Rebecca Towne Nurse was a 71-year-old woman who was accused of witchcraft and executed during the Salem witch trials in 1692.
She was a well-respected member of the community, and her trial was one of the most controversial of the trials.
Rebecca Towne Nurse was born in England in 1621 and immigrated to Massachusetts with her family in 1635. She married Francis Nurse in 1645, and they had eight children.
Also Read: List of People Involved in the Salem Witch Trials
The nurse was a devout Puritan and was active in her church. She was also known for her kindness and generosity.
In 1692, Nurse was accused of witchcraft by several young women who were suffering from fits and convulsions. The girls claimed that Nurse's specter had visited them and tormented them.
Also Read: What is Spectral Evidence?
The nurse was arrested and brought to trial.
At her trial, Nurse denied all of the charges against her. However, she was found guilty of witchcraft and sentenced to death. She was hanged on July 19, 1692, at Gallows Hill in Salem.
Jump to:
Family Overview
Rebecca Towne Nurse is one of the more well-known women who were accused of witchcraft.
This is due to her testimony, Christian character, and the confession of Ann Putnam Jr. later in life.
Her parents were from England and migrated to the New World. She had one brother who stayed behind and never migrated, while all the others did.
The Towne family was blessed with many children and old age. Many of them outlived the average lifespan of a colonist in the 17th century.
She married and had many children. Her children would go on to marry and have many children.
One of the observations I have when looking into this family tree is how she could ever be accused. Her father was a founding member of Salem, and her siblings were all successful, with all of them having many children and outliving her.
The Towne family and those directly connected to Rebecca would have numbered into the hundreds at the time of the Salem Witch Trials, but she was unable to secure her innocence.
Family Tree Chart
Parents:
William Towne (1599 - 1673) - He was originally born in England and then migrated over with his family to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635. His oldest child was Rebecca Towne, who would become infamous. He and his wife had a total of eight children.
Joanna Blessing (1595 - 1683) - She lived to the age of 87, which was incredible considering the times. She and her husband had eight children, with many living into adulthood. She had two daughters that died during the Salem Witch Trials.
Spouse:
Francis Nurse (1617 - 1695) - He was one of the first to settle in Salem and managed to secure much land that would become important to his large family as he and his wife made a life together. He was an elder at the local church, and he and his wife had an excellent marriage and were considered respected citizens of the community. There may have been some jealousy among others due to the amount of land Nurse owned.
Children:
John Nurse (1645 - 1719) - He was the eldest child of the Nurse family and married three times after the death of each wife. He had many children and would produce many descendants.
Rebecca Nurse (1647 - 1699) - She was the oldest daughter of the Nurse family and married into the Preston family. She and her husband had 10 children. At her mother's trial, she was one of the children who testified on behalf of her mother.
Samuel Nurse (1649 - 1720) - He also married and had a large family. When his mother was accused of witchcraft, he spoke on behalf of her innocence during her trial. After his father's death, he inherited an equal portion of land as his siblings.
Mary Nurse (1655 - 1749) - She and her husband John Tarbell, Rebecca Nurse Preston and Samuel Nurse testified on behalf of their mother during her Salem Witch Trial. It would not matter. She lived until the age of 94 and would have many children and descendants.
Elizabeth Nurse (1656 - 1734) - She married a local fisherman and had four children. She is not mentioned in the trial of her mother, but she and her husband had moved from Salem to Reading a few years prior to the trials. They returned to Salem in 1696.
Francis Nurse Jr. (1661 - 1716) - He married and had many children. At the time of his mother's murder, he was living around Salem, and although he did not participate in the trial, probably due to all the other testimony she received, he certainly responded when he left the Salem church to the Reading church. He and his wife had many descendants.
Sarah Nurse (1663 - 1754) - Her records are a bit muddled. It is clear that she married and possibly had children, but the time of her marriage was probably after her mother's murder. She was one of the children who took the stand for her mother, and at the time, she was 28 years of age and not married.
Benjamin Nurse (1666 - 1748) - He was the youngest child of the Nurse family. He married twice due to his first wife dying. He had children with both wives, which produced many descendants.
Siblings:
John Towne (1623 - unknown) - He remained in England with his wife when his father and siblings migrated to Massachusetts.
Susannah Towne (unknown) - There are some conflicting dates within her records that do not allow me to tie down much information. It seems as though she was married, but it is unknown if she had any children.
Edmund Towne (1628 - 1678) - He migrated to Massachusetts and had many children with his wife. He was an influential man within his community.
Jacob Towne (1632 - 1704) - He and his wife also had many children. There was an event that occurred around the time of the death of two of his sisters named Jacob. It seems there was some bad blood that existed between some men.
Mary Towne (1634 - 1692) - She would become the second Towne sibling to be executed for witchcraft. She and her husband had nine children, and she was also well-respected within the community. She was not from Salem but from Topsfield (as were some of her other siblings), which had many land disputes with Salem.
Sarah Towne (1637 - 1703) - She was married and had many children from her two husbands. At the time of the trial, she passionately defended her sisters against the despicable and corrupt Reverend Samuel Parris. This caused her to become one of the accused and to be imprisoned. She survived due to public opinion turning on the trials.
Joseph Towne (1639 - 1713) - He was the youngest of the siblings. He married and had many children. Like some of his other siblings, he was a resident of Topsfield.