Introductions - Rebecca Nurse

 

Rebecca (Towne) Nurse

21 Feb 1621 - 19 Jul 1692

Rebecca Towne, my 8x great grandmother, was born February 21st 1621, in Great Yarmouth, England, was married to Francis Nurse around 1645, and was tried, convicted and hanged as a witch alongside her sister, Mary Towne Esty, in Salem, Massachusetts, on July 19th, 1692. 

Her conviction was largely based on the testimony of  Ann Putnam Jr., one of the "afflicted" teenagers whose actions played a large part in bringing about the tragic events of 1692. Oddly enough, with the marriage of Rebecca's great grandson Francis Sawyer on 22 Mar 1749 to Elizabeth Richardson, our family is now related to both Rebecca Nurse and the girl whose testimony led to her hanging. 

The Nurse farm stayed in the family until 1886 when it was sold to a branch of the Putnam family.

In 1875, Rebecca’s descendants commissioned a monument in her honor. On one side was a poem written by John Greenleaf Whittier.

Christian martyr, who for Truth could die

When all about thee owned the hideous lie,

The world redeemed from

Superstition’s sway

Is breathing freer for thy sake today.

 On the other was a statement by Rebecca stating simply “I am innocent and God will clear my innocency.”

600 descendants attended the dedication service of which the Danvers Mirror wrote “It is believed that this is the first  service of the kind ever rendered to any person who was put to death for alleged witchcraft.”

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