Second Wave Communities
The towns pivot table shows that of the nine communities in which five or more witches were accused, five were centers of the second wave of accusations, which began with the resumption of the Court of Oyer and Terminer at the end of June 1692: Andover, Gloucester, Haverhill, Reading, and Rowley. Of these five communities, only Reading was involved in the first wave of accusations. The map above adds the town of Boxford to these five second-wave communities. With three cases, all in August, Boxford was the only other second-wave community with three or more accused witches.
With the exception of Reading, these second wave communities clearly lay to the north of Salem Village, ranging in an arc from Andover in the northwest to Gloucester in the northeast. This pattern contrasts to that of the first wave communities, which generally lay to the south of Salem Village. These towns were also generally more distant from Salem Village, as in the cases of Haverhill, Rowley, and Gloucester. The geographic pattern of second wave communities possibly reflects the influence of Andover, which was the hub of the outbreak's second wave.
Users can further investigate communities with only one or two accused witches.
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Section Three considers the connection between Salem Village factionalism and Salem Witchcraft. To proceed to Section Three, click Next.