Rebecca Nurse
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Rebecca Towne Nurse (baptized February 21, 1621 – July 19, 1692) was an important figure in the Salem witch trials.
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[edit] Early life
The daughter of William Towne and Joanna (Blessing) Towne, Nurse was born in Great Yarmouth and lived at the Rebecca Nurse Homestead with her sisters Mary (Towne) Estye and Sarah (Towne) Cloyce, both later accused for witchcraft themselves. Nurse frequently attended church and her family was well respected in Salem Village. It was later written that she had "acquired a reputation for exemplary piety that was virtually unchallenged in the community," making her one of the first "unlikely" witches to be accused.
She married a man who was described as a "traymaker," Francis Nurse. Together they had four sons and four daughters.
[edit] Trial
Nurse was accused by Ann Putnam since the rest of the major accusors hesitated. 39 of the most prominent members of the community signed a petition on Nurse's behalf. At age 71, she was one of the oldest accused.
Her trial began on June 30, 1692. Though her respectability, whenever someone on her behalf would argue a point, the "afflicted" girls would break into fits and claim Nurse was tormenting them. To this Nurse replied, "I have got nobody to look to but God."
In the end, the jury ruled Nurse NOT GUILTY. Due to a public outcry, it had to reconsider. An example was when Nurse said of a fellow prisoner "was one of us". When the jury questioned this, Nurse did not answer, probably because of her loss of hearing. Taking this as a sign of guilt, Nurse was sentenced to die on July 19.
[edit] Historical importance
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Many people have labeled Nurse as "a model of Christian behavior," due to her acting on the gallows. Her accuser, Ann Putnam Jr., apologised to the Nurse family for accusing innocent people. In 1711, the government compensated her family for Nurse's wrongful death. Rebecca Nurse is the subject of Lectures on Witchcraft, by Charles W. Upham.
[edit] Popular culture
Rebecca Nurse is a character in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
[edit] External links
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| Magistrates | William Stoughton · John Hathorne · Jonathan Corwin · Samuel Sewall · Bartholomew Gendey · Thomas Danforth · Nathaniel Saltonstall |
| Clergy | Samuel Parris · Cotton Mather · Increase Mather · Nicholas Noyes · John Hale · Deodat Lawson · Samuel Willard |
| Politicians & Public Figures | William Phips · Thomas Brattle · Robert Calef |
| Accusers | Elizabeth Hubbard · Mercy Lewis · Betty Parris · Ann Putnam, Jr. · Susannah Sheldon · Mary Walcott Abigail Williams · Sarah Bibber |
| Accused | John Alden · Edward Bishop · Sarah Bishop · Mary Black · Mary Bradbury · Sarah Cloyce · Rebecca Eames · Mary English · Phillip English · Abigail Faulkner · Dorcas Good · William Hobbs · Mary Lacy · Sarah Morey · Benjamin Proctor · Elizabeth Proctor · Sarah Proctor · William Proctor |
| Confessed and Accused Others | Tituba · Abigail Hobbs · Deliverance Hobbs · Margaret Jacobs · Mary Warren · Ann Foster · Mary Lacey Jr. · Mary Lacey Sr. · Sarah Churchwell |
| Executed | Bridget Bishop · George Burroughs · Martha Carrier · Martha Corey · Mary Eastey · Sarah Good · Elizabeth Howe · George Jacobs, Sr. · Susannah Martin · Rebecca Nurse · Alice Parker · Mary Parker · John Proctor · Ann Pudeator · Wilmot Redd · Margaret Scott · Samuel Wardwell · Sarah Wildes · John Willard |
| Died in Prison | Lydia Dustin · Ann Foster · Sarah Osborn · Roger Toothaker |
| Pressed to Death | Giles Corey |
