Rebecca was age 71 when she was executed in 1692. Several people who would become part of her family were also involved. Grandson Samuel Nurse would later marry Dorothy Faulkner who, with her mother, had been imprisoned during the witch trials. Samuel and Dorothy’s daughter, Eunice Nurse, married Benjamin Porter. His grandparents, Israel and Elizabeth (Hathorne) Porter, signed a plea to her father, Judge William Hathorne, to not have Rebecca sentenced to death by hanging.
Here are lines of descent stretching from Rebecca down through the 20th century. These genealogies were compiled during 1992, when the 300th anniversary of the witch trials was observed. Each begins with one of Rebecca’s children.
Descent Through Daughter, Sarah Nurse
- Sarah Nurse married Michael Bowden, 1669
- Francis Bowden married Elizabeth Webster
- Deborah Bowden married Josiah Sanborn, 1770
- Josiah Sanborn Jr. married Olive Fogg, 1793/4
- Peter Sanborn married Phebe Elwell, 1824
- Florinda Sanborn married Samuel A.Haraden ca. 1864
- Amy B. Haraden married William J. Pickance, 1897
- Doris Pickance married William Reineck, 1921
- Thelma E. Reineck married Ward B. Brown in 1942
Thelma’s husband, Ward, descends from Mary (Perkins) Bradbury, who was convicted of witchcraft, but not executed. Thelma and Ward celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1992. That year was also the 300th anniversary of the Salem witchcraft hysteria. They were then living in E. Hampstead, NH.
Descent from Son, Samuel Nurse
- Samuel Nurse married Mary Smith, 1677
- Mary Nurse married Samuel Francis
- Mary Francis married William Tufts, 1749/50
- Sarah Tufts married Asa Richardson, 1781
- Margaret Richardson married Michael Crosby
- Cyrus Crosby married Lois Lane, 1843
- Walter Crosby married Harriet Hertz 1885
- Sam Foster Crosby married Marie Ridgely, 1924
- Lois Ridgely Crosby married Thomas McDonnell, 1945
Lois was living in Whittier, California in 1992
Different Descent from Son, Samuel Nurse
- Samuel Nurse, son of Samuel and Mary (Smith) Nurse, married Dorothy Faulkner in 1708. Dorothy and her mother were jailed during the witchcraft delusion.
- Eunice Nurse married Benjamin Porter, 1739. Benjamin’s grandparents, Israel and Elizabeth (Hathorne) Porter, signed a paper trying to dissuade her father, Judge William Hathorne, from his decision to hang Rebecca (Towne) Nurse
- Francis Porter married Priscilla Hall, 1779
- Martha Porter married Samuel Ransom, 1807
- Susan Ransom married John Briggs Ingersoll
- George Briggs Ingersoll married Alice Harmon, 1874
- Jessie Floy Ingersoll married John Gilson
- George Ingersoll Gilson married Alice Ubbink, 1930
- Susan Alice Gilson married Charles Peterson, 1958
Susan (Gilson) Peterson was living in Ephraim, Wisconsin in 1991.
Another Descent from Son, Samuel Nurse
- George Nurse, son of Samuel and Mary (Smith) Nurse, married Lydia Hutchinson
- Lydia Nurse married Joseph Aborn
- Joseph Aborn married Sarah Silver
- Lucy Aborn married Capt. William Skinner
- Martha Skinner married George Fordyce Blake
- Jennie Blake married Arthur Johnson
- Arthur Johnson Jr. married Helen M. Davis
Arthur Johnson III was living in Toledo, Ohio, in 1992. His mother, Helen Davis, descends from Rebecca (Towne) Nurse’s sister, Mary (Towne) Easty, who was hanged at Salem, MA, Sept. 22, 1692. A third sister, Sarah (Towne) Bridges Cloyce/Cloyes, was never tried. She was the subject of a TV series starring Vanessa Redgrave.
Descent from Son Francis
- Francis Nurse, son of Francis and Rebecca (Towne) Nurse, married Sarah Tarbell, 1685
- Benjamin Nurse married Elizabeth Roberts in 1713 at Reading, MA
- Benjamin Nurse married Martha Marble, 1740
- Martha Nurse married John Lebourveau, 1761
- John Lebourveau married Sarah Stratton, 1802
- Orra Lebourveau married Ovid French, 1825
- William Royal French married Sarah McTier, 1871
- William French Jr. married Martha A. Blatchley
- Shirley French married 1) Floyd E. Dillard, 2) Earl W. Hall, 3) Herbert L. Ogden
Shirley was living in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1992. She also descends from Rebecca’s sister, Sarah (Towne) Bridges Cloyes.
Another Descent from Son Francis Nurse
- Benjamin Nurse, son of Francis and Sarah (Tarbell) Nurse, married Elizabeth Rogers, 1713
- Joshua Nurse married Mary Sampson, 1740
- Abigail Nurse married Ephraim Hayden, 1764
- Lucy Hayden married Asa Howe, 1791
- Lucy Howe married Joseph Smith ca. 1820
- Limah Smith married Charles Bingham Sr., 1845
- Charles Bingham Jr. married Catherine E. Pattee ca. 1881
- Garth Bingham married Laura May Jones, 1919
- Joyce E. Bingham married Robert L. Roy Jr., 1949.
Joyce (Bingham) Roy was living in Newport, Virginia, in 1992
These lineages should only be used as clues by family researchers who are documenting their own genealogy.
A related story is about Rebecca (Towne) Nurse
Source: Lineage charts in the possession of the writer.
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