lydia Eames
- Rebecca Blake Eames
- Esther Elwell
- Martha Emerson
- Joseph Emons
- Thomas Farrar Sr.
- Abigail Faulkner Jr.
- Abigail Faulkner Sr.
- Dorothy Faulkner
- Elizabeth Fosdick
- Eunice Frye
- Dorothy Good
- Mary Green
- Sarah Noyes Hale (wife of John Hale)
- Elizabeth Hutchinson Hart
- Margaret Hawkes
- Sarah Hawkes Jr.
- Dorcas Hoar
- Deliverance Hobbs
- William Hobbs
- Elizabeth Johnson Sr.
- Stephen Johnson
- Rebecca Jacobs
- Jane Lilly (or Lillie)
- Mary Marston
- Sarah Morey
- Sarah Murrell
- Robert and Sarah Pease
- Joan Penney (or Penny)
- Sarah Phelps
- Lady Mary Phips
- Mary Post
- Susannah Post
- Margaret Prince
- Elizabeth Proctor
- Sarah Proctor
- William Proctor
- Sarah Davis Rice
- Sarah Rist
- Sarah Root
- Susanna Rootes
- Abigail Rowe
- Mary Rowe
- Elizabeth Scargen
- Ann Sears
- Abigail Somes
- Sarah Clapp Swift
- Mary Harrington Taylor
- Margaret Thacher
- Job Tookey
- Margaret Toothaker
- Mary Toothaker
- Hannah Tyler
- Mary Lovett Tyler
- Hezekiah Usher II
- Rachel Vinson
- Mary Whittredge (or Witheridge)
- Sarah Wilson Jr.
- Sarah Wilson Sr.
- Edward Wooland
accused others
- Mary Barker
- William Barker Jr.
- William Barker Sr.
- Sarah Bibber
- Mary Bridges Jr.
- Sarah Churchwell
- Deliverance Dane
- Rebecca Eames
- Abigail Hobbs
- Margaret Jacobs
- Mary Lacey Jr.
- Mary Lacey Sr.
- Joanna Tyler
- Martha Tyler
- Mercy Wardwell
- Sarah Wardwell
- Mary Warren
- Candy
- Tituba
- Bridget Bishop
- George Burroughs
- Martha Carrier
- Martha Corey
- Mary Eastey
- Sarah Good
- Elizabeth Howe
- George Jacobs Sr.
- Susannah Martin
- Rebecca Nurse
- Alice Parker
- Mary Ayer Parker
- John Proctor
- Ann Pudeator
- Wilmot Redd
- Margaret Scott
- Samuel Wardwell
- Sarah Wildes
- John Willard
- John Durrant
- Lydia Dustin
- Ann Foster
- Mercy, infant child of Sarah Good
- Sarah Osborne
- Infant child of Elizabeth Scargen
- Roger Toothaker
otherwise fled
- John Alden
- Daniel Andrew
- Mary Bradbury
- Elizabeth Cary
- Phillip and Mary English
- Edward Farrington
- Mary Green
- George Jacobs Jr.
- Ephraim Stevens