A Salem Witch: The Trial, Execution, and Exoneration of Rebecca Nurse a discussion by Daniel Gagnon

ABOUT THE PRESENTATION: Historian Daniel A. Gagnon will discuss his biography of Salem Witch Trials victim Rebecca Nurse, A Salem Witch: The Trial, Execution, and Exoneration of Rebecca Nurse. In this first full account of Nurse's life, he explores 17th-Century Salem, Nurse's role in the events of 1692, and challenges previous interpretations of the 1692 Salem Witch-Hunt.

Through primary source research, he reveals how the Nurse family’s role in several disputes prior to the witch hunt was different than previously thought, as well as how Nurse’s case helps answer the important question of whether the accusations of witchcraft were caused by mental illness or malicious intent. A Salem Witch reveals a remarkable woman whose legacy has transformed how the witch hunt has been remembered and memorialized.

ABOUT THE PRESENTOR: Daniel Gagnon is the author of A Salem Witch: The Trial, Execution, and Exoneration of Rebecca Nurse. He serves on the board of directors of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead Museum in Danvers, is a member of the Danvers Historical Society, and is Chairman of the Town of Danvers’ Salem Village Historic District Commission. He has shared his research through many in-person and online programs, including C-SPAN’s television program American History TV, and has served as a subject-matter expert for local media.  A high school history teacher on the North Shore, he received a BA in history from Providence College and an MA in history from Boston College.

​Sponsored by the Friends of the Sandwich Public Library