Rebecca Nurse

A fictional illustration of the trial of Rebecca Nurse

Between February of 1692 and May 1693 a witch finding hysteria that

occurred in Massachusetts, America. These are known as the Salem witch trials because a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several old women in the colony. The trials resulted in twenty executions, one of the so called 'witches' was seventy- one years old Rebecca Nurse.

Rebecca Nurse was a devout Christian and a kindly family woman, as well as being the pillar of the community. She was born in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk and went on the Mayflower voyage to New England (aka America). Rebecca's parents were William and Joanna Towne. William and Joanna also had three other daughters- Susan (died aged five), Mary (executed alongside her sister during the Salem witch trials) and Sarah (who was also convicted but survived and defended her innocent sisters but failed and was excommunicated along with the Nurses); they also had three sons called Edmund, Jacob and Joseph. She married Francis Nurse in 1644. The couple went on to have nine children and fifty- eight grandchildren!

By the time of her conviction, Rebecca Nurse was an old woman described as frail and an invalid. Being a devout Protestant the community were very shocked at the accusation of old Rebecca! At first, the jury proclaimed her 'not guilty', which enraged the families of girls who claimed to be possessed. Feeling pressured, the jury and judge then proclaimed her guilty and the Nurses were sentenced to ex- communication and Rebecca was sentenced to die by hanging. The weak Rebecca was hanged on 19th June 1692 and witnesses say that she died a dignified Christian death. During the trails, twenty innocent people, fourteen of which were women, were killed because of some foolish beliefs of some foolish girls.