Eunice Williams
| Eunice Kanenstenhawi Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 September 1696 Deerfield, Massachusetts |
| Died | November 26, 1785 (aged 89) Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada |
Eunice Williams, also known as Marguerite Kanenstenhawi Arosen, (17 September 1696 – 26 November 1785) was an English colonist taken captive by French and Mohawk warriors as a seven-year-old girl from Deerfield, Massachusetts in 1704. Taken to Canada with more than 100 other captives, she was adopted by a Catholic Mohawk family at Kahnawake and became fully assimilated into the tribe. She was baptized Catholic under the name Marguerite and named A'ongonte meaning "she has been planted as a person." She married François-Xavier Arosen, a Mohawk man, had a family with him, and chose to stay with the Mohawk for the rest of her life. Although never returning to Massachusetts to live permanently, she did meet her American family several times for extended visits. Her father, the Puritan minister John Williams and her brother Samuel made continuing efforts to ransom and to persuade her to return to Massachusetts. Hers was one of the more famous Indian captivity stories.
Eunice Williams was born on 17 September 1696, the daughter of the Puritan minister John Williams and his wife Eunice Mather Williams. On 29 February 1704, the Williams' home was attacked during a raid on the settlement led by French and allied Abenaki and Mohawk fighters. Later called the Deerfield Massacre, the event was part of a series of raids and conflicts between the French and English, and their Indian allies, during Queen Anne's War in the early 18th century.
The Indians killed numerous settlers in their houses, including Eunice's six-week-old sister Jerusha and younger brother John Williams, Jr. They took captive more than 100 settlers, including 7-year-old Eunice, her parents, and four of her siblings. The captives were taken on a strenuous march northward. The next day, a Mohawk warrior killed her mother after she fell while crossing the icy waters of the Green River. Others of the youngest and oldest captives were killed if they could not keep up with the large party.
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