Posted on Jun 7, 2021
Celebrating The 400th Birthday Of Salem Witch Trials Victim Rebecca Nurse
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In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” the playwright notes that “gentleness exudes from” a sick, elderly woman named Rebecca Nurse.
At age 71, Nurse became the oldest woman killed at the Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693. About 200 people were tried for witchcraft in Puritan New England and 19 of them, mostly women, were hanged for the crime.
At age 71, Nurse became the oldest woman killed at the Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693. About 200 people were tried for witchcraft in Puritan New England and 19 of them, mostly women, were hanged for the crime.
Celebrating The 400th Birthday Of Salem Witch Trials Victim Rebecca Nurse
Posted from wbur.org
Danvers
Salem
American History
Religion
Christianity
Posted 3 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
Now, many people claim Nurse and the other victims as ancestors.
Nurse’s home in Danvers, Massachusetts, is now a museum. When the Rebecca Nurse Homestead invited people to send cards for her 400th birthday, they were stunned at how many came in, mostly from her descendants.
The Rebecca Nurse Homestead is the only home of someone executed during the witch trials that’s open to the public. Kathryn Rutkowski, curator and president of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, says two types of people come to visit: People fascinated with the witch trials and descendants of Nurse from across the country and beyond.
When she started working at the homestead at age 14, Rutkowski was surprised to see so many descendants as someone who isn’t related to anyone from the colonial era. And now, people can easily learn about their ancestry.
The list of descendants of Nurse includes former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, “Scrubs” actor Zach Braff and “I Love Lucy” star Lucille Ball.
“The majority of the people that come in day to day are ancestors,” she says, “and even sometimes [they] find out that the same people visiting are from the same line and they're cousins.”
Now, many people claim Nurse and the other victims as ancestors.
Nurse’s home in Danvers, Massachusetts, is now a museum. When the Rebecca Nurse Homestead invited people to send cards for her 400th birthday, they were stunned at how many came in, mostly from her descendants.
The Rebecca Nurse Homestead is the only home of someone executed during the witch trials that’s open to the public. Kathryn Rutkowski, curator and president of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, says two types of people come to visit: People fascinated with the witch trials and descendants of Nurse from across the country and beyond.
When she started working at the homestead at age 14, Rutkowski was surprised to see so many descendants as someone who isn’t related to anyone from the colonial era. And now, people can easily learn about their ancestry.
The list of descendants of Nurse includes former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, “Scrubs” actor Zach Braff and “I Love Lucy” star Lucille Ball.
“The majority of the people that come in day to day are ancestors,” she says, “and even sometimes [they] find out that the same people visiting are from the same line and they're cousins.”
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