The Diary of Samuel Sewall

E92981

The Diary of Samuel Sewall is a detailed personal journal by the colonial New England judge that offers a rare, firsthand account of daily life, religion, and major events such as the Salem witch trials in late 17th- and early 18th-century Massachusetts.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf diary
historical document
primary source
associatedWithEvent Salem witch trials
associatedWithPerson Samuel Sewall
associatedWithPlace Boston, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
author Samuel Sewall
countryOfOrigin Massachusetts Bay Colony
describes economic activities in Massachusetts Bay Colony
legal and judicial practices in colonial courts
religious beliefs of New England Puritans
social customs in colonial Boston
documentType manuscript diary
genre personal journal
religious diary
hasPart entries describing court proceedings
entries describing family life
entries describing public events
entries describing sermons and religious observances
historicalContext New England Colonies
surface form: Puritan New England

Salem witch trials
surface form: Salem witch trials of 1692
historicalUse source for biographies of Samuel Sewall
source for studies of colonial legal culture
language English
literaryForm prose
location Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Bay Colony
mainSubject Puritan religion
Salem witch trials
colonial Massachusetts politics
daily life in colonial New England
medium handwritten text
notableFor detailed record of Puritan social and religious life
documentation of early American legal practices
firsthand account of Salem witch trials
insight into colonial commerce and trade
perspective first-person narrative
religiousPerspective Puritan
significanceInAmericanHistory major primary source for early American social history
significanceInReligiousHistory key source on New England Puritanism
timePeriodCovered early 18th century
late 17th century
usedAsSourceBy historians of colonial New England
scholars of the Salem witch trials
writtenByOccupationOfAuthor judge
merchant

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Samuel Sewall notableWork The Diary of Samuel Sewall