Sarah Good’s first death warrant resurfaces, or we thought

Abstract

Kent Library of Southeast Missouri State University received an historic document in 1979. This document appeared to be a death warrant for Sarah Good from 1692. Sarah Good was executed for practicing witchcraft in Salem. After closer examination, the document was declared to be a forgery, with similar documents distributed during the 1930s. This article examines the history of this document, explains why the document was declared a forgery, further examines features that are often found in forgeries, and gives suggestions that libraries can use to identify forgeries.

Citation

Pracht, C. (2002), "Sarah Good’s first death warrant resurfaces, or we thought", Collection Building, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 71-73. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604950210423940