Andover was the Essex County town that saw a wave of accusations after Salem Village accusers visited in mid-July 1692.
The visit began when Andover constable Joseph Ballard asked the afflicted girls from Salem Village to help identify the cause of his wife’s illness. The girls’ arrival helped transfer the Salem panic into Andover, where residents soon accused neighbors, relatives, and household servants of witchcraft.
Andover became one of the largest centers of the crisis outside Salem Village. Several residents confessed under intense questioning, and those confessions expanded the list of alleged conspirators. Among the accused were Mary Osgood, Martha Carrier, Ann Foster, and Deliverance Dane. The episode shows that the trials were not confined to Salem itself: accusations spread through Essex County and beyond.
A common mix-up is treating Salem Village, Salem Town, and Andover as the same place. Salem Village is now largely Danvers, while Andover was a separate inland community. The broader trials eventually involved more than 200 accused people across colonial Massachusetts.