One of the most notable victims of the Salem witch trials was Rebecca Nurse. Respected and beloved by other members of the community, she was the image of wholesomeness. A devout Puritan who always acted with the reservedness of a God-fearing woman.
Nurse was regarded as a saint, an exemplary, righteous Christian. In spite of her immaculate reputation, however, she was accused and executed for witchcraft. Her demise, albeit unfortunate, marked the beginning of the end for the trials.
Rebecca Nurse was born in Yarmouth, England on February 21, 1621. Nurse and her five siblings were raised by their parents, William Towne and Joanna Blessing. When she was seventeen, her entire family migrated to Salem, Massachusetts, after her father acquired land in the area.
Several years after her arrival in New England, Rebecca married Yarmouth-born woodworker, Francis Nurse. The couple settled in Salem Village - now Danvers, Massachusetts. Together they had eight children; four girls, and four boys. The family would attend church regularly and were known for being upstanding citizens.
Nurse was officially accused of witchcraft on March 19, 1692. The allegations were shocking since before that point, only women of low socioeconomic status or of a bad reputation had been accused.
Two of Nurse’s sisters, Mary Eastey and Sarah Cloyce, were also accused of witchcraft, and while Sarah was able to avoid the noose, Mary was unfortunately executed. Their accusers were none other than the Putnam family and their friends, notorious for their convincing claims during the trials.
There has been much speculation as to what fueled Nurse’s accusations. Some believe it was the land disputes she had been involved in. There was apparently an ongoing disagreement between the Nurses, the Putnams and Reverend James Allen, in regards to the boundaries of their properties.
Others maintain that Nurse was signaled out as a witch simply because she gained Thomas Putnam as an enemy. It is unknown if Putnam disliked Nurse because of the land disputes or because she often criticized his daughter, Ann Putnam Jr., for her fortune-telling escapades.
Before the trials, the young girls in the village would often dabble in rudimentary folk magic. They would gather in circles, look into makeshift crystal balls and listen to forbidden stories the slave Tituba would narrate. Nurse would often berate the girls for doing so, pointing out that they were foolish and disobeying the Lord.
The main accusers during the witch trials were the same young girls that participated in those pagan activities. There is a chance that Nurse upset both the children and their parents, who proceeded to plot against her.
Rebecca Nurse was arrested on March 24, 1692, and her body was examined for physical signs of Devil-worship.
The seventy-one-year-old remained in an uncomfortable, filthy cell for roughly three months before her trial. All the while, her friends and family petitioned her release. Even people who had previously disagreed with her came forward in her defense.
Since suspected witches did not have the right to request legal representation, Nurse had to defend herself before the jury. On June 30, 1692, she was transported to the courthouse and the trial began.
Throughout the trial, the “bewitched” girls started to have seizures. They screamed and cried, claiming Nurse’s spirit had left her body and was trying to hurt them. In spite of the accusers’ efforts to convince the jury, she was found not guilty.
After the verdict had been revealed, those afflicted fell once again into violent fits. Such was the commotion that the jury decided to revise the verdict.
Suspected witch, Deliverance Hobbs, was brought in to testify against Rebecca Nurse. While Nurse was defending herself, she said Hobbs was “one of us”, a statement that many misinterpreted.
While determining if they were to change the verdict, Nurse was questioned on what she meant by “one of us”. Unfortunately, due to her hearing impairment, Nurse did not realize she had been asked a question and just stood there in silence. Her silence was taken as a confirmation of her wickedness and she was sentenced to death.
In a letter written to her children, Nurse clarified she simply meant that Hobbs was also one of the accused.
On July 19, 1692, Rebecca Nurse and four others were brought to the Gallows and hanged. Nurse was buried in a shallow grave after her execution since convicted witches were denied proper Christian burials.
It is said that, once night fell, her family retrieved her body and buried her near the family home. The area surrounding Nurse’s final resting place has since been converted into a cemetery.
Her devastating death became an important turning point in the Salem witch trials as people started to openly discuss their opposition. The madness finally came to an end in May 1693.
One of Nurse’s main accusers, Ann Putnam Jr., apologized publicly for her involvement in the witch trials. Putnam spoke before the Salem Village congregation and expressed how deeply she regretted what she had done.
During her speech, she mentioned Rebecca Nurse and her sisters as one of the accusations she lamented the most. She justified her actions, however, by claiming she had been deceived by the Devil, who made her believe she was actually cursed.
In late 1711, a bill was passed restoring some of the names of the Salem witch trials victims, in which Rebecca Nurse is included. Her family was also awarded a £25 restitution for the wrongful conviction.
Currently, there are markers placed in memory of Rebecca Nurse in both the Salem Witch Trials Memorial and Proctor’s Ledge.
In 1909, the building the Nurse family once called home was purchased by a private association and turned into a museum. To this day, the Rebecca Nurse Homestead and cemetery are open to the public.
Although the exact location of where Rebecca’s body was buried is unknown, a large granite memorial was placed in the Nurse Homestead Cemetery to commemorate the tragic loss.
The Rebecca Nurse Homestead offers daily guided tours showcasing the interior of the dwelling, as well as a reproduction of the Salem Village Meetinghouse where the witch trials were held.
Tours range from 40 minutes to an hour and are offered both in the morning and afternoon.
The Homestead is located on 149 Pine Street in Danvers, Massachusetts. Visit the home for a dose of Salem’s intriguingly dark history and fascinating Colonial architecture.