John Williams (New England minister) facts for kids
John Williams (born December 10, 1664 – died June 12, 1729) was an important Puritan minister in New England. He served as the pastor of Deerfield from 1688 until he died.
In 1704, during Queen Anne's War, he and most of his family were captured in the Raid on Deerfield. The French held him in Montreal for over two years. They wanted to trade him for a high-ranking French pirate. After his release in 1706, Williams became famous for his book, The Redeemed Captive (1707). This book shared his story of being held captive. It became a very popular type of book called a captivity narrative.
Four of his five children who survived were also freed in 1706. They eventually went back to Deerfield. But his youngest daughter, Eunice, was seven when she was captured. A Mohawk family at Kahnawake adopted her. She became fully part of their culture. The French would not force captives adopted by their Mohawk allies to leave. Eunice married a Mohawk man and had three children with him.
Williams was also a key person in the debate about smallpox inoculation in 1721. He was the uncle of the famous pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards.
Contents
Early Life and Family
John Williams was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1664. His parents were Samuel Williams and Theoda Park. His grandfather, Robert, had moved there from England around 1638. John went to school locally. He later attended Harvard College and graduated in 1683.
His marriage to Eunice Mather connected him to important religious leaders. Eunice was the niece of Reverend Increase Mather. She was also a cousin of Reverend Cotton Mather. She was related to Reverend John Cotton as well.
Life as a Minister
Williams became a minister in 1688. He became the first pastor in Deerfield. This town was on the edge of the wilderness in western Massachusetts. It was one of several towns along the upper Connecticut River. These towns were often attacked by French forces and their Native American allies. There was no clear border between the French and English colonies.
The local Pocumtuc people had fought against colonists taking their land. In the early 1700s, France and England were often at war. This led to frequent raids between New England and New France. Both sides teamed up with different Native American tribes.
The Deerfield Raid
In 1702, Queen Anne's War began. New England colonists captured a successful French pirate named Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste. To get him back, the French governor of Canada planned a raid on Deerfield. He wanted to capture someone important to trade for the pirate. During this time, raids happened often on both sides. Frontier towns were easy targets.
The French relied on their Native American allies for this raid. These included Mohawk from Kahnawake, Wyandot (Huron) from Lorette, Abenaki from New England, and some Pocumtuc. They planned to take many captives for trade. This event is now known as the Raid on Deerfield. The raiders captured Williams, who was the town's minister and a key leader. They also captured over 100 other English settlers.
On the night of February 28, 1704, about 300 French and Native American soldiers attacked. They took 109 people captive. They also killed 56 men, women, and children. This included two of Williams' children: his six-year-old son John Jr., and his six-week-old daughter Jerushah. His African slave, Parthena, was also killed.
The raiding party forced Williams and other families to march and travel by water. They went over 300 miles (480 km) through the winter landscape to Canada. On the way to Quebec, a Mohawk killed Williams' wife, Eunice. She had fallen while trying to cross a creek. Frank, another African slave, was also killed. Other people who were too old or too young to keep up were also killed. But the raiders also showed kindness. In his book, Williams wrote that a Native American carried his young daughter Eunice when she was tired.
Some captives died during the journey. Williams stayed strong and encouraged others with prayer. The large group traveled for seven hard weeks. They finally reached Fort Chambly in what is now Quebec.
Life as a Captive and Release
While he was a captive, Williams wrote about French colonial life in New France. Private families treated him well. Jesuit missionaries invited him to eat with them. He was often given comfortable places to stay, including a soft feather bed.
After Pierre Maisonnat was released by Boston officials, Williams was also freed. Quebec Governor Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil released him. Williams returned to Boston on November 21, 1706. About 60 other captives were released with him. Four of his children were among them. This was the second large group of captives the French had released.
When his exchange was finally arranged in late 1706, Williams had to leave his daughter Eunice in Quebec. She was ten years old then. A Mohawk family in Kahnawake, a Jesuit mission village near Montreal, had adopted her. She took the place of their child who had died from smallpox. Eunice learned the Mohawk language and customs. She became fully part of their community. The French government relied on their alliance with the Mohawk. So, they would not take children away by force if Native Americans had adopted them.
Eunice was baptized as a Catholic in 1710. She took the name Marguerite. She was also given a Mohawk name as a child. When she grew up, she was given the Mohawk name Kanenstenhawi. At age 16, Kanenstenhawi married François-Xavier Arosen, a 25-year-old Mohawk man. They had three children together.
After celebrations in Boston, Williams gave a sermon there in December 1706. Then he returned to Deerfield. Four of his children had been freed. For a while, he arranged for them to live with relatives. This was until their new family house was built. Stephen lived with an uncle in Roxbury and went to school there. Samuel lived with another uncle in Charlestown. Esther lived with Stoddard relatives in Northampton.
In the winter of 1706-1707, Williams wrote his story. It was called The Redeemed Captive (Boston, spring 1707). The book was very popular. This was because of his standing in the colony. Also, many people knew about the large number of captives taken from Deerfield. Williams