[Americana] [Salem Witch Trials] Hathorne, John, and Bartholomew Gedney. Manuscript Document, signed

Salem, Massachusetts, March 9, 1682/3. Manuscript land deed on paper, in the hand of Recorder Bartholomew Gedney, between Benjamin Gerrish and William Osbourne for five acres of land in the Township of Salem; signed at bottom by John Hathorne, as a member of the Massachusetts council of assistants, attesting to the transaction; signed by Benjamin Gerrish and his wife, Hannah Gerrish (nee Ruck), at bottom right, with their red wax seals intact; signed by witnesses Hilliard Veren, Jr., and Daniel King, Jr. Docketed on verso. Creasing from old folds; spotting recto and verso. One sheet, 10 1/2 x 15 in. (267 x 381 mm).

A rare document signed by two colonial Massachusetts magistrates involved in the infamous Salem Witch Trials: John Hathorne (1641-1717) and Bartholomew Gedney (1640-98).

John Hathorne (great-great-grandfather of writer Nathaniel Hawthorne) was one of the most vocal participants during the witch hunts that swept Salem, Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. One of eight judges who presided over the Court of Oyer and Terminer that tried people accused of witchcraft, Hathorne was also the chief interrogator of the accused, and conducted the first interrogations of suspected witches in Salem, on Sarah Osbourne and Sarah Good, as well as West Indian slave Tituba, owned by the father of the girls who kickstarted the witch hysteria. Hathorne was relentless in his pursuit of cleansing the colony of the devil and his minions, and presumed the guilt of the accused, allowed the use of "spectral evidence" in court (testimony in which witnesses claimed that the accused appeared to them and did them harm in a dream or a vision), and often harassed the accused until they confessed. During the Trials, over 200 individuals were accused of witchcraft, 30 were found guilty, and 20 were executed. Following the Trials, Hathorne continued his ascent in colonial politics, but he never repented for his actions during the hysteria.

Bartholomew Gedney was a merchant, physician, and military officer who also served on the Court of Oyer and Terminer alongside Hathorne. During the Trials he questioned numerous accused witches, including Captain John Alden, Mary Ireson, Ann Dolliver, Job Tookey, amongst others.

Benjamin Gerrish was son of Captain William Gerrish, born at Newbury in 1652, and was collector of his majesty's customs. He married Hannah Ruck in 1676, and had five sons and six daughters. Benjamin, his eldest son was born in 1683, and was later appointed governor of Bermuda in 1754.

Nathaniel Hawthorne would go on to change the spelling of his family name to distance himself from their disreputable past.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

Darren Winston

SVP, Head of Department, Books and Manuscripts, Philadelphia

[email protected]267.414.1247

Darren Winston, Senior Vice President at Freeman’s, has served as Head of Department for Books & Manuscripts, Philadelphia, since 2018. He has been a trustee of the Rosenbach Museum and Library since 2022, is a member of The Manuscript Society, The Bibliographical Society of America, and Philadelphia’s Philobiblon Club.

Raised in northern New Jersey, Darren moved to New York City in 1988 and began his career there as a bookseller in 1995. He spent the next 18 years selling to private clients and at East Coast book fairs. In 2003 he moved with his young family to Sharon, Connecticut where, in 2009, he opened his own bookshop. Darren Winston, Bookseller offered rare and vintage books, prints, fine art, and more, and hosted over 50 book signings and art shows. He was a trustee and, later, Board President, of the Sharon Historical Society, and for six years a trustee of Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

Darren has hosted the radio program "Darren Winston's Book Report" for NPR-affiliate WHDD since 2009, appeared in the 2014 book-themed documentary The Paper Trail, and in 2024 he joined Antiques Roadshow as a books and manuscripts appraiser. From 1999 to 2005, Darren was the buyer and consultant to the Fine and Rare Books Department at Asprey, the British luxury goods company, at its New York headquarters. While there he spearheaded various in-store events including readings by Salman Rushdie and Dominick Dunne.

In 1993, Darren was hired as a Creative Consultant to Columbia Records, where he assisted in the repackaging of their 12-record Aerosmith back catalogue. He later sold his extensive collection of Aerosmith memorabilia, which he began amassing at the age of 14, directly to the band.

Darren now lives on the Main Line, outside Philadelphia, with his wife, two children, and dog. The family travels frequently to his wife's native England and Scotland. When not bookselling, he plays guitar in Pumped, an Aerosmith tribute band. Darren also appears on the top-rated PBS television program Antiques Roadshow.

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[Americana] [Salem Witch Trials] Hathorne, John, and Bartholomew Gedney. Manuscript Document, signed

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