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Speaking Out Against the Salem Witch Trials

 



Reverend Samuel Willard, circa 1692

For this story, we must climb the highest limbs of our ancestral family tree, going back eleven generations to the Reverend Samuel Willard (1640-1707).  Samuel was born January 31, 1640, to Major Simon Willard and Mary Sharpe Willard in Concord, Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Samuel may be the first of our direct ancestors born in the “new world.”  

The theme for this week is “Historical Events” and Samuel Willard found himself deeply entwined in the events of the famed Salem Witch Trials.  Samuel was a graduate of Harvard University, class of 1659, and he began preaching at Groton, Massachusetts.  He later became the pastor of the Third Church in Boston in 1678 and remained there until he died in 1707.   During that time (1692-93) the Salem Witch Trials were taking place.   Samuel was opposed to the trials and is believed to be the author of “Some Miscellany Observations on our Present Debates respecting Witchcrafts, in a dialogue between S. and B. “published in Boston, 1692.   And it was in his church that Samuel Sewall, the magistrate of Salem who conducted the trials, confessed and apologized for their sinful nature.  He had Rev. Willard read the confession to the congregation as he (Sewall) stood before them with head bowed in humility and shame.

Another bit of history associated with our Rev. Samuel Willard is that he was acting president of Harvard from 1701-1707.   In addition, he officiated the marriage between Josiah Franklin and Abiah Folger; and would later baptize their son Benjamin whom we all know as Benjamin Franklin.   

The story of Rev. Samuel Willard and the Salem Witch Trials is well documented and is worth a read at the following links:  

Wikipedia:

Sorrows of January

Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive

Linking our family to the Rev Samuel Willard is largely due to the work of our ancestral genealogists who captured the Willard family history, see “Willard Genealogy, a sequel to Willard Memoir,” by Joseph Willard and Charles Wilkes Walker, edited and compiled by Charles Henry Pope, 1915, Boston, MA.    You can access this book free online at https://ia902803.us.archive.org/17/items/willardgenealogy00will/willardgenealogy00will.pdf

The part that took extra effort on my end was connecting our Samuel Willard (Marvin Banta’s maternal grandfather, or GeeGee’s father) to the correct line in the family tree.  We know from family Bible and newspaper clippings that our Samuel Willard (1845-1939) was born to Joseph Willard and Eliza RaneyWillard, in New Hampshire, and that he had a brother and two sisters (1850 US Federal Census, Keene, New Hampshire).   A tidbit that really tied it together was a newspaper article about an “interesting” book “Little Soldiers of the Plains” that Samuel Willard had documenting his sister’s (Mary Willard Young) trip from Chicago to Colorado Springs by covered wagon in 1871.  It was my good fortune to obtain a vintage copy of that book from an online used book dealer.   All of these things together leave no doubt in my mind that our Samuel Willard is a direct descendant of the Reverend Samuel Willard who stood on the right side of justice during the witch trials in 1692-3 at Salem, MA. 

Samuel Willard, Bucklin, KS, circa 1930s

Here is a photo of Grandpa Willard (1845-1939), a Civil War veteran and long-time Justice of the Peace, in Bucklin, Kansas.  He is the father of Verona Willard Banta (aka Gee Gee), and grandfather of my grandfather Marvin Banta.  







Samuel Willard had long sought a copy of the book "Little Soldiers of the Plains" and finally obtained it as documented in this story from the Bucklin Banner. (see above).   Another story (below) from the paper in Colorado Springs announces the publication of this book years earlier.  


The Line:

9G Grandfather Maj. Simon Willard (1605-1676)

8G Grandfather Rev. Samuel Willard (1640-1707)

7G Grandfather Maj. John Willard (1673-????)

6G Grandfather Samuel Willard (1705-1741)

5G  Grandfather William Willard (1734-1810)

4G Grandfather Cephas Willard (1786-1879)

3G Grandfather Joseph Willard (1810-1877)

2G Grandfather Samuel Willard  (1845-1939)

1G Grandmother Verona Willard (1887-1967)

Grandfather Marvin Banta (1909-1972)

Mother Pat Banta (1938-2020) 

Me Jerry Grandon Jr (1955- ) 

Son Jeremy Grandon  (1977- )

Grandson Felix Grandon (2012- )


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