Abiah Folger

Abiah Folger was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on August 15, 1667, to Peter Folger, a miller and schoolteacher, and his wife, Mary Morrell Folger, a former indentured servant. She came from a Puritan family that was among the first to flee to Massachusetts for religious freedom, when King Charles I of England began persecuting Puritans.[1] Folger's sister, Bethshua was an active and theatric participant in the events surrounding the Salem witch trials. She suffered “hysterical blindness” and convulsions, and in the middle of one trial she threw a shoe at an accused person’s head. Her accusations contributed to the death-sentence of at least one convicted witch, Martha Corey.

Folger married Boston candle-maker and widower Josiah Franklin and they had 10 children. She raised her children with the Presbyterian faith tradition.[2]

She was an early supporter of her son Benjamin's career but not actively involved in politics.[3] She disapproved of her son's membership to Freemasonry. Benjamin Franklin described his mother as “a discreet and virtuous woman” with “an excellent constitution."

A fictionalized character of Folger appeared in the fourth episode of Voyagers! titled "Agents of Satan," where the central characters prevented Folger from being hanged during the Salem witch trials.[4]

Folger was portrayed in a 2018 episode of the TV series Timeless titled "The Salem Witch Hunt."

There is a monument with flowers growing in it to honor Folger on the right side of Madaket Road at the site of the Folger Farm, now owned by the Nantucket Historical Association.[5]

In 1898, the Daughters of the American Revolution established the Abiah Folger Franklin Chapter in Nantucket.