Susannah Willard Johnson
| Susannah Willard Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Susannah Willard February 20, 1729/30 Turkey Hills, Lunenburg, Massachusetts |
| Died | November 27, 1810 (aged 80–81) Langdon, New Hampshire |
| Resting place | Forest Hill Cemetery, East St., Charlestown, New Hampshire |
| Other names | Susannah Willard Hastings Susannah Johnson Hastings |
| Occupation | Memoirist, diarist |
| Notable work | A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson (only known extant work) |
Susannah Willard Johnson (February 20, 1729/30 – November 27, 1810) was an Anglo-American woman who was captured with her family during an Abenaki Indian raid on Charlestown, New Hampshire in August 1754, just after the outbreak of the French and Indian War. Johnson and her family were marched for weeks through the wilderness of New England and Quebec before arriving at the Abenaki village in Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec. The Johnsons were held for ransom until being sold off into slavery to the French.
After her release in 1758, Johnson returned to her home in Charlestown. Beginning in 1796, she recorded a full account of her ordeal. The first edition of her narrative was composed by John Curtis Chamberlain (using information from Johnson's oral testimony and notes) and appeared in small circulation later that year; subsequent editions were revised and edited by Johnson and published in 1807, and posthumously in 1814. Her harrowing memoir, although not the first work in the captivity narrative genre, was among the most widely read and studied accounts. It was republished numerous times in following years. Elizabeth George Speare's 1957 historical fiction children's novel, Calico Captive, was inspired by Johnson's story.
Susannah Willard was born in Turkey Hills, Lunenburg, Massachusetts to Lieutenant Moses Willard, Sr. (c. 1702 – June 18, 1756) and Susanna (née Hastings) Willard (April 4, 1710 – May 5, 1797). Her father, who was killed in 1756 by Indians while repairing a fence, was a descendant of Major Simon Willard, an early settler who had negotiated and purchased Concord, Massachusetts from the local Native Americans. Susannah Johnson's mother was a descendant of Thomas Hastings, an English puritan who had immigrated to New England in 1634 during the Great Migration.
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