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Title
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Rebecca Nurse (1621-1692)
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birthday
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1621-02-13
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Birthplace
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Great Yarmouth, EN
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Death Date
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1692-07-19
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Occupation
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Homemaker
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Biographical Text
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Rebecca Nurse was a woman accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Born Rebecca Towne in Great Yarmouth, EN, her family emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in her childhood. They settled in Salem, where Nurse would reside for the entirety of her life. In her adult life, her and her family lived on a 300-acre farm in town, which continues to be preserved as the Rebecca Nurse Homestead. Throughout her time in Salem, she was known as a respected and active member of her community. On March 23, 1692, at seventy-one years old, Nurse was issued a warrant for her arrest, under the crime of witchcraft. Her well-liked character and status led to a large amount of public defiance in her favor. Nurse was originally ruled not guilty for the crime, prior to a second deliberation of the jury. Hard of hearing at the time, Nurse misheard a question, in regards to the closeness of her relationship to another accused. This led to a verdict change, and her ultimate execution on July 19, 1692.
In around 1644, Nurse married Francis Nurse. They had eight children, John, Rebecca, Samuel, Elizabeth, Mary, Francis, Sarah, and Benjamin. A large granite memorial stands in the family plot at the Rebecca Nurse Homestead cemetery, in Nurse's honor.
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Contributor
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O'Neill, Iris
Bridget Bishop, Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, The Witch House
The Salem Witch Trials Tercentenary Memorial, Memorial Structure
Rebecca Nurse, House and Signage
Rebecca Nurse, Memorial
Rebecca Nurse, Grave