| Rebecca Towne (1622-1692) | m. 1644 | Francis Nurse (1619-1697) |
| Francis Nurse (1661-1733) | m. 1685 | Sarah Craggen (?-?) |
| Benajamin Nurse (1690-1761) | m. 1713 | Elizabeth Roberts (1690-1739) |
| Benjamin Nurse (1716-1806) | m. 1740 | Martha Marble (1716-1807) |
| Susanna Nurse (1749-1843) | m. 1772 | Henry Bemis (1750/1-1833) |
| Susannah Bemis (1774-1865) | m. 1790 | Joseph Wheat Morse (1763-1842) |
| Nancy Morse (1791-1871) | m. 1808 | Obadiah Carpenter (1782-1860) |
| George Washington Carpenter (1815-1897) | m. 1838 | Mary Hildreth (1818-1884) |
| Eliza Abby Carpenter (1858-1876) | m. 1875 | John Thomas Girdler (1847-1916) |
| Nellie Eliza Girdler (1876-1964) | m. 1894 | William Magwood (1871-1951) |
| Ethel-Emroye Magwood (1898-1968) | m. 1920 | Ralph Arthur Burns (1897-1976) |
| William Arthur Burns (1931-living) | m. 1954 | Susan Sperry (1932-living) |
| Margo Burns (1957-living) |
I have more information on most of these people in my genealogical database which I have not posted here yet. I would love to hear from anyone else who shares some of these ancestors.
Allan Gilbertson (http://www.wizard.net/~aldonna/home.htm) has kindly pointed me to this information on Sarah Craggen, as wife of Francis Nurse, Jr. He wrote to me:
Francis Nurse Jr.'s wife was not Sarah Tarbell, as shown in a recent article:
Barbara Matthews, "Francis and Sarah (Craggen) Nurse of Reading, Mass.",
The American Genealogist, vol. 69 (Apr 1994), p. 82.
Excerpt from the article:
"Most published Nurse/Nourse family genealogies are based apparently on
John D. Ames's article 'A Genealogy of the Nurse Family' published in Putnam's
Monthly Historical Magazine.... This work incorrectly identifies the first wife
of Francis2 and the second wife of Benjamin3....Even Walter Goodwin Davis...repeats
the statement that Francis2 Nurse married Sarah Tarbell in Salem, Massachusetts,
on 15 January 1685, a marriage not found in published Salem vital records..."
"Charles Henry Wright in 'Thomas Tarbell and Some of His Descendants' published
in 1907 ...used probate information to show that Sarah2 Tarbell (Thomas1) was
the wife of Cornelius Church... and (she) died in her old age without issue..."
"Mrs. Jane E. Palmer of Kensett, Iowa, brought the various inconsistencies
to my attention...."
"The will of John Craggen Sr. of Woburn, (executed 30 May 1704 and proved on
29 November 1708) is quite clear in identifying Francis Nurse of Reading as his son-in-law..."
Return to 17th c. Index Page.
This page was last updated 05/02/21
by Margo Burns, 
.