John Williams (Reverend)
Encyclopedia
John Williams was a New England Puritan
minister who became famous for The Redeemed Captive, his account of his captivity by the Mohawk
after the Deerfield Massacre
during Queen Anne's War
. He was an uncle of the notable pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards.
His first wife Eunice Mather was a niece of Rev Increase Mather
and a cousin of Rev. Cotton Mather
and was related to Rev. John Cotton.
in 1664. Son of Samuel Williams (1632–98) and Theoda Park (1637–1718). His grandfather Robert had immigrated there from England about 1638. John had local schooling. Later he attended Harvard College
, where he graduated in 1683.
. The frontier town in western Massachusetts was vulnerable to the attacks of the Native Americans and their French
allies from Canada. The local Pocumtuc resisted the colonists' encroachment on their hunting grounds and agricultural land. In the early 18th century, French and English national competition resulted in frequent raids between New England and Canada, with each colonial power allying with various Native American tribes to enlarge their fighting forces.
In 1702, with the outbreak of Queen Anne's War
, New England colonists had taken prisoner a successful French pirate, Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste
. To gain his return, the French governor of Canada
planned to raid Deerfield, in alliance with the Mohawk
of the Iroquois
, Abenaki from northeast New England and the Pocumtuc. They intended to capture a prisoner of equal value to exchange. Raiding Deerfield, they captured Williams, prominent in the community, and more than 100 other English settlers.
On the night of 28 February 1704, approximately 300 French and Indian soldiers took 109 citizens captive, besides killing a total of 56 men, women and children, including two of Williams' children (six-year-old son John Jr., and six-week-old daughter Jerushah) and his African slave Parthena. The raiding party led the Williams and other families on a march over 300 miles (482.8 km) of winter landscape to Canada. En route to Quebec, a Mohawk killed Williams' wife after she fell while trying to cross a creek, along with Frank, another African slave. Others of the most vulnerable older and youngest people died, some at the hands of Indians who judged them unable to go on. Williams remained steadfast and encouraged the other captives with prayer and Scripture along their journey to Quebec. The large party had seven weeks of hard overland travel to reach Fort Chambly
.
While captive, Williams recorded his impressions of French colonial life in New France; Jesuit missionaries included him at their table for meals, and he was often given comfortable lodgings, including a feather bed. Upon Pierre Maisonnat's release from Boston, Williams was released by Quebec Governor Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil
and returned to Boston on 21 November 1706, along with about 60 other captives. Among them were four of his children.
Williams was forced to leave in Quebec his daughter Eunice
, then ten years old, who had been adopted by a Mohawk family in Kahnawake, a Jesuit mission village. She took the place of their child who had died from smallpox
. Eunice became thoroughly assimilated, learning the Mohawk language and ways. Because the French colonial government depended on their alliance with the Mohawk, they would not take by force children whom the Indians had adopted. Eunice was baptized as a Catholic
and took the name Marguerite in 1710. She also was given a Mohawk name as a child, and as an adult, was given the name Kanenstenhawi. At age 16, Kanenstenhawi married François-Xavier Arosen, a Mohawk man of 25. They had three children together.
Williams and his other four children returned to Deerfield. There he resumed his pastoral charge in the latter part of 1706 and lived there until his death in 1729. He made efforts to keep in touch with Eunice and continued to try to persuade her to return to Massachusetts, as did her brother.
Williams was a minister of the favored New England Puritans in the same era as Samuel Willard
, Increase Mather
, Cotton Mather
, Edward Taylor
, and Solomon Stoddard
. He died shortly before the rise of the Great Awakening
.
He published several sermons, and a narrative of his captivity called The Redeemed Captive (Boston, 1707). Because of his standing in the colony, his account was one of the more well-known of the numerous Indian captivity narratives published during the colonial period. The 19th-century author James Fenimore Cooper
drew on Williams' account as inspiration for his novel, The Last of the Mohicans
.
Williams died in Deerfield in 1729. It was not until 1741 that Eunice and her husband went to Massachusetts for the first time, persuaded by her brother's efforts to keep in touch. She made two other visits, including an extended one with her children, but lived in Kahnawake for the rest of her life.
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
minister who became famous for The Redeemed Captive, his account of his captivity by the Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
after the Deerfield Massacre
Deerfield massacre
The Raid on Deerfield occurred during Queen Anne's War on February 29, 1704, when French and Native American forces under the command of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville attacked the English settlement at Deerfield, Massachusetts just before dawn, burning part of the town and killing 56...
during Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
. He was an uncle of the notable pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards.
His first wife Eunice Mather was a niece of Rev Increase Mather
Increase Mather
Increase Mather was a major figure in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay . He was a Puritan minister who was involved with the government of the colony, the administration of Harvard College, and most notoriously, the Salem witch trials...
and a cousin of Rev. Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather, FRS was a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author and pamphleteer; he is often remembered for his role in the Salem witch trials...
and was related to Rev. John Cotton.
Early life and education
John Williams was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts Bay ColonyMassachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
in 1664. Son of Samuel Williams (1632–98) and Theoda Park (1637–1718). His grandfather Robert had immigrated there from England about 1638. John had local schooling. Later he attended Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, where he graduated in 1683.
Career
Williams was ordained to the ministry in 1688, and settled as the first pastor in DeerfieldDeerfield, Massachusetts
Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,750 as of the 2000 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area in Western Massachusetts, lying only north of the city of Springfield.Deerfield includes the...
