GOULD, Priscilla - I11838

At the age of 36, Sarah would marry John Wildes on November 23, 1663 in Topsfield, Massachusetts. The couple would have just one child. John had previously been married to Priscilla Gould Wildes, they had nine children, and Priscilla had died just months before, in April, 1663.

John Wildes quick marriage following the death of his first wife, as well as the somewhat "bad reputation" of Sarah Averill, immediately caused problems in the family. Years before, in November, 1649, Sarah had been in court, having been accused of "too great intimacy with Thomas Wardell" in nearby Ipswich. Later, in the same year she married John Wildes, she was presented with the lesser offense of "wearing a silk scarf" in May, 1663, also in Ipswich. Early on, problems appear between the couple and his first wife's brother, Lieutenant John Gould and her sister, Mary Gould Reddington. This situation first became evident in the will of John Wildes, Jr., son of John Wildes and his first wife, Priscilla Gould Wildes. In John, Jr.'s, he makes reference to his inheritance from his grandfather Zaccheus Gould, hoping that his father might not be troubled by any claims made by his uncle, Lieutenant John Gould. Years later in 1686, John Wildes, Sr. testified against his ex brother-in-law, Lieutenant John Gould, when he was charged with treason. In 1685, when King James II appointed Edmund Andros as the Royal Governor of Massachusetts, serious unrest occurred in the colony. After speaking out about his displeasure, John Gould was arrested for treason. He was found guilty of "uttering malicious treasonable and seditious speeches" in August, 1686. After paying a fine, he was released; but he would never forgive his former brother-in-law, John Wildes. Shortly afterwards, Mary Goulds Reddington began to spread witchcraft stories about Sarah Averill Wildes. John Wildes then threatened to sue Mary's husband, John Reddington, for slander, but, Mary denied her previous statements. But, for Sarah Averill, the damage had already been done.

Also arrested at the same time as Sarah Wildes, were John Wildes' daughter and son-in-law, Edward and Sarah Wildes Bishop of Salem Village, and his daughter Phoebe Wildes Day of Ipswich. On May 13, 1692, 65 year-old Sarah was sent to the Boston Jail in fetters and handcuffs to await further trial. During her imprisonment her husband, John, and their son, Ephraim Wildes traveled back and forth to see that Sarah was fed and clothed and to give her such comfort as they could. There were a number of people during her trial or in depositions that provided testimony against her including Humphrey Clark, Thomas Dorman, John Andrew John Gould, Zacheus Perkins, Elizabeth Symonds, Nathaniel Ingersoll, and the Reverend John Hale. Sarah Averill Wildes was condemned for the practice of witchcraft. She was executed by hanging in Salem, Massachusetts, on July 19, 1692.http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ma-witches-u-z.htmlLess