2.10: Samuel Sewall (1652–1730)

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Samuel Sewall was born in England to a wealthy family that had property in Massachusetts. Upon the Restoration of the Monarchy with Charles II’s accession to the throne, the Sewall family emigrated to New England. There, Sewall continued his education and graduated from Harvard in 1674 with an MA. Soon thereafter, he married Hannah Hull (d. 1717), daughter of the wealthy John Hull (1624–1683), Master of the Mint of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Sewall remained in Boston, where he took his place as one of its wealthiest citizens. Despite his wealth, Sewall devoted much of his life to public service, a life he recorded in his now famous Diary.

Samuel Sewell, portly gent looking right. Clean shaven, black jacket with a white scarf.

Image \(\PageIndex{1}\): Samuel Sewell

Sewall managed Boston’s printing press and served as deputy of the General Court in 1683 and as member of the Council from 1684 to 1686. He helped negotiate a restoration of the Massachusetts Charter, causing him to stay in England almost a full year. A new Charter was granted in 1692; it named Sewall as member of the Council, a position he held for thirty-three years. Also in 1692, he was appointed justice of the Superior Court; he eventually rose to be chief justice of Massachusetts (1718–1728).

Sir William Phips (1651–1695), the new governor of Massachusetts, placed Sewall as one of the three judges at the Salem witch trials (1692–1693) that condemned twelve people to death, eleven by hanging and one by pressing. Four years later, Sewall became the only one of these three judges to recant his judgment.

In 1700, he published what is thought to be the first American antislavery tract: The Selling of Joseph: A Memorial. Its title derives from the Biblical account of Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt by his own brothers. The title speaks to Sewall’s view that God’s covenant with Adam and Eve gave all their “heirs” liberty. He countered arguments claiming blacks’ descent from Noah’s cursed son Ham— condemned to be slave to his brothers—and pointed to the Bible’s prohibition against kidnapping, an act by which most blacks were enslaved. Sewall maintained his views against slavery in the Boston News-Letter (June 12, 1706) and expanded upon them in his Diary. This Diary, which he kept from 1673 to 1729, was not published until 1787.

Slaves working. Cooking over an open fire at the center and under two open wooden covered structures at right and left. Manor house at rear and palm and leafy trees in the background.

Image \(\PageIndex{2}\): Slaves working in 17th-century Virginia