John Willard was tried on the 5th of August for witchcraft in Salem Village. He was allowed no counsel for defense, and few records remain of the actual proceedings. Mr. Upham, in his "Salem Witchcraft," says:
"John Willard appears to have been an honest and amiable person, an industrious farmer, having a comfortable estate, with a wife and three young children. He was a grandson of Old Bray Wilkins; whether by blood or marriage, I have not been able to ascertain. The indications are that he married a daughter of Thomas or Henry Wilkins, most probably the former, with both of whom he was a joint possessor of lands. He came from Groton; and it is for local antiquaries to discover whether he was a relative of the Rev. Samuel Willard of Boston. If so, the fact would shed much light upon our story."
Rebeckah Wilkins v. John Willard
Margaret Knight v. John Willard
Reverend Samuel Parris v. John Willard
