Rebecca Nurse

Rebecca Towne Nurse (13 February 1621 – July 19, 1692) was a pious 71-year-old grandmother when she was hanged as a witch in Salem Village on July 19, 1692.[1]

Her death was the turning point in the Salem Witch Trials. People started to doubt that the accusers were being truthful about being tormented by witchcraft.

Life

Nurse was born in Great Yarmouth, England in 1621. In 1644, her family settled in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Danvers, Massachusetts). About 1644, she married Francis Nurse, a tray-maker. They had eight children.

Rebecca and Francis Nurse were highly respected in the colony because few people could work wood into trays, cups, mugs, dishes and other useful objects.

Land disputes and accusations of witchcraft

The Nurse family and the Putnam family (which lived in Salem) had several disputes over land.[2] Two of the Putnams accused Rebecca of witchcraft, and she was arrested on March 23, 1692.[3]

Many villagers were angry that Rebecca had been accused of witchcraft. She was 71 years old and known to be a very pious woman.

Trial & execution

Her trial began on June 30, 1692. Many people testified about her good character. However, the girls who accused her testified that she was tormenting them.

Rebecca was found not guilty of witchcraft.[4] Some wanted her found guilty and urged the judges to reconsider their verdict. They did, and she was found guilty.[4]

She was hanged on July 19, 1692.[4] Her body was buried near the gallows with others who were hanged for witchcraft. In the night, her relatives dug up her body. They buried it on the family homestead, which is now a landmark.[3]

Nurse is a character in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Rebecca Nurse
  2. ↑ "Border Disputes". Salem Witch Museum. Retrieved 2025-04-13.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Rebecca Nurse Homestead". Salem Witch Museum. Retrieved 2025-04-13.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "SWP No. 094: Rebecca Nurse Executed July 19, 1692 - New Salem - Pelican". salem.lib.virginia.edu. Retrieved 2025-04-13.
  5. ↑ Miller, Arthur (2016). The Crucible. Penguin Classics.
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