Martha Carrier and her Family

I’m descended from Thomas (the rock thrower) Carrier Jr.

Anne Dudley Bradstreet, the poet in Kathleen’s book, was my 8th great grandmother. Her son Dudley Bradstreet (my 8th great uncle) was a Justice of the Peace in Salem and was one of those who grilled Thomas and Sarah during those dark times. Because of his disbelief in the procedures was later accused himself and fled. So I had relatives on each side of the bench.

Hannah Carrier is my 6th great aunt. Her husband Joseph Wood and I are 1st cousins 8 times removed.

Not being satisfied to be descended from one accused witch, I had to keep looking until I found another one in my family tree. I finally found on in the person of Rebecca/Steele/Elsen/Mudge/Greensmith who was hanged for being a witch on Jan 8 1662 in Wethersfield, CT. She was married to my 8th great grandfather Jarvis Mudge. I wonder if she killed him?

Enough rambling for now, see you all in Salem.

I first heard of Martha when I was a teenager. My Grandmother was married to George L. Carrier & had a copy of the Kneeland Genealogies that she handed down to all the Grandkids. I kinda forgot about it until I turned 50 & found the ancestry.com website & decided to find out where I came from. Since then I’ve created a tree with 300+ members I have traced bloodlines back to about the 1200s. Can’t wait to put some faces with the Carrier names I’ve been in contact with over the last 8 – 10 years!

My sixth grade year in Middle School I met a girl who’s middle name is Carrier. I thought that was pretty interesting because Carrier is my last name. She already knew that she was related to Martha Carrier, and we spent hours sifting through web pages on Martha’s descendants looking for a connection that would make us related. We didn’t find anything. But my aunt is really interested in ancestors and family trees so I asked her. Turns out we should have started by asking her because she knew that she was related to the Carriers because one of Martha Carrier’s sons was our great great etc. grandfather. From there, our English teacher showed the two of us Kathleen Kent’s book, and we contacted her. It’s been great learning more about the plight of those convicted of “witchcraft” so long ago. I hope this website can bring the Carrier family together to commemorate Martha Carrier and her wrongful downfall.

Neal Carrier has one of the most thorough Web sites on the history of the Carriers, along with vast genealogical work on his “line.”

Check it out by clicking here.

What a wonderful idea to start a site for the Carrier descendents to stay connected, to offer their insights, opinions and photographs.  As the reunion approaches I hope everyone will want to contribute to the posts.  Looking forward to seeing you all in November.  Kathleen Kent

Welcome to a Web site for the descendants of Martha Carrier, hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Anyone may register and post a note, article, photos — even video. You may also comment on any post. How-to instructions are under “About Us.”

A reunion of Martha’s descendants will be held in Salem, November 5-6, 2010. More details of the program will be upcoming, along with new pages of information, history and resources.

Jim Carrier (10th generation) is the administrator. If you have any questions, email him under “contact.”

Now, please,  start the conversation. Begin by registering, on the right hand side of this page. Only your email and a username is required. The email will not be exposed.