Thorndike Proctor

Who was Thorndike Proctor?

Thorndike Proctor was the son of John Proctor who was hanged as a witch during the Salem Witch Trials.

Thorndike was born July 15, 1672 in Salem, Massachusetts. He was the son of John Proctor and his second wife, Elizabeth Proctor.

Thorndike assisted his half-brother Benjamin Proctor in urging the government in making reparations to the family, as everything the family had owned was confiscated upon their fathers arrest. This left them little to nothing to support their other siblings.

He purchased the Groton Farm from the Downings of London, following the hanging of his father. The farm was renamed Downing Farm. Thorndike subsequently sold nearly half of the Downing Farm to his half-brother Benjamin Proctor. Eight generations of Proctors resided here until 1851.

On December 7, 1697, he married Hannah Felton, widow of Samuel Endecott, the grandson of John Endecott, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Hannah died in 1737.

Thorndike and Hannah's son Nathan Proctor is the father of Jacob and Nathan Proctor, some of the first settlers of present day Ohio

On March 31, 1739, he married Sarah Allen.