"Rev. John Hale, graduated at Harvard College, in 1657. He was the first minister of Beverly, Massachusetts, when the church was separated from Salem, in 1867, and remained in this charge to his death. He was one of three chaplains to the New England expedition to Canada in 1690. He was taken prisoner, and afterward released.
Two years after the Salem witchcraft excitement arose and engaged the attention of Mr. Hale, who participated in the examination of the accused and conducted the religious exercises. In October a person in Wenham accused Mrs. Hale of witchcraft, and the shock was sufficient to restore the minister to his senses. His own medicine cured him of his delusions, and he was eager to prove the thing was wrong. In 1697 he published A modest inquiry into the nature of witchcraft and how persons guilty of that crime may be convicted; and the means used for their discovery discussed, both negatively and affirmatively, according to Scripture and experience.1343