144. Salem First Church Beaker
- Rainey Knudson
- 23 hours ago
- 2 min read
What must people in Boston have thought, observing from afar the hysteria in Salem? What must Jeremiah Dummer have thought? He was the first native-born American silversmith, a Bostonian who made communion cups for churches throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut, including this one. It was given to Salem’s First Church—the church at the heart of the witch trials—in 1684, eight years before the hysteria. This cup sat on the altar, was used by congregants and ministers. Passed among accused, accusers, and magistrates of the court alike.
Salem minister Samuel Parris, who would make church members in good standing suffer public penance for small infractions—and whose young daughter and niece were the primary accusers—contributed to the tension in the village. Junior minister Nicholas Noyes was a vocal persecutor, and two of the most famous victims, Rebecca Nurse and Giles Corey, were full members of the church. They all drank from this same cup.
Jeremiah Dummer had made it early in his career as a commission for a major landowner in Salem, who bequeathed it to the church, engraved with his name, Francis Skerry. Its design suited Puritan aesthetics: functional, unadorned, deliberately free of the ornamentation of a European chalice.
Looking back at Salem, we marvel at the cruel insanity. 19 people hanged, another 5 died in prison awaiting trial. And Corey, an 80-year-old man infamously crushed to death because he wouldn’t enter a plea, would only reply with “more weight.”
Special thanks to Ellen Swain for suggesting the Salem witch trials.
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This post is part of The American 250, a series featuring 250 objects made by Americans, located in America, in honor of the country's 250th anniversary. 250 words on 250 works, from January 1 to December 31, 2026.
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