. The frontier town in western Massachusetts was vulnerable to the attacks of the Native Americans and their French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
allies from Canada. The local Pocumtuc resisted the colonists' encroachment on their hunting grounds and agricultural land. In the early 18th century, French and English national competition resulted in frequent raids between New England and Canada, with each colonial power allying with various Native American tribes to enlarge their fighting forces.
In 1702, with the outbreak of Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
, New England colonists had taken prisoner a successful French pirate, Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste
Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste
Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste was a French privateer famous for the success he had against New England merchant shipping and fishing interests. Baptiste's crew members were primarily Acadians....
. To gain his return, the French governor of Canada
Canada, New France
Canada was the name of the French colony that once stretched along the St. Lawrence River; the other colonies of New France were Acadia, Louisiana and Newfoundland. Canada, the most developed colony of New France, was divided into three districts, each with its own government: Quebec,...
planned to raid Deerfield, in alliance with the Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
of the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
, Abenaki from northeast New England and the Pocumtuc. They intended to capture a prisoner of equal value to exchange. Raiding Deerfield, they captured Williams, prominent in the community, and more than 100 other English settlers.
On the night of 28 February 1704, approximately 300 French and Indian soldiers took 109 citizens captive, besides killing a total of 56 men, women and children, including two of Williams' children (six-year-old son John Jr., and six-week-old daughter Jerushah) and his African slave Parthena. The raiding party led the Williams and other families on a march over 300 miles (482.8 km) of winter landscape to Canada. En route to Quebec, a Mohawk killed Williams' wife after she fell while trying to cross a creek, along with Frank, another African slave. Others of the most vulnerable older and youngest people died, some at the hands of Indians who judged them unable to go on. Williams remained steadfast and encouraged the other captives with prayer and Scripture along their journey to Quebec. The large party had seven weeks of hard overland travel to reach Fort Chambly
Fort Chambly
Fort Chambly is a historic fort in the Canadian La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. The fort is designated as a National Historic Site. Fort Richelieu was part of a series of five forts built along the Richelieu River. Fort Richelieu is at the mouth of the Richelieu River....
.
While captive, Williams recorded his impressions of French colonial life in New France; Jesuit missionaries included him at their table for meals, and he was often given comfortable lodgings, including a feather bed. Upon Pierre Maisonnat's release from Boston, Williams was released by Quebec Governor Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil
Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil
Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil was a French politician, who was Governor-general of New France from 1703 to 1725....
and returned to Boston on 21 November 1706, along with about 60 other captives. Among them were four of his children.
Williams was forced to leave in Quebec his daughter Eunice
Eunice Kanenstenhawi Williams
Eunice Williams, also known as Marguerite Kanenstenhawi Arosen, was an English colonist taken captive by French and Mohawk warriors as a seven-year-old girl from Deerfield, Massachusetts in 1704...
, then ten years old, who had been adopted by a Mohawk family in Kahnawake, a Jesuit mission village. She took the place of their child who had died from smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
. Eunice became thoroughly assimilated, learning the Mohawk language and ways. Because the French colonial government depended on their alliance with the Mohawk, they would not take by force children whom the Indians had adopted. Eunice was baptized as a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
and took the name Marguerite in 1710. She also was given a Mohawk name as a child, and as an adult, was given the name Kanenstenhawi. At age 16, Kanenstenhawi married François-Xavier Arosen, a Mohawk man of 25. They had three children together.
Williams and his other four children returned to Deerfield. There he resumed his pastoral charge in the latter part of 1706 and lived there until his death in 1729. He made efforts to keep in touch with Eunice and continued to try to persuade her to return to Massachusetts, as did her brother.
Williams was a minister of the favored New England Puritans in the same era as Samuel Willard
Samuel Willard
Reverend Samuel Willard was a Colonial clergyman. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts; graduated at Harvard in 1659; and was minister at Groton from 1663 to 1676, whence he was driven by the Indians during King Philip's War. The Reverend Willard was pastor of the Third Church, Boston, from...
, Increase Mather
Increase Mather
Increase Mather was a major figure in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay . He was a Puritan minister who was involved with the government of the colony, the administration of Harvard College, and most notoriously, the Salem witch trials...
, Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather, FRS was a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author and pamphleteer; he is often remembered for his role in the Salem witch trials...
, Edward Taylor
Edward Taylor
Edward Taylor was a colonial American poet, pastor and physician.-Early life:...
, and Solomon Stoddard
Solomon Stoddard
Solomon Stoddard was the pastor of the Congregationalist Church in Northampton, MA. He succeeded the Rev. Eleazer Mather, marrying his widow around 1670...
. He died shortly before the rise of the Great Awakening
Great Awakening
The term Great Awakening is used to refer to a period of religious revival in American religious history. Historians and theologians identify three or four waves of increased religious enthusiasm occurring between the early 18th century and the late 19th century...
.
He published several sermons, and a narrative of his captivity called The Redeemed Captive (Boston, 1707). Because of his standing in the colony, his account was one of the more well-known of the numerous Indian captivity narratives published during the colonial period. The 19th-century author James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
drew on Williams' account as inspiration for his novel, The Last of the Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in February 1826. It is the second book of the Leatherstocking Tales pentalogy and the best known...
.
Williams died in Deerfield in 1729. It was not until 1741 that Eunice and her husband went to Massachusetts for the first time, persuaded by her brother's efforts to keep in touch. She made two other visits, including an extended one with her children, but lived in Kahnawake for the rest of her life.