It does seem strange why they were so quiet. Maybe they were trying to forget the horror, or they might still have been afraid of being accused themselves. I believe at this point they had lost any confidence in the courts. The family suffered, John dying a few months later. I remember finding a document in Salem county archives where her son Robert did bring forward some case against the town, in which it sounded like he was trying to regain some control. Unfortunately we didn't have enough legal expertise to understand the import. I wish some lawyer with the time and interest could interpret it properly. Do you live anywhere near Essex County in Mass.? We are in Maine. It can take quite a bit of time to sift through all the possible avenues of inquiry, but by now you'd think someone would have an answer to this document involving Robert. Other heirs who might have tried to regain rights of ownership could have been William Martin or the grandson John Hadlock. I would just love to be near enough the Essex County Registry of Deeds and Probate in Salem to go through all those indexes and records again.
Kathleen