author
Charles Wentworth Upham
1802–1875
Best known for his pioneering history of the Salem witch trials, this 19th-century minister and public servant brought together local records, testimony, and careful research to tell one of New England’s most haunting stories. His writing reflects both a close knowledge of Salem and a lifelong interest in its past.
2 Audiobooks
Salem Witchcraft and Cotton Mather: A Reply
by Charles Wentworth Upham
About the author
Born on May 4, 1802, in St. John, New Brunswick, Charles Wentworth Upham became an American clergyman, historian, and politician whose life was closely tied to Massachusetts. He studied at Harvard and Harvard Divinity School, then served for many years as a minister at the First Church in Salem.
Upham also had a substantial public career. He served in the Massachusetts legislature, became the 7th mayor of Salem, and later represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives. That mix of ministry, civic life, and scholarship gave his writing a strong sense of place and public purpose.
He is remembered most for Salem Witchcraft (1867), one of the earliest full-length historical studies of the 1692 Salem witch trials. Drawing on court papers, town records, and local tradition, the book helped shape how later readers understood the trials and remains the work most closely associated with his name. Upham died in Salem on June 15, 1875.