Jonathan Corwin

Jonathan Corwin (also Curwin or Corwen, November 14, 1640 – June 9, 1718) was a wealthy New England merchant, politician, and magistrate. He is best known as one of the judges involved in the Salem witch trials of 1692, although his later work also included service as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court of Judicature, the highest court of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

Jonathan Corwin was born on November 14, 1640 in Salem, a leading port town of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, one of five children born to George and Elizabeth (Herbert) Corwin. His father had arrived in Salem in 1638 and his mother was the daughter of Northampton mayor John Herbert. His father was a wealthy merchant and shipbuilder in Salem, and Jonathan continued in the mercantile trade. He married Elizabeth Gibbs (née Sheaf), widow of Robert Gibbs, in 1675 and had ten children.

Corwin was also involved in public affairs. He was twice elected to the colonial assembly, in 1682 and in 1689, and he was a stalwart supporter of the old regime when the Dominion of New England was established in 1686. He was also an active magistrate of the local courts, hearing cases dealing with petty crimes and minor charges such as drunkenness and burglary.

When reports of witchcraft began circulating in Essex County, Corwin was one of the magistrates called on to make preliminary inquiries into the reports. He and John Hathorne, another local magistrate, held hearings in early March 1692 in which testimony was gathered from Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne, the first three women accused of being witches. Due to the uncertain constitutionality of the Massachusetts government in 1692 (its charter was vacated in 1684, and it had reformed with the charter following the 1689 Boston revolt that ended Dominion rule of Sir Edmund Andros), there was a reluctance among colonial leaders to establish courts to hear the cases until Sir William Phips arrived in May 1692 with the charter that established the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

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