Dubious Reputation Awarded With Accusation
When a group of young girls of Salem Village begin having fits and acting in strange ways, they were declared by a doctor to have been bewitched. The first to be accused of witchcraft was the Caribbean Indian slave, Tituba, who belonged to Samuel Parris. Soon, this accusation of witchcraft was extended to an old downtrodden woman of the village, Sarah Good. But the accusations were far from over. The third to be accused of bewitching these girls was another elderly woman, one of dubious reputation, Sarah Osborne.
The Start of a Scandal
Sarah Osborne, like the accused Sarah Good, had at one time been a prosperous woman, but no more. Sarah's first husband had been Robert Prince who owned an extremely large farm. But, in time, Sarah was made a widow. And that is when the scandal surrounding her began.
After the death of her husband, Sarah bought the bondage of a young Irish immigrant, Alexander Osborne. She purchased Osborne's indenturship for fifteen pounds, a very substantial amount in the 1600's. However, Alexander must have proven to have been worth the price because Sarah married him. This, in itself, was not the cause of the scandal that haunted Sarah for the rest of her life.
Law Against Living Together Before Marriage
The tale that set Salem Village tongues to wagging was the gossiped belief that Sarah and Alexander had lived together as husband and wife before they were married. Not only was this a cause for scandal but it was also against the law. If it were proven, such a crime was punishable by whipping.
But the scandals that surrounded Sarah Osborne did not end there. What else that was going on in Sarah's life was of her own doing, and probably added to her undoing.
Sarah Osborne of Salem Village: Third to be Accused of Witchcraft , continues with Osborne Incurs Wrath: The Putnams of Salem Become Her Enemies.
Recommended Reading:
Sarah Good: Second Accused Witch of Salem Village.
A Witch Cake Baked in Salem Village: Urine Was the Telling Ingredient.
Telling Fortunes in Salem: The Spectra of a Coffin.
