The Rebecca Nurse Monument is a memorial dedicated to Salem Witch Trials victim Rebecca Nurse in Danvers, Massachusetts.
Erected in the spring of 1885, the monument is located in the Nurse family burying ground at the Rebecca Nurse Homestead. The body of Rebecca Nurse is believed to be buried in an unmarked grave somewhere near the monument.
The monument is an 8-foot-tall granite obelisk made of Quincy granite. The foundation of the monument was laid in cement, and the base and cap are made of Rockport granite.
The front of the monument is inscribed with the following words by John G. Whittier:
“Rebecca Nurse, Yarmouth, England, 1621, Salem, Mass, 1692,. O Christian Martyr! Who for truth could die, when all about thee owned the hideous lie! The world, redeemed from superstitions sway, is breathing freer for thy sake today.”
The back of the monument is inscribed with the following words, also by John G. Whittier:
“Accused of witchcraft she declared, ‘I am innocent, and God will clear my innocency.’
Once acquitted, yet falsely condemned, she suffered death July 19, 1692.
In loving memory of Christian character, even then fully attested by forty of her neighbors, this monument is erected.”
The monument was designed by Walter B. Nourse of Worcester and was built by N.P. Clark of Salem for $350. The engraving cost a total of $527. The monument was paid for by the Rebecca Nurse Monument Association, who started raising funds for the project in 1882.
The monument was dedicated on July 13, 1885, in a ceremony held during the third annual Nurse family gathering.
Services were held at the First Parish Church at noon, followed by the ceremony at the Rebecca Nurse Homestead. Around 600 to 700 people attended the ceremony, which consisted of an invocation by Rev. Dr. Bolles of Salem, reports of the Treasurer and Monument Committee of the Association, a reading of letters from John G. Whittier and W.P. Upham, a prayer of dedication by Rev. Hiram Putnam, and a benediction by Reverend Israel.
W.P. Upham, a member of the Monument Committee, unveiled the monument, and Benjamin B. Nourse, president of the Nurse Association, accepted it.
Attendees included Deacon Samuel B. Buttrick, of the First Church of Salem, who brought with him the first book of records of the First Congregational Church of Salem from 1629 to 1736, in which the excommunication of Rebecca Nurse was recorded.
The monument still stands today in the Nurse family burying ground at the Rebecca Nurse Homestead.
Sources:
“A Witch’s Monument.” The Boston Globe, 31 July 1885, p. 4.
“A Witch’s Monument.” The Lynn Bee, 31 Jul. 1885, p. 1.
“A Martyr’s Monument.” The Boston Globe, 26 Jul. 1885, p. 4.
“One of the Salem Martyrs.” News and Citizen, 27 Aug. 1885, p. 4.
“Rebecca Nurse.” The Salem Gazette, 31 Jul. 1885, p. 2.
“The Monument.” Danvers Mirror, 1 Aug. 1885, p. 2.
“Historic Monument Detail: DAN.905 Nurse, Rebecca Monument.” MACRIS, mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=DAN.905