Massachusetts

Samuel Adams

(1722-1803)

Politician/Founding Father

Fame-O-Meter-8/10

Resting Place-Granary Burying Ground, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°21'26.8"N, 71°03'40.5"W

Sam Adams, Founding Father, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Governor of Massachusetts. He openly led resistance to many of the Acts that Britain attempted to put on the colonies as taxes. He was a member of the First and Second Continental Congress.

Crispus Attucks

(1723-1770)

Victim

Fame-O-Meter-3/10

Resting Place-Granary Burying Ground, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°21'27.1"N, 71°03'40.4"W

Crispus Attucks was the first person to give his life for the American Revolution. He and many others stood protesting the British in Boston when the British opened fire. The cause of the first shot is not widely agreed upon. However, five Boston residents were killed in what would be known as the Boston Massacre. Crispus Attucks was the first to die in the affair.

Bridget Bishop

(1632-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'14.9"N, 70°53'30.2"W

One of the 19 people hanged during the Salem Witch Trials, Bridget Bishop was accused of being a witch. When they brought her in to trial, several girls, including Mercy Lewis and Ann Putnam began having screaming fits saying that Bishop was attacking them with her powers. 

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

George Burroughs

(1650-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.0"N, 70°53'30.9"W

George Burroughs was executed after reciting the Lord's Prayer on the gallows, something that was supposed to be impossible for a witch to do. A former minister in the area, his trial and execution was overseen by Cotton Mather. Burroughs was one of 19 people hanged for witchcraft in Salem.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Martha Carrier

(1650-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'14.9"N, 70°53'31.2"W

Martha Carrier was convicted of the "spectral evidence" that pervaded the Salem Witchcraft Trials. She was convicted and hanged along with 18 others. 

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Mary Chilton Winslow

(1607-1679)

Historical Figure

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-King's Chapel Burying Ground, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°21'30.3"N, 71°03'35.9"W

Save for Neil Armstrong, not many people are known for taking a single step. Yet that is what brings Mary Chilton Winslow into fame. At at 13 she boarded a ship known as the Mayflower and headed across the ocean in hopes of a better life with her parents. While she faced a tough life and the loss of both parents, she is legendarily the first person to step onto Plymouth Rock and into our history books.

Giles Corey

(1611-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-2/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.0"N, 70°53'31.3"W

Of the people killed due to the Salem Witch Trials, Giles Corey has the designation of being the only victim that was "pressed" to death. Pressing was an older style of torture that involved stacking heavy rocks onto a board that was placed over Corey's chest.  There is some confusion over if Corey refused to plead innocent or guilty, as shown in the play The Crucible, of if he refused to ask for forgiveness from God. Regardless, Giles Corey likely went down as the most interesting death of the Sale Witch Trials.

*It is possible that Giles Corey is actually buried at the nearby Howard Street Burial Ground, where there is a headstone for him. But if he is buried there, no one knows where in the cemetery he is located. 

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Martha Corey

(1628-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-2/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.1"N, 70°53'31.3"W

Martha Corey had a fine and upstanding reputation in the Salem area prior to the famous witch trials which would condemn her. When brought into court for testimony, the girls of the village took great care to mimic her movements, thus making Corey look guilty of being a witch. She was hanged along with 18 other innocent people in the Salem Witch Trials.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Jonathan Corwin

(1640-1718)

Judge

Fame-O-Meter-2/10

Resting Place-Broad Street Cemetery, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'04.7"N, 70°53'57.5"W

Judge Jonathan Corwin was a judge and examiner in the infamous Salem Witch Trials. He played a role in what eventually led to 25 innocent people losing their lives: 19 by hanging, 1 by pressing, and 5 while being held in jail.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Mary Easty

(1634-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.1"N, 70°53'31.1"W

Mary Easty was one of 19 people hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. Her family was hit particularly hard by accusations, but, despite having a stellar reputation in the area, Easty was sentenced to the gallows based on the performative actions of one accuser saying Mary Easty was attacking her.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Sarah Good

(1653-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.0"N, 70°53'30.3"W

Sarah Good was the first person to testify during the Salem Witch Trials. She maintained her innocence, but ultimately was sentenced to hanging along with 18 others before the hysteria subsided.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Elizabeth "Mother" Goose

(1665-1757)

Literary Figure

Fame-O-Meter-3/10

Resting Place-Granary Burying Ground, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°21'26.4"N, 71°03'42.9"W

The origin of "Mother Goose" is lost to historical records, but Elizabeth Goose of Boston is one possible explanation for the legend.  A mother to six and stepmother to ten more, Elizabeth Goose told tales to entertain the children. Her husband gathered her tales into a small book titled  Songs for the Nursery; or, Mother Goose's Melodies for Children. There are no known copies of this book left in publication. The mystery of "Mother Goose" endures.

John Hancock

(1737-1793)

Businessman/Politician/Patriot

Fame-O-Meter-9/10

Resting Place-Granary Burying Ground, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°21'25.9"N, 71°03'43.5"W

To this day to sign your "John Hancock" means to sign your name. Hancock was one of the businessmen who took offense at the British taxes early in the colonies' history. He was a member of the Continental Congress and was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.

John Hawthorne

(1641-1717)

Judge

Fame-O-Meter-3/10

Resting Place-Burying Point Cemetery, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'14.4"N, 70°53'31.6"W

Judge John Hawthorne would be known for being an overseer on the Salem Witch Trials. History has not been kind to his reputation--and perhaps rightly so--due to his presumption of guilt of the accused in the trials, badgering of the accused to name more witches, and quick belief of spectral evidence. He let the hysteria get out of control and in the process 25 innocent people died. John Hawthorne's great-great-grandson was the famous author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Judge Hawthorne is buried mere yards away from the Salem Witch Trials Memorial in Salem Massachusetts. I can only hope the ghosts of the innocents visit his grave nightly to let them know what they think of him.

Elizabeth Howe

(1637-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.0"N, 70°53'30.4"W

Elizabeth Howe was one of 19 people hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. She was accused of using witchery on a 10-year-old neighbor.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

George Jacobs

(1617-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.0"N, 70°53'30.4"W

George Jacobs was one of 19 people hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. His body was believed to have been moved to the Nurse Homestead.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Susannah Martin

(1621-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.0"N, 70°53'30.5"W

Susannah Martin was one of 19 people hanged for the crime of witchcraft. There was a pending reversal of charges being considered for those accused, but when she heard the crimes listed against her, she laughed about them, likely sealing her fate.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Cotton Mather

(1639-1723)

Author/Judge

Fame-O-Meter-3/10

Resting Place-Copp's Hill Burying Ground, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°22'01.2"N, 71°03'21.9"W

Cotton Mather was a well-educated man in Massachusetts, but is best-known for his role in the the Salem Witch Trials. Mather wrote two pieces of literature on the matter Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions and Wonders of the Invisible World. It is not entirely clear just how directly involved Mather was with the twenty people who died as a result of being named a witch, but he was certainly involved in the Trials themselves. 

Increase Mather

(1639-1723)

Religious Leader

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Copp's Hill Burying Ground, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°22'01.2"N, 71°03'21.9"W

Reverend Increase Mather was the first president of Harvard College. He was a leading Puritan minister in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  He was later brought on to observe the Salem Witch Trials along with his son Cotton. Though he had doubts over the accusations, he didn't immediately want to contradict his friends who were presiding over the trial. He later wrote that he regretted that.

Samuel Nicholson

(1743-1811)

Navy Officer

Fame-O-Meter-2/10

Resting Place-Christ Church Cemetery

GPS Coordinates-

42°21'58.9"N, 71°03'16.9"W

Samuel Nicholson is buried beneath the Old North Church in a crypt. He was a naval officer to oversaw the construction of the U.S.S. Constitution aka "Old Ironsides". He also captained the ship during its first mission, protecting the Atlantic Coast from French boats after the Revolutionary War.

Rebecca Nurse

(1621-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'14.9"N, 70°53'30.6"W

Rebecca Nurse was hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. She was one of 19 people accused of of witchcraft. It is rumored that after she was killed her family stole her body to bury it on family grounds, but no one knows for sure.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Robert Treat Paine

(1731-1814)

Lawyer/Politician

Fame-O-Meter-2/10

Resting Place-Granary Burying Ground, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°21'27.8"N, 71°03'41.1"W

Robert Treat Paine was a Boston-based lawyer who was asked to prosecute the soldiers who fired upon colonists in the Boston Massacre. He was known for being against the Tax Acts that were being placed upon the colonists of the time. Elected to the Second Continental Congress, Paine would go on to be one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence for the state of Massachusetts.

Alice Parker

(1627-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.2"N, 70°53'30.9"W

Alice Parker was hanged at Gallows Hill and buried in a large unmarked grave. She was one of 19 people hanged during the Salem Witch Trials.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Mary Parker

(1637-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.2"N, 70°53'30.7"W

Mary Parker was one of 19 people hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. She was hanged on the last day of hangings, in which 8 innocent people lost their lives in the hysteria.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Johnny Pesky

(1919-2012)

Baseball Player/Boston Legend

Fame-O-Meter-3/10

Resting Place-Swampscott Cemetery, Swampscott

GPS Coordinates-

42°29'03.8"N, 70°54'35.3"W

John Michael Paveskovich, known affectionately in the baseball world as Johnny Pesky, was a baseball phenom. He led the American League in hits his first three seasons in the majors and was the first American-Leaguer to score six runs in a regulation game. Pesky was connected to the Red Sox in some capacity from 1942 to 1984. The foul pole in right field was named Pesky's Pole in his honor in 2006.

John Pitcairn

(1722-1775)

Military Figure

Fame-O-Meter-2/10

Resting Place-Christ Church Cemetery, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°21'58.6"N, 71°03'16.6"W

Major John Pitcairn was a British officer wo fought against the Americans in the war for independence. Killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill, Pitcairn was laid to rest under the Old North Church out of respect for the man from both sides in the war.  His wife requested his body be returned to England later. It was. Only the wrong body was sent. Pitcairn remains in the city where he fell.

John Proctor

(1631-1692)

Witch Trial Victim/Subject of Play

Fame-O-Meter-3/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'14.8"N, 70°53'31.4"W

While many people may have read the The Crucible in school or watched the movie adaptation starring Daniel Day-Lewis, the real John Proctor also attempted to fight the mass hysteria in the Salem community. He argued against the spectral evidence that sent people to their deaths at the gallows and attempted to bring in judges from Boston or have the trials moved in an effort to let sanity prevail. His efforts may have had an effect on the trials stopping, but it was unfortunately too late for Proctor and 18 other people who were sentenced to be hanged.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Ann Pudeator

(1621-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.2"N, 70°53'30.7"W

Ann Pudeator was accused of killing her second husband and his first wife, among other crimes. Despite maintaining her innocence, she was one of 19 people hanged during the Salem Witch Trials.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Wilmot Redd

(16??-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.3"N, 70°53'30.6"W

Wilmot Redd was accused of being a witch by Sarah Bibber and others.  She was one of 19 people hanged during the Salem Witch Trials.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Paul Revere

(1735-1818)

Patriot/Silversmith

Fame-O-Meter-9/10

Resting Place-Granary Burying Ground, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°21'26.4"N, 71°03'42.4"W

"Listen, my children, and you shall hear. Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere..." Paul Revere made arguably the most famous ride in American history by warning the American colonial patriots of the British approach. He did so to protect Sam Adams and John Hancock, two of the leaders of the American independence movement.  

Margaret Scott

(1616-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.2"N, 70°53'30.4"W

Margaret Scott was accused of witchcraft by a small group fo people. She was one of 19 people hanged for being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Samuel Sewall

(1652-1730)

Judge/Author

Fame-O-Meter-2/10

Resting Place-Granary Burying Ground, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°21'27.1"N, 71°03'43.3"W

Samuel Sewall living a long life for someone born in the 1650s. He left behind a complicated legacy in the New World. On the one hand, he was a fierce abolitionist hundreds of years before the practice would stop in America. However, he was also one of the judges who presided over the Salem Witch Trials that sent 19 innocent men and women to their death his home colony. 

Samuel Wardwell

(1643-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.3"N, 70°53'30.3"W

Samuel Wardwell was accused of witchcraft by 16-year-old Martha Sprague. He was one of 19 people hanged for being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

Phillis Wheatley

(1753-1784)

Poet

Fame-O-Meter-4/10

Resting Place-Copp's Hill Burying Ground, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°22'01.2"N, 71°03'22.0"W 

Much-anthologized poet Phillis Wheatley was an exceptional child. Purchased into slavery and sent to the New World, Wheatley learned to read both English and Latin in less than a year and a half. Wheatley left behind a couple books of poetry in her short years on this Earth.

*Wheatley is most likely buried in Copp's Hill Burying Ground according to historical records, though her final location remains a mystery.

Sarah Wildes

(1627-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.3"N, 70°53'30.3"W

Sarah Wildes was one of 19 people hanged for being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

John Willard

(1657-1692)

Witch Trial Victim

Fame-O-Meter-1/10

Resting Place-Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem

GPS Coordinates-

42°31'15.1"N, 70°53'31.6"W

John Willard was one of 19 people hanged for being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials.

*The final resting place of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials is not known. It is known where they were hanged nearby, but this monument is recognized as the place most pay their respects to those lost.

John Winthrop

(1588-1649)

Governor/Politician

Fame-O-Meter-4/10

Resting Place-King's Chapel Burying Ground, Boston

GPS Coordinates-

42°21'30.5"N, 71°03'35.1"W

The second major settlement in New England was the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and their leader was John Winthrop. He was an early leader in the American colonies and also was known for forging complex relationship with native Americans that ranged from friendly to outright war. He also was a prolific theologist and historian and his detailed writings serve as some of the best and earliest accounts from the New World.