Rebecca Nurse was the daughter of William Towne and Joanna Blessing.
The following information is taken from various web sources about the Towne Family. There is an association of the Towne Family with about 50,000 names listed. In addition, there is a Gen Forum page devoted to the Townes.
There seems to be disagreement with respect to the grandparents of Rebecca Towne Nurse, probably due to confusion about which William Towne was which. This was posted by Carrie Bodensteiner (http://genforum.familytreemaker.com/towne/messages/73.html): however there was a followup questionning the father of William Towne: "Are you sure of William Towne's parents? My notes show him as the son of either John Towne and Elizabeth Clarke or Richard Towne and Ann Denton, and I have not found anything that would show which lineage is the more reliable. If he is definitely the son of John and Elizabeth, I would like to know. " with a reply "From Vol XVII June 1997 ABOUT TOWNE Article entitled "Who Were William Towne's Parents Written by Jim Roome, Hist. indicates that Norfolk Record Office in Norwich, Eng. found an entry in the Parish Register for the St. Nicholas Parish Church of Yarmouth: "William jTowne, baptized 18th March 1598/99, son of John and Elizabeth. His marriage to Joanna and the baptism of six of their children are also recorded in the parish register."
However, Rebecca (Towne) Dubois noted that "William Towne (b. 21 May 1603) of St. Nicholas, Yarmouth, Norfolkshire, England. emigrated to America in about 1635. William was father of Rebecca Towne Nurse, Sarah Cloyes, and Mary Easty all of whom were convicted in the Salem witch trials of the 1690's. He was father of eight children. "
Descendants of John TOWNE 1 John TOWNE . +Elizabeth CLARKE m: September 20, 1597 ........ 2 William TOWNE b: 1598 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England d: June 24, 1673 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts ............ +Joanna BLESSING b: 1599 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, , England m: April 20, 1620 in St. Nicholas church in Yarmouth, England d: 1682 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts Father: William BLYSSYNGE ................... 3 Rebecca TOWNE b: 1622 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England d: July 19, 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, hanged as a witch ....................... +Francis NURSE ................... 3 Mary TOWNE b: 1634 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England d: September 22, 1692 in Gallows Hill, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts (hanged as a witch) ....................... +Isaac ESTEY b: November 1627 in Freston, Suffolk, , England m: 1658 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England d: 1711 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts Father: Jeffrey ESTEY Mother: Margaret PITT .............................. 4 Isaac ESTEY b: Abt. 1656 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts d: April 1714 in Lynn, Massachusetts .................................. +Abigail KIMBALL b: March 22, 1666/67 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts m: October 14, 1689 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts d: February 12, 1760 in Reading, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts Father: John KIMBALL Mother: Mary JORDAN ......................................... 5 [2] Abigail ESTEY b: Abt. January 08, 1692/93 d: January 10, 1729/30 in of smallpox ............................................. +[1] Joseph CUMMINGS b: Bef. January 26, 1689/90 in Topsfield, Essex County, Massachusetts m: May 22, 1712 d: December 24, 1729 in of smallpox Father: John CUMMINGS Mother: Susannah TOWNE .................................................... 6 [3] Moses CUMMINGS b: October 09, 1726 in prob Massachusetts ........................................................ +[4] Esther ADAMS b: Abt. 1730 m: Aft. November 02, 1754 ................... 3 Joseph TOWNE b: 1639 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts d: in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts ....................... +Phebe PERKINS b: 1644 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts m: 1665 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts d: 1680 Father: Thomas PERKINS Mother: Phebe GOULD .............................. 4 Susannah TOWNE b: December 24, 1670 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts d: September 13, 1766 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts .................................. +John CUMMINGS b: June 07, 1666 in Topsfield, Essex Co, Massachusetts m: January 23, 1687/88 d: Abt. June 1722 in Topsfield, Essex Co, Massachusetts Father: Isaac CUMMINGS Mother: Mary ANDREWS ......................................... 5 [1] Joseph CUMMINGS b: Bef. January 26, 1689/90 in Topsfield, Essex County, Massachusetts d: December 24, 1729 in of smallpox ............................................. +[2] Abigail ESTEY b: Abt. January 08, 1692/93 m: May 22, 1712 d: January 10, 1729/30 in of smallpox Father: Isaac ESTEY Mother: Abigail KIMBALL .................................................... 6 [3] Moses CUMMINGS b: October 09, 1726 in prob Massachusetts ........................................................ +[4] Esther ADAMS b: Abt. 1730 m: Aft. November 02, 1754 ................... 3 Sarah TOWNE b: 1648 in Salem, Massachusetts ....................... +Peter CLOYSE