On this day, 328 years ago, Samuel Shattock died. He was third in a line of Samuel Shattock’s, his grandfather being a prominent Quaker activist. His parents, Samuel and Sarah, were cloth dyers, who did business out of their home on Essex St (around where Pamplemousse is today). At about the age of two years old, Samuel was “taken in a very drooping condition”, which led to multiple instances of him spontaneously falling to the ground and hurting himself. The Shattock’s found themselves suspicious of their close neighbor, Bridget Bishop, who had taken to frequently visiting the house on what seemed to be minor errands in a “smooth and flattering manner”. Bridget, who had quarreled with the Shattocks over money (and whether they should beat their servant) previously, was requesting work done on pieces of cloth that seemed too small to warrant a professional dyer, and the Shattock’s were concerned that her visits correlated with their son’s ill health. As Samuel’s fits became worse, the Shattock’s became desperate.
Things would come to a head a year and a half later, when they were visited by a ‘stranger’ who told them their son was bewitched by a woman nearby that they had quarreled with. Surprised that this visitor had accurately described their situation, the Shattock’s sent him and young Samuel down the street to Bridget’s house, an ultimately unwise decision. Bridget did not take kindly to this visit, coming out of her house and striking the young boy across the face with a spade. The Shattock’s pressed the issue no further, but noted that Samuel’s condition deteriorated post-injury. It is therefore unsurprising that when Bridget Bishop was accused of witchcraft in 1692, the Shattock’s testified against her on behalf of their still-afflicted son. When the execution of Bridget Bishop brought their son no relief, the parents went on to accuse Alice Parker, another Salem woman. Though both women accused by the Shattuck’s were executed, Samuel clearly never recovered, dying a few years later at 17.