This is so interesting! O Christian Martyr who for Truth could die. As was the custom, after she was hanged, her body was buried in a shallow grave near the execution spot. She is my friends 9th Great-grandmother which is how I learned they were hanged the same day. This fact, along with the lack of reports of any gallows being built for the witch trial executions, and no debris being found at the site led researchers to conclude the convicted witches were hanged from trees. She was hanged on July 19, 1692, for witchcraft. I am also a descendant. According to local legend, Nurses son, Benjamin, secretly rowed a boat after nightfall to the execution site to claim his mothers body so he could give her a Christian burial at her home. Rebecca Nurse, Yarmouth, England 1621. She was tried and convicted in the spring and summer of 1692 and executed on July 19. Nurse can also be found as a supporting character in Katherine Howe's historical fiction, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. We need to confirm that Ira was son of Ebenezer of Framingham, Mass., then I think we can confirm the lineage back to Salem. 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. My maiden name is Tracy. Salem, Mass., 1692. According to the book Women in Early America, Nurses conviction and execution marked the beginning of the end of the Salem Witch Trials. Allen had guaranteed the title. Thomas Satterwhite Noble painted "The Salem Martyr" in 1869. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. If so, login to add it. Although there was no credible evidence against her, she was hanged as a witch and died on 19 July 1692 at Proctor's Ledge, (named after Thorndike Proctor, a son of witch trial victim John Proctor, who bought the land after the witch trial delusions were over), Gallows Hill, Salem, Massachusetts Bay. SOURCE: Site of Salem Witch Trial Hangings Discovered: Why Its Important to Genealogists. The map below shows the places where the ancestors of the famous person lived. Mary married John Tarbell at Salem, on October 25, 1678. This guide goes over what we do know about Rebecca and explains . Former Site of the Salem CourthouseAddress: Washington Street (about 100 feet south of Lynde Street), opposite the Masonic Temple, Salem, Mass. If you are not a descendant, then you probably know someone that is., Keenans career as an assistant district attorney, legislator, and college president has focused on social justice. I read the script and I see modern relevance in the play to the issues on our minds today.. When Fiske later questioned Rebecca as to the exact meaning of her statement, she would not reply. Just one grandparent can lead you to many My great grand father 9th removed, William Russell b.1647, England, d.22 Dec 1733, Essex Co. Mass. [5], "In most cases, the bodies of those hanged or pressed were cast off into a shallow ditch [ Update September 2021: There is no room to build gallows on Proctors Ledge. Some of the most recently added connections of famous kin for Rebecca (Towne) Nurse. So WHY was it left on this page for years? Lewis, Jone Johnson. After emigrating to Salem MA, two additional children, Joseph and Sarah were born. Sources:Nevins, Winfield S. Stories of Salem Witchcraft. New England Magazine, September 1891 February 1892, New England Magazine Corporation, pp: 717Towne, Abbie Peterson and Marietta Clark. On June 2, Nurse, Bridget Bishop, Proctor, Alice Parker, Susannah Martin, and Sarah Good were forced to undergo physical examinations by a doctor with a number of women present. John Keenan, a descendant of Rebecca Nurse, at the . Thanks! Born in Yarmouth, England in 1621 to William Towne and Joanna Blessing, her entire family immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony sometime between the years 1638 and 1640. Linda Greenstein can be reached at greensteinlm@gmail.com. Francis Nurse died on Nov. 22, 1695, two years after the trials had ended. Rebecca married Francis Nurse, who also came from Yarmouth, around 1644. Shes my 9x great grandma on my maternal grandmothers side. Username and password are case sensitive. If you take all the people associated with the trial the accused, judges, witnesses, jurors, court officers and you multiply that by nine or 10 generations, you get about one million people around the world that have a family connection, said Baker. Rebecca and Francis frequented the Salem Village meeting house and Francis was quite active in the community becoming well respected in Salem Village; he was often asked to serve as mediator to help settle matters. In accordance with the procedures at the time, Mrs. Nurse, like others accused of witchcraft, represented herself since she was not allowed to have a lawyer. Please try again. Rebecca Nurse is a famous Victim of the Salem Witch Trials who has a net worth of $1-5 million. As a direct descendant of Rebecca Nurse, I appreciate the depiction of her as dignified and the court proceedings as unconscionable. View entire list of famous kin for Rebecca (Towne) Nurse. descendants. Yes, I know it is an artifact. We suspect, from an examination of the charges brought against her at the courts, that she had several times severely rebuked the accusing girls for their folly and