Anne Putnam

     Anne Putnam was born on 18 October 1679 in Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts.¹ She was the daughter of Sergt. Thomas Putnam and Ann Carr.¹ She died in 1716 in Salem Village.²
     
     This is the Anne Putnam of Salem witchcraft fame, one of the primary instigators and youngest of the girls whose accusations cost so many innocent lives in the hysteria of 1692. Fourteen years later, on 25 August 1706, Ann made the following public confession read before the congregation of Salem Village Church, and was received to full communtion:

I desire to be humbled before God for that sad and humbling providence that befell my father's family in the year of 1692: that I, then being in my childhood, should by such a providence of God, be made an instrument for the accusing of several persons of a grievous crime, whereby their lives were taken away from them, whom now I have just grounds and good reason to believe they were innocent persons; and that it was a great delusion of Satan that decieved me in that sad time, whereby I justly fear that I have been instrumental, with others, though ignorantly and unwitting, to bring upon myself and this land the guilt of innocent blood Though what was said or done by me against any person I can truly and uprightly say before God & man I did it not out of any anger, malice, or illwill to any person for I had no such thing against one of them; but what I did was ignorantly being deluded by Satan. And particularly as I was a chief instrument of accuseing of Goodwife Nurse and her two sisters I desire to lye in the dust & to be humbled for it in that I was a cause with others of so sad a calamity to them & their familys, for which cause I desire to lye in ye dust & earnestly begg fforgiveness of God & from all those unto whom have given just cause of sorrow & offence, whose relations were taken away or accused."³

Anne never married.²