In 1676, at the age of 65, Corey was brought to trial in Essex County, Massachusetts, for allegedly beating to death one of his indentured farm workers, Jacob Goodale (also spelled 'Goodell' or 'Goodall'), son of Robert and Catherine Goodale and brother to Isaac Goodale. His second wife was Mary Bright they were married on April 11, 1664, when Corey was 53 years old, and she bore him a son named John.

Margaret was the mother of his eldest four children: Martha, Margaret, Deliverance, and Elizabeth. He is believed to have married his first wife, Margaret, in England. Giles Corey was a prosperous land-owning farmer in Salem and married three times. There are quite a few entries in the court documents as to his behavior, which was not completely good, but in those times any accusation was an offense against the state.

He originally lived in Salem Town but later moved to nearby Salem Village (now Danvers) to work as a farmer. It is not certain when he arrived in North America, but there is evidence he was living in Salem Town as early as 1640. His name is quite often spelled 'Corey', but the baptismal record is 'Cory'. His birth is recorded in the parish records. Giles was the son of Giles and Elizabeth Corey. He was baptized in the church of the Holy Sepulchre on August 16, 1611. Giles Corey was born in Northampton, England. There is a memorial plaque to him in the nearby Charter Street Cemetery. His exact grave location in the cemetery is unmarked and unknown. Because Corey refused to enter a plea, his estate passed on to his sons instead of being seized by the local government.Ĭorey is believed to have died in the field adjacent to the prison that had held him, in what later became the Howard Street Cemetery in Salem, which opened in 1801. He was subjected to pressing in an effort to force him to plead-the only example of such a sanction in American history-and died after three days of this torture. After being arrested, Corey refused to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

August 1611 – September 19, 1692) was an English farmer who was accused of witchcraft along with his wife Martha Corey during the Salem witch trials.

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