Image from “Witchcraft in Salem village in 1692 : together with some account of other witchcraft prosecutions in New England and elsewhere” by Winfield F. Nevins, 1892.
Born in Watertown, MA in 1643, Sarah Osborne (Osburn) was the wife to Robert Prince. Prince passed away a few years into their marriage, leaving the land to their two young sons upon their reaching adulthood. Sarah later married Alexander Osborne and attempted to retain ownership of the land instead of passing it to her sons. Thomas Putnam was the executor for Prince’s will, who fought Osborne in court over her attempt to violate the terms. This conflict continued until 1692 when, Sarah, alongside Tituba and Sarah Goode, was accused of witchcraft by Putnam’s family. She refused to confess or implicate anyone else, dying in prison before she could be tried. The accusations against her were political and character attacks by the Putnams, aimed at a woman who dared to defy the Puritan, patriarchal lifestyle of Salem at the time.
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