I wanted to quickly share my experience of discovering that I am descended from Rebecca Nurse. I was thrilled when I first made the connection, having always been interested in the history of the Trials, so on my next vacation, I planned a trip to Salem. Salem is a strange place to me. It is easy to get caught up in the "fun", almost theme-park like atmosphere of parts of Salem, with all the wax museums, gift shops and witch silhouettes everywhere. I felt a distinctly bizarre surrealism that all of this "witchy" tourist environment was really a result of a horrible tragedy. When I really began to feel that surrealism was when I visited Salem area a second time and went to the Nurse Homestead in Danvers. I stood in Rebecca's very bedroom, where she was lying ill when friends came to tell her that she had been accused. As I listened to the guide tell the story, I realized that I was touching the doorjamb, and that she had doubtless touched that very same piece of wood thousands of times while she lived in that house and raised her children. Suddenly it became very real to me as I stood in her bedroom that Rebecca had been a real person, just like me, trying to take care of her family and live her life in the best way she knew how. The terrible tragedy of her accusation, arrest, and eventual conviction and execution really touched me in a personal way. It was a beautiful and moving experience, and I feel very changed by the sudden ability to truly appreciate the Trials for the tragedy that they were, rather than the dry facts that I had read in history books. I am still excited to be descended from such a brave woman, and love to tell people about it, but I always make sure to also explain some of the surrounding circumstances so that people can really get more of an emotional sense of what the Trials must have been like. So, I completely understand how exciting it is to find so much information on an ancestor! And I feel very thankful that I have also been able to experience some of the history in an almost personal way. I also think that we are blessed, as descendants of the Trial participants, because there *is* so much information available, and we can learn so much more about these particular ancestors and what they and their lives were like. Since my last trip, I have discovered that I am also descended from Sarah Cloyce, and Susannah Martin's husband through his first wife. I am eager to go back to Essex County again and really try to learn more about the personal lives of these folks. That is what really brings everything home for me. -Tamara __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs http://www.hotjobs.com