wickedness, when meeting in their circles. The Internet has built communities of people with witch trial lineage and there are gatherings where they share their history and connections. It is always preferable to locate primary records where possible. I would love to hear from anyone else who shares some of these ancestors. I am a descendant of Rebecca (Towne) Nurse who was unfortunately hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. A few years ago I learned that I was descended from the Putnam family. When all about thee owned the hideous lie! Rebecca married Francis Nurse, and they settled initially near North River in Salem. She died June 28, 1749 in her 90th year. Those with ancestors who were hanged can stand in the spot that was the last place those ancestors saw while on earth. pennsylvania nurse aide registry reciprocity. During the witch trials, many of the accused had been enemies of thePutnams, and Putnam family members and in-laws were the accusers in many cases. The citizens of Salem doubted that such a pious woman could be guilty of witchcraft. In the first and much acclaimed television adaption by the BBC in 1980 she was played by Ann Dyson. Mary Towne Eastey (1634-1692) - (daughter) Executed by hanging on 22 Sept 1692 at Salem witch trials. Ann Putnam Jr's Apology: Six of their children, Rebecca, John, Susan, Edmund, Jacob, and Mary were baptized there. Goodcursed the presiding clergyman, Nicholas Noyes, from the gallows, saying "if you take away my life God will give you blood to drink." The people who most like to visit, according to the curator and president of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, Kathryn Rutkowski, are historians fascinated with the period and descendants of. As a result of his search for the truth, he was put on trial and his family placed in peril. JAIME CAMPOS/Staff photo Jaime Campos DANVERS Beth. While she displayed a gentle spirit in the early recordings in thLabane Bible, there is much questionable behavior in the . The notes about merging at the top of this profile are from March 2019. We cannot imagine the cause of the alleged complaint of witchcraft. , i hope you will like it about rebecca towne nurse family tree please comment if we missed anything here, please let us know. Remembering is a painful process., The legacy of what transpired here crosses into the imaginations and consciousness of our community, our Commonwealth, and even our country, said Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll. In 1992, the Salem Witch Trials Memorial was built in Salem, Mass and a marker was established for Rebecca Nurse. 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. They told Rebecca openly that if she was innocent, they prayed that God would show her innocence, for "it is a sad thing to see church members accused". Many historians believe that the Putnam family was behind the accusations against Nurse. There will be 10 performances from Oct. 17 to 27; tickets start at $19.50. Nurse, to be sure, was only indirectly interested in the suit. A second exam later that day stated that several of the observed physical abnormalities had changed; they attested that on Nurse, the "Excresence appears only as a dry skin without sense" at this later exam. lol! Im also a descendant of Rebbeca Nurse on my mothers side of the family .. Shes my 10 great grandmother too! The daughter of William and Joanna Blessing Towne, Rebecca was born in Great . The Dowling Family Tree with over half a million relatives,contains thousands of pictures and over four thousand GeneaStars.We are all related! Rebecca is 16 degrees from Jennifer Aniston, 16 degrees from Drew Barrymore, 19 degrees from Candice Bergen, 19 degrees from Alexandre Dumas, 15 degrees from Carrie Fisher, 24 degrees from Whitney Houston, 13 degrees from Hayley Mills, 13 degrees from Liza Minnelli, 15 degrees from Lisa Presley, 14 degrees from Kiefer Sutherland, 17 degrees from Bill Veeck and 17 degrees from Brian Nash on our single family tree. Our job was to make sure no one ever forgets the victims.. 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. Ancestor charts showing the family relationships of Rebecca (Towne) Nurse (1621-1692) to other famous people. Was Doug Coldwell ALIVE during the 17th century to compile "firsthand knowledge" of Rebecca Nurse? [4] Thirty-nine of the most prominent members of the community signed a petition on Nurse's behalf. William Towne (c1598/9 - c1673) Great Migration Immigrant . Rebecca Nurse was executed on July 19, 1692 on Proctor's Ledge at Gallows Hill. Ann Putnam Jr. Is my 2nd cousin 10x removed and Captain John Putnam was my 10 Great Grandfather. Grandmas siblings were siblings were Dora, William & Frances (female). Updated on July 21, 2019. Rebecca (Towne) Nurse was executed for witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials. , Hey Cuz! Women In Early America: Struggle, Survival, And Freedom In A New World. In 1678 they were offered the opportunity to lease-to-own a 300-acre (120ha) farm in the rural village area of Salem (today Danvers, Massachusetts), originally a part of a grant given to Townsend Bishop in 1636. Benjamins grandmother was Sarah Nourse, great great grandaughter of Rebecca. Also located at the homestead is the Nurse family cemetery and a replica of the Salem Village Meetinghouse. It looks like he is alive today making him well over 300 years old if he does indeed have firsthand knowledge of this woman. On July 3, the Salem Church excommunicated Nurse. I must tell a story. . Includes citations for all sources. 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. She also had three brothers, Edmund (baptized June 1628), Jacob (baptized March 11, 1631 or 1632) and Joseph (born c. 1639). Rebecca Nurse is a central character in Arthur Miller 's play The Crucible. 2008 - 2023 INTERESTING.COM, INC. Rebecca TOWNE was the child of William TOWNE and Joanna BLESSING Rebecca was an immigrant to the United States, arriving by 1637. Witch Trials. Their names were John Nurse (born 1645), Rebecca Nurse (born 1647), Samuel Nurse (born 1649), Elizabeth Nurse (born 1655 or 1656), Mary Nurse (born 1657 28 June 1749), Francis Nurse (born 1660 or 1661), Sarah Nurse (born 1662) and Benjamin Nurse (born in 1665 or 1666). [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. LOL nice to meet you all cousins! Rebecca Towne Nurse Famous memorial Birth c.21 Feb 1621. They were considered unfit for a Christian burial in a churchyard. She was accused and arrested on April 8. It has a tendency to look away from its tragic past, said Baker, who was part of a team of scholars that in 2016 actually confirmed the site where the accused witches were executed. Could she get a "Notable Sticker" or is there some reason you don't want to do that? 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. Yet, historian Winfield S. Nevins doesnt agree and believes it was a different dispute that earned Rebecca Nurse the wrath of the Putnams, as he discussed in an article in New England Magazine in 1891: The first trouble appears to have come to this family after the purchase of the Bishop farm. Rebeccas great granddaughter Elizabeth Nurse married John Putnams great grandson Caleb. She is likewise a major character in Robert Wards Pulitzer Prize-winning operatic adaptation of Miller's play. These sources are attached to each ancestor so that you can personally judge their reliability. Rebecca (Towne) Nurse migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640). 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. Sarah Cloyce: Accused in the Salem Witch Trials, Profile of Elizabeth How, Persecuted Salem Witch, Abigail Williams of the Salem Witch Trials, Mary Easty: Hanged as a Witch in Salem, 1692, Biography of Martha Corey, Last Woman Hung in the Salem Witch Trials, Biography of Elizabeth Parris, Accuser in the Salem Witch Trials, A Brief History of the Salem Witchcraft Trials, Rev. Leave a message for others who see this profile. Gallows Hill is a place of unspeakable sorrow. This lack of a response, probably due to Rebeccas partial deafness, was unexpected. and sourcing their bios. When the verdict not guilty was, the honoured court was pleased to object against it, saying to them, that they think they let slip the words, which the prisoner at the bar spake against her self which were spoken in reply to Goodwife Hobbs and her daughter, who had been faulty in setting their hands to the devils book, as they have confessed formerly; the words were what, do these persons give in evidence against me now, they used to come against us. After the honoured court had manifested their dissatisfaction of the verdict, several of the jury declared themselves desirous to go out again, and thereupon the hounored court gave leave; but when we came to consider the case, I could not tell how to take her words, as evidence against her, till she had a further opportunity to put her sense upon them, if she would take it; and then going into court, I mentioned the aforesaid, which by one of the court were affirmed to have been spoken by her, she being then at the bar, but made no reply, nor interpretation of them; whereupon these words were to me principal evidence against her. This is a cenotaph erected in Rebeccas memory. Mary Towne and her family moved to America around 1640. This work was adapted for films in 1957 and 1996; Nurse was portrayed by actresses Marguerite Coutan-Lambert and Elizabeth Lawrence, respectively. The inscription on the monument reads: Rebecca Nurse, Yarmouth, England 1621. Since my Mother is a Noyes her Great x 12 Grandfather was Nicholas Noyes (The Minister giving Sarah her last rites) Its amazing how each one of us have cross over each others path throughout the ages. discoveries. The Rebecca Nurse homestead still stands in Danvers, the new name of Salem Village, and is open to tourists. The controversy was a long one, going finally to the General Court for settlement. In 1909, Rebecca Nurses home in Danvers, Mass was purchased by the Rebecca Nurse Memorial Association and opened to the public as a historic house museum. I truly believe it was "greed" and "land grab"I have both the Putnams & Towns in my tree. Of Nurse's two sisters who also were charged with witchcraft, Easty was hanged on Sept. 22 and Cloyce's case was dismissed in January 1693. If not, at least good will eventually triumph over evil 30,000 descendants is quite a legacy ; ). 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