Burroughs, George
BURROUGHS, GEORGE (c. 1650-1692), American congregational pastor, graduated at Harvard in 1670, and became the minister of Salem Village (now Danvers) in 1680, a charge which he held till 1683. He lived at Falmouth (now Portland, Maine) until the Indians destroyed it in 1690, when he removed to Wells. In May 1692 during the witchcraft delusion, on the accusation of some personal enemies in his former congregation who had sued him for debt, Burroughs was arrested and charged, among other offences, with "extraordinary Lifting and such feats of strength as could not be done without Diabolicall Assistance." Though the jury found no witch-marks on his body he was convicted and executed on Gallows Hill, Salem, on the 19th of August, the only minister who suffered this extreme fate.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
