Martha Corey

American colonist

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July 21, 2026

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Martha Corey was an American colonist and one of the accused individuals during the Salem witch trials in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The trials, which took place from June 1692 to May 1693, resulted in the hanging of 19 convicted witches and the imprisonment of many others in Salem Village.1

Corey, in her 70s, was a respected member of the community. She publicly stated that the accusers were lying, and her defiance led to her own accusation of witchcraft. She was found guilty and was reportedly the last woman executed during the trials, hanged on September 22, 1692. Her husband, Giles Corey, was also accused and died by being pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea. The Salem witch trials were fueled by a combination of factors, including church politics, family feuds, and mass hysteria, occurring in a period of political instability.12

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Salem witch trials
The trials
…convicted persons were hanged, including Martha Corey, whose octogenarian husband, Giles, upon being accused of witchcraft and refusing to enter a plea, had been subjected to peine forte et dure (“strong and hard punishment”) and pressed beneath heavy stones for two days until he died.
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…convicted persons were hanged, including Martha Corey, whose octogenarian husband, Giles, upon being accused of witchcraft and refusing to enter a plea, had been subjected to peine forte et dure (“strong and hard punishment”) and pressed beneath heavy stones for two days until he died.
Read More