Francis Nurse Jr. (1661 - 1716)

Born 3 Feb 1661 in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 5 Feb 1716 at age 55 in Reading, Middlesex County, Massachusetts Bay Province

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Disputed Spouse

David L. Davies CompuServe #74074,3052:

"Many esteemed genealogists have got it wrong that Francis Jr. married Sarah Tarbell. He married Sarah Craggen, a daughter of John Craggen & Sarah Dawes."

He wrote the following in his publication "Anthrogenealistory" Vol. 2 No. 1 December 25, 1995:

"Rebecca Nurse.. her son Francis moved to Reading after the hanging and married Sarah Tarbell, or so thought many esteemed genealogists. In 1994, however, genealogical investigator Barbara Mathews (on a case for a Mrs. Jane E. Palmer of Kensett, Iowa)... In "The American Genealogist" she set forth convincing proof that Sarah Tarbell had in fact married Cornelius Church and that our 'Sarah' was one Sarah Craggen. Sarah Craggen's father John set forth very clearly in his last Will of 30 May 1704 that Francis was his son-in-law. John Craggen married Sarah Dawes in Woburn on 4 Novembre 1661, and they had eight children of whom Sarah was the second."

Biography

Francis Nurse Jr. has English ancestors.

Francis Nurse was the son of Francis Nurse and Rebecca Towne, born in Salem Village on February 3, 1660-1^[1]

He married Sarah Craggen on January 16, 1685 in Salem^[2]

It appears that after the court-sanctioned murder of his mother, Francis and some of his sisters joined the church in Reading; is the "Sarah Nurse" listed here his sister or his wife?:

[1693] May Eliz. Russell, Sarah Nurse, Francis Nurse, Mary Brown owned ye covenant.^[3]

Children, all born and died in Reading, except as noted,:^[4]

• Francis Nurse (1686 - 1686)
• Francis Nurse (1688 - 1733), married Martha Hartshorn in Salem in 1717
• Benjamin Nurse (1690 - 1760), married Elizabeth Roberts in Salem in 1713, removed to Harvard, and then Rutland.
• Jonathan Nurse (1692 - 1717), married Abigail Hornden in Salem in 1713
• Josiah Nurse (1694 - 1718), married Mary Eaton in Salem in 1716
• Joshua Nurse (1695 - 1717), birth not recorded in Reading
• Sarah Nurse Sawyer (1697 - ____), died elsewhere
• Caleb Nurse (1702 - 1727)
• Nathaniel Nurse (1704 - 1717), birth not recorded in Reading
• Abigail Nurse Eames (1706 - 1786), birth not recorded in Reading

Francis Nurse died in Reading on February 5, 1715-6^[5]

Burial: Burying Point Cemetery, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Essex, Vital Records of Salem Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849, Vol. 2, p. 115: "Frances, son of Frances and Rebecka: 3: 12m: 1660". Old-style date translates to February 3, 1661 new-style.
2. ↑ Torrey, New England Marriages prior to 1700, p. 541: "Francis Nurse (1661-1716) & Sarah Cragin, Woburn? b(efore) 1686 (7?); Reading". Primary source for that marriage not yet found in records of Salem or other likely towns
3. ↑ "Church Records of the old town of Reading, Massachusetts," in The Essex Genealogist, (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2018.), vol 9, p 74 (membership required)
4. ↑ http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Middlesex/Reading/Images/Reading_D545.gif, pages 165 & 545
5. ↑ Middlesex, Vital Records of Reading, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, p. 545
6. ↑ Francis Nurse, Jr (1660-1716) on Find A Grave: Memorial #60569542 Retrieved 17 January, 2018. , Created by: Bob Brien, Record added: Oct 24, 2010

• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHLT-CBG : 4 December 2014), Frances Nurse, 03 Feb 1660; citing Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, ; FHL microfilm 877,468.

• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQD7-W85 : 4 December 2014), Frances Nurse, 03 Feb 1660; citing SALEM,ESSEX,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 874,031, 874,032, 874,033.

• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZDS-S8X : 4 December 2014), Francis Nurse in entry for Francis Nurse, 10 March 1686; citing READING,MIDDLESEX,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873745 IT 2.

• http://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Middlesex/Reading/DeathsN.shtml

• • page 545

• • "Francis, February 5, 1715-6."

Acknowledgements

Nurse-224 was created by John Roberts through the import of Tree of John Roberts, Jr and Tiffani Mailloux_2014-04-01.ged on April 1, 2014.