Davis Uriah I | Born 1707

TOWNE, Rebecca

Female 1621 - 1692  (71 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name TOWNE, Rebecca  [1
    Born 21/21 Feb 1620/1621  Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Died 19 Jul 1692  Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I6269  Uriah Davis I - Genealogy
    Last Modified 21 Jun 2018 

    Father TOWNE, William,   d. 24 Jun 1673, Topsfield, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Mother BLESSING, Joanna,   b. 1599, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1682, Topsfield, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 83 years) 
    Married 25 Mar 1620  Saint Nicholas, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F2409  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family NURSE, Francis,   b. 18/18 Jan 1617/1618, Yarmouth, Bristol County, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 22 Nov 1695, Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 77 years) 
    Married Bef 1645  Probably Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. NURSE, John,   b. 1645, Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1 Dec 1719  (Age 74 years)
     2. NURSE, Rebecca,   b. 1647, Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1719  (Age 72 years)
     3. NURSE, Sarah,   b. 1648, Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     4. NURSE, Samuel,   b. 3/03 Feb 1648/1649, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 15 Jul 1715, Salem Village, Essex, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 66 years)
     5. NURSE, Michael,   b. 1651, Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     6. NURSE, Elizabeth,   b. 9/09 Jan 1655/1656, Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1735  (Age 78 years)
     7. NURSE, Mary,   b. 1657, Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     8. NURSE, Francis,   b. 3/03 Feb 1659/1660, Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 8 Oct 1716  (Age 56 years)
     9. NURSE, Benjamin,   b. 26/26 Jan 1665/1666, Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1748  (Age 81 years)
     10. NURSE,   b. 1667, Salem Village, Essex County, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
    Last Modified 24 Jun 2018 
    Family ID F2396  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Accused and hanged for being a witch. After her death she was not alloweda Christian burial a nd her body was taken off the gallows and thrown intoa crevice. Such was the custom not to gi ve the accused a Christianburial. The family of Rebecca went out by boat in the middle of th e nightto retrieve her body. They buried her near the family home, however theydid not mark t he grave for over 100 years, fearing the grave might bedesecrated.
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      Rebecca was in the eyes of those who knew her well the very essence ofwhat a Puritan mother s hould be. Deeply pious, she was so steeped inScripture that the country roughness of her spee ch - she had a Chaucerianfondness for triple negatives - was often shot through with a poetic alScriptural quality. It was not merely a matter of lugging in texts, but adeep, instinctiv e poetry of feeling that overflowed into her simple,pregnant speech. When Rebecca spoke it wa s as if one of the grand womenof the Old Testament were speaking Naomi or Ruth amid alien cor n (Rebeccaherself remembered her birthplace, Yarmouth, England), or the belovedRachel, or ind eed her own namesake.
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      In her home life she had resembled the wise woman of Proverbs, and herchildren she had reare d with loving devotion to both their spiritual andtemporal welfare. Now in her old age they r ose up and called her blessed,not only her four sons and four daughters, but what perhaps th e supermost tribute, her three sons-in-law and four daughters-in-law.
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      This is not to say that she was altogether a saint. Even the Bible women,as anyone can discov er by examining Scripture closely, had their offdays. The years had made Rebecca hard of hear ing and infirm; when she wasill and did not clearly understand what was said to her, she coul dsometimes lose her temper.
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      Rebecca was one of 19 hanged as witches in the infamous Salem WitchTrials. Her trial is mos t often cited for the injustice of this tryingperiod.
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      Rebecca's sisters, Mary Towne Estey and Sarah Towne Bridges Cloyce weretried for witchcraft . Mary Estey was executed and Sarah Cloyce wasfinally released from prison after suffering gr eatly.

  • Sources 
    1. [S186] The Devil in Massachusetts', 1989, Marion L. Starkey, p 78-84, 159-165,175-176, 189. 'Salem Possessed, The Social Origin.