Francis Nurse (1618-1695)

Early New England immigrant and settler in Salem, MA. Here Francis met and married his wife, Rebecca Blessing Towne. She was persecuted and hanged at the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, leaving Francis to die a widower three years after.

Vital Statistics

 * Daughter of William Towne (1599-1685) and Joanna Blessing (1595-1682)
 * 1621-Feb-21 : Birth in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England -
 * 1637-April : Immigration (age 16) to America with parents on Rose of Yarmouth.
 * 1644-Aug-24 : Marriage to Rebecca Towne (1621-1692) at Salem Village, Massachusetts Colony
 * 1692-Jul-19: Death by hanging - Salem Witch Trials - age 71.

Biography
There is much less information on Rebecca's husband Francis Nurse. He was born January 18, 1618 in England and died November 22, 1695 in Salem Village. He and Rebecca married August 24, 1644 at Salem. Francis had appeared in Salem in about 1640 at about the age of 19. He was described as "a youth," possibly an indentured servant. The first mention of him in Salem, lightly crossed out in court records, (probably by a sensitive descendant), is the presentment on March 31, 1640, of "Francis Nurse a youth for stealing of victualls (food) and for suspicion of breaking (into) a house."After Francis and Rebecca married, they lived for the next 30 years in the more thickly settled part of Salem, "near Skerry's" not far from where the bridge now crosses to Beverley. By trade he was a tray maker and artisan and in addition, he worked a small farm.

Around 1645, she married Francis Nurse, who had also been born in England, some time between 1618 and 1620. Her husband was a "tray maker" by trade, who likely made many other wooden household items. Due to the rarity of such household goods, artisans of that medium were considered esteemed. In 1672, Francis served as Salem's Constable. Together the couple had eight children, four daughters and four sons. 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.

The family of Rebecca Nurse and other victims forced Reverend Samuel Parris to leave Salem in 1697.

Children or Rebecca Towne and Francis Nurse:
They had eight children, Benjamin, Michael, Rebecca, John, Samuel, Sarah, Mary and Francis.


 * John Nurse (1645-1719) - Married Elizabeth Smith - Salem Village
 * Rebecca Nurse (1648-1719) - Married Thomas Preston - Salem Village
 * Samuel Nurse (1649-1715) - Salem Village
 * Michael Nurse (1651-?) -
 * Sarah Nurse (1652-1699) - Married Michael Bowden - Salem Village
 * Mary Nurse (1659-1749) - Married John Tarbell - Salem Village
 * Francis Nurse (1661-1715) - Married Sarah Cragen - Salem Village
 * Benjamin Nurse (1666-1757) - Married Thomasin Smith at Salem Village

References:

 * http://www.peraugust.com/nurse_witch_project.htm - Nurse Witch Project
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials - Wikipedia Article for Salem Witch Trials -
 * Rebecca Nurse - Wikipedia Biography of Rebecca Towne Nurse
 * http://www.rebeccanurse.org/RNH/nursehomestead.htm - Rebecca Nurse Homestead
 * http://www.townefolk.com/ - The Towne Family Association