Good, Sarah (d. 1692)
One of the first women to be declared a witch in the famous
proceedings at Salem Village, Massachusetts. Discovered using
an egg white as a scrying (divining) instrument, the two young
daughters of parish minister Samuel Parris began to complain
of being victims of witchcraft. They accused Tituba, a slave who
had showed them the scrying technique, Sarah Osburn, and
Sarah Good of bewitching them. Good already had a reputation
for possessing a sharp tongue and a short temper. Neighbors
sometimes accused her of cursing them and causing various
malevolent incidents, including the death of a cow.
Good was arrested on a warrrant issued on February 29,
1692. Her age is not known, but at the time of her arrest and
trial she was the mother of a four-year-old daughter, Dorcas,
and a recently born infant, whom she was still nursing. Before
her trial, Sarah Osburn died in prison, but four others, including
Rebecca Nurse, were arrested. The five were tried on June
30 and condemned together. Good and the others were executed
by hanging on July 19, 1692.
Good is remembered not only for being the first of those
killed at Salem Village (now Danvers, Massachusetts) but also
for her last words to the crowd, If you take away my life, God
will give you blood to drink.
Sources
Ericson, Eric. The World, The Flesh, and The Devil A Biographical
Dictionary of Witches. New York Mayflower Books, 1981.
Hansen, Chadwick. Witchcraft at Salem. New York George
Braziller, 1969.
