author
Charles Wentworth Upham
1802–1875
A Salem minister, historian, and politician, he is best remembered today for his influential 19th-century account of the Salem witch trials. His life moved between the pulpit, public office, and historical writing, giving his books the voice of someone deeply rooted in New England civic life.
2 Audiobooks
Salem Witchcraft and Cotton Mather: A Reply
by Charles Wentworth Upham
About the author
Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1802, Charles Wentworth Upham later settled in Massachusetts and studied at Harvard before becoming a Unitarian minister. He served for many years in Salem, a city that would remain central to both his public work and his writing.
Upham was active in politics as well as religion. He served in the Massachusetts legislature, became mayor of Salem, and represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives. That mix of civic leadership and scholarly interest helped shape the way he approached history.
Readers know him best for Salem Witchcraft, his major study of the 1692 trials. Though written in the 19th century and later reconsidered by newer scholarship, it remained an important and widely read work for generations because of its detail, research, and lasting role in how many people first encountered the story of Salem.