https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/640804/nurse-homestead-cemetery. She appears to have been an amiable and exemplary woman, and well educated for the times in which she lived. Massachusetts Gov. Cutter claims, without source, that Rebecca Towne married Francis Nurse (various spellings) 24 Aug 1644 in Salem. Who is Rebecca Nurse in the Crucible?She was a real person living in Salem, MA, during the 17th century. Both women were church members and respected, prominent members of the community. Are we never to point out errors which common sense should have prevented in the first place? Elizabeth CLARKE , John TOWNES. Hi to all you new, and old relatives. Nurse filed a petition protesting the verdict, pointing out she was "hard of hearing and full of grief.". Was Doug Coldwell ALIVE during the 17th century to compile "firsthand knowledge" of Rebecca Nurse? Stoughton suggested that perhaps the the jury had not heard Rebecca make an incriminating statement when another prisoner was brought in to testify against her. In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Rebecca Nurse is a prominent and respected older woman in Puritan Salem, drawn into the witchcraft trials because of her and her husband's friction with the Putnams.Though she has the least stage time of any of the major characters, Rebecca is important because of the moral ideals she represents. [1][2], She and her five siblings migrated with their parents to Salem in New England by 1639. TOWNE Family Genealogy Rebecca TOWNE was born 21 February 1621 in England. Rebecca Nurse was the daughter of William Towne, of Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England where she was baptized Feb. 21, 1621. Rebecca (Rebekah) is the daughter of Bethuel, the well-loved wife of Isaac, mother of the twins Jacob and Esau, and the sister of Laban. Youre welcome Kayla! You are the (8? I once lived in Danvers Mass and of all places on Putnam Street. Thank you for visiting rebecca towne nurse family tree page. [citation needed]. That was before Nurse and 21 others of the 33 who had been convicted were exonerated in 1711 by the state, which paid compensation to the families of the victims. Mary Ellen (mom) is now 81 and doesnt look her age at all. [4] Thirty-nine of the most prominent members of the community signed a petition on Nurse's behalf. An artists depiction of a witch being led to her death. Several spectators adopted head motions indicating that they were in Nurse's thrall. The daughter of William and Joanna Blessing Towne, Rebecca was born in Great . Michele, c'mon You know that's an artifact of early wikitree formatting. Visit this site's About page to find out more about Rebecca. Then I looked at him and said, Well I wonder how many people can say that they are ROYAL WITCHES? My two sons just about fell out of their chairs.it was a good day in my opinion. Rebecca (Towne) Nurse is my 8th great-grandmother through her son Benjamin. Allen had guaranteed the title. She is my 10 great grandmother on my mothers paternal side of the family. However, the family of Rebecca Nurse, according to legend, got to her body, removed it from the ditch in Salem and possibly buried it in secret on the family farm in Salem Village (now Danvers . 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. Updated on July 21, 2019. The Putnam family remained until about 1905. Thank you for visiting the site! Rebecca Nurse was a 71-year-old grandmother and wife of a local artisan when she was accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. George Burroughs and the Salem Witch Trials, Biography of Martha Carrier, Accused Witch, M.Div., Meadville/Lombard Theological School. This also makes sense, as the soil on the ledge is too thin to make a shallow grave for even one person, much less a pit for nineteen convicted witches] not deserving of a Christian burial due to the charge of witchcraft. The first accusations were leveled against three women who weren't considered respectable: Tituba, an enslaved Native American; Sarah Good, a homeless mother; and Sarah Osborne, who had a somewhat scandalous history. Jone Johnson Lewis is a women's history writer who has been involved with the women's movement since the late 1960s. The trials as a metaphor for the persecution of minority groups remained powerful images into the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly in playwrightArthur Miller's "The Crucible"(1953), in which he used events and individuals from 1692 allegorically for the anti-communist hearings led by Sen.Joseph McCarthyduring theRed Scareof the 1950s. After emigrating to Salem MA, two additional children, Joseph and Sarah were born. [6] Hathorne was no doubt influenced by the fact that his sister Elizabeth Porter was a close friend of Rebecca, and one of her staunchest defenders. In 1885, Nurse's descendants, members of the First Church of Danvers (originally known as The Church of Christ in Salem Village), and local townspeople, dedicated the Rebecca Nurse Monument in her memory. (#3579) [4], This occurred during a time when the Massachusetts colony was seized with hysteria over witchcraft and the supposed presence of Satan within the colony. O Christian Martyr who for Truth could die. She was born at Salem 1: 2m: 1671, daughter of John and Margaret (Buffum) Smith. A petition from 39 neighbors was presented on Nurse's behalf, and several neighbors and relatives testified for her. John Keenan, a descendant of Rebecca Nurse, at the Salem Witch Memorial, where a stone bears the witchs name. From Wikepedia: I am a descendant of Rebecca (Towne) Nurse who was unfortunately hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. LOL nice to meet you all cousins! Rebecca Towne Nurse (1621-1692) - Find a Grave Memorial. Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2021. We hear lots of family legends about connections to important historical events. My great grandma was Edith May Russell. The controversy was a long one, going finally to the General Court for settlement. Salem has had historical amnesia. Im a descendant if Rebecca Nurse too via her son John and grandson Benjamin Nourse. If so, login to add it. The debut of a new play, Saltonstalls Trial at the Larcom Theatre in Beverly, just minutes from Gallows Hill, has become a magnet for scholars, descendants, and theater lovers. In response to their outbursts Nurse stated, "I have got nobody to look to but God. A plaque commemorating this family, donated by TFA hangs in St. Nicholas Church. Rebecca Nurses arrest on March 24, 1692 came as a complete surprise to the citizens of Salem because she was considered such a pious and upstanding citizen. St. Nicholas Church at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/640804/nurse-homestead-cemetery, Site of Salem Witch Trial Hangings Discovered: Why Its Important to Genealogists, https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5818f6cee93790ec8b81a8b3, https://archive.org/details/salemwitchcraftw02upha_0/page/268, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1K-FSRB, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1K-ZTS2, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1K-S45M, http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n12.html#n12.4, https://www.mass.gov/doc/resolves-of-1957-chapter-145/download, https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2001/Chapter122, https://ancestralfindings.com/site-of-salem-witch-trial-hangings-discovered-why-its-important-to-genealogists, The Salem Witchcraft Papers (SWP No. descendants. Thomas Satterwhite Noble painted "The Salem Martyr" in 1869. Fiske waited briefly, then returned to the jury, and soon came back with a verdict of guilty. Baker is particularly enthused about the new play, not because of the past, but because of the current social climate in the country. By dint of her respectability, many members of the community testified on her behalf, including her family members. Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. [2] Her husband was a "tray maker" by trade, who likely made many other wooden household items. Yes, I know it is an artifact. Lewis, Jone Johnson. in Great Yarmouth, England , United States, Died on July 19, 1692 Rebecca Nurse (February 13, 1621 July 19, 1692) was a woman who was accused of witchcraft and executed by hanging in New England during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Mary Towne and her family moved to America around 1640. We cannot imagine the cause of the alleged complaint of witchcraft. The first memorial to anyone accused of witchcraft in North America, the granite obelisk bears an inscription by poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who lived nearby at that time. Nurse was the subject of Lectures on Witchcraft by Charles W. Upham. She inspired other dramatic treatments of the Salem Witch Trials. Three Sisters all accused of witchcraft. Rebecca Nurse was born on Feb. 21, 1621 (some sources give this as her baptism date), in Yarmouth, England, to William Towne and Joanna Blessing. Nicholas Noyes the minister who accompanied the accused persons to their deaths, was a distant uncle, as I am descended from his sister Hannah Noyes. On October 17, 1711, the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill restoring some of the names of the Salem Witch Trials victims, including Rebecca Nurse. She also had three brothers, Edmund (baptized June 1628), Jacob (baptized March 11, 1631 or 1632) and Joseph (born c. 1639). Just change it when you see it. Leave a message for others who see this profile. Christopher Child, senior genealogist at New England Historic Genealogy Society in Boston also traces his family to Rebecca Nurse through her brother. In the first and much acclaimed television adaption by the BBC in 1980 she was played by Ann Dyson. T > Towne | N > Nurse > Rebecca (Towne) Nurse, Categories: English Immigrants to America | Salem, Massachusetts | Salem Witch Trials | Accused Witches of New England | Death by Hanging | Nurse Homestead Cemetery, Danvers, Massachusetts | Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem, Massachusetts | Puritan Great Migration | Notables, WIKITREE HOME | ABOUT | G2G FORUM | HELP | SEARCH. Salem, Mass., 1692.O Christian Martyr who for Truth could dieWhen all about thee owned the hideous lie!The world redeemed from Superstition's swayIs breathing freer for thy sake today. The world redeemed from Superstition's sway. The legacy of the Salem witch trials is complicated. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. Home > Mitt Romney Genealogy > Famous Kin. I have lived in Salem all my life, said John Keenan, Salem States president. I have more information on most of these people in my genealogical database which I have not posted here yet. Rebecca Towne Nurse (1621-1692) - (daughter), 1637 immigrant Executed by hanging on 16 July 1692 at the Salem witch trials. The couple had eight children: four daughters and four sons. I am working on cleaning up this line. Genealogy charts for Rebecca (Towne) Nurse may include up to 30 generations of ancestors with source citations. Nurse was also the sister of accused witches, Mary Easty and Sarah Cloyce, and the daughter of suspected witch Joanna Blessing Towne. Flowers have been left at the memorial in Salem to Rebecca Nurse, who was executed for witchcraft. Knowing the families probably buried all the victims on the family property will give those with witch ancestry a better idea of where their ancestor now rests. Released on Netflix, Rebecca stars Lily James as an unnamed protagonist who marries the wealthy heir Maxim de Winter (Armie Hammer) during a whirlwind romance in Europe. In the original Broadway production in 1953 she was played by Jean Adair, who died shortly afterwards. Due to the rarity of such household goods, such artisans were esteemed. RebeccaNurse.org. John Nurse (1673-1747) 4. There will be 10 performances from Oct. 17 to 27; tickets start at $19.50. Sometime around 1644, she married Francis Nurse (or Nourse; 16181695), who was also born in England. Well, somewhere the link has been erased between me and my many-times-over grandparents. Torrey in "New England Marriages to 1700" is equivocal about their marriage date and location, saying this: NURSE, Francis (-1695, ae 77) & Rebecca [TOWNE] (1621-1692); 24 Aug 1646, ca 1645? I was wondering if one of the managers could add a few quick words to the effect that Rebecca Nurse was FALSELY accused of witchcraft by some of her neighbors. This is a cenotaph erected in Rebeccas memory. This was very helpful, thank you! Rebecca (Towne) Nurse Family Tree along with family connections to other famous kin. Rebecca Nurse (February 21, 1621July 19, 1692) was a victim of the notorious Salem witch trials, hanged as a witch at 71 years of age. Executed for witchcraft in the Salem witch trials, Born on February 21, 1621 Howe, Katherine (2009). This so-called incriminating statement refers to when Nurse called accused witch Goody Hobbs one of us during her trial. She is also mentioned in passing in Robin Cook's suspense novel Acceptable Risk. Shortly afterwards, the Towne family immigrated to Topsfield, Massachusetts. On July 3, just days after Nurse was convicted, she was taken to the church and publicly excommunicated, according to the book Salem-Village Witchcraft: 1692, July 3 After sacrament, the elders propounded to the church, and it was, by unanimous vote, consented to, that our sister Nurse, being a convicted witch by the court, and condemned to die, should be excommunicated; which was accordingly done in the afternoon, she being present.. . Some children appear to be incorrect - have no sources that indicate that there were more children than these eight: John, Samuel, Francis, Benjamin, Mary Tarbell, Sarah Boden, Rebecca Preston and Elizabeth Russell, all named in Francis division of his estate. On most of these people in my opinion ( Towne ) Nurse may include up to 30 of. [ 2 ], she married Francis Nurse ( 1621-1692 ) - find a Grave Memorial with family to! 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