Church tradition holds that this tankard, engraved with the Sewall arms, was given by the family to commemorate the membership of Samuel Sewall (1652-1730), a judge in the Salem Witch Trials. Sewall however is better known as the author of his famous diaries, begun in 1674. Samuel Sewall’s Diaries, 1674-1729 remain an important historical reference for the early Colonial period. In 1700, he published The Selling of Joseph, America’s first anti-slavery tract.
This tankard was almost certainly donated by Samuel Sewall’s son, Reverend Joseph Sewall (1688-1769), the pastor of Old South Church from 1713 to 1769.