The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early AmericaEarly on the morning of February 29, 1704, before the settlers of Deerfield, Massachusetts, had stirred from their beds, a French and Indian war party opened fire, wielding hatchets and torches, on the lightly fortified town. What would otherwise have been a fairly commonplace episode of "Queen Anne's War" (as the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the colonies) achieved considerable notoriety in America and abroad. The reason: the Indians had managed to capture, among others, the eminent minister John Williams, his wife, Eunice Mather Williams, and their five children. This Puritan family par excellence, and more than a hundred of their good neighbors, were now at the mercy of "savages"--And the fact that these "savages" were French-speaking converts to Catholicism made the reversal of the rightful order of things no less shocking." "In The Unredeemed Captive, John Demos, Yale historian and winner of the Bancroft Prize for his book Entertaining Satan, tells the story of the minister's captured daughter Eunice, who was seven years old at the time of the Deerfield incident and was adopted by a Mohawk family living at a Jesuit mission-fort near Montreal. Two and a half years later, when Reverend Williams was released and returned to Boston amid much public rejoicing, Eunice remained behind - her Mohawk "master" unwilling to part with her. And so began a decades-long effort, alternately hopeful and demoralizing for her kin, to "redeem" her. Indeed, Eunice became a cause celebre across New England, the subject of edifying sermons, fervent prayers, and urgent envoys between the Massachusetts Bay Colony and New France. But somehow she always remained just out of reach - until eventually, her father's worst fears were confirmed: Eunice was not being held against her will. On the contrary, she had forgotten how to speak English, had married a young Mohawk man, and could not be prevailed upon to return to Deerfield. --Provided by publisher. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - klara333 - LibraryThingThe only interesting part of this book it the beginning, everything else was boring. I would NEVER read this book again, it was horrible. While reading this book I felt that the author was not always focused on the story, he included some information that was totally irrelevant. Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - bks1953 - LibraryThingIn a word: magnificent. A fascianting and often poignant story of a family in very early 18th-century New England, specifically Massachusetts. In February of 1704, the hamlet of Deerfield was ambushed ... Read full review
Contents
Section 1 | 3 |
Section 2 | 11 |
Section 3 | 22 |
Section 4 | 26 |
Section 5 | 40 |
Section 6 | 55 |
Section 7 | 56 |
Section 8 | 77 |
Section 10 | 120 |
Section 11 | 140 |
Section 12 | 167 |
Section 13 | 188 |
Section 14 | 214 |
Section 15 | 237 |
Section 16 | 242 |
Section 17 | 253 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abenakis Albany Arosen August Baker Boston brother Canada Captives Carried captured Charlevoix Chauchetière Christian Colonial Connecticut cultural Cuyler daughter Deerfield Dudley Eleazer Williams Emma Lewis enemy England Captives English Eunice Williams Eunice's example fact father Fitz-John Winthrop folder 9 French friends frontier governor Historical Society History hope husband Ibid Iroquoian Iroquois Jesuits John Williams Jºn Joseph Kellogg journal journey Kahnawake Lafitau LaPrairie later letter living Longmeadow Lord March Mass massacre mission Mohawk Montreal Moreover Narrative noted NYCD October perhaps pray prayers priests prisoners PVMA Mss Quebec reached river Samuel Samuel Partridge Sault St savage Schuyler seemed sermon Sewall Sheldon Sister Eunice Stephen Williams Stephen's diary story SW Diary tion town trade Vaudreuil village visitors Williams Greenfield Williams Papers Williams to Stephen Williams's women wrote ye Indian York
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America |
| Author | John Demos |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Vintage Books, 1995 |
| ISBN | 0679759611, 9780679759614 |
| Length | 315 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / General History / United States / Colonial Period (1600-1775) |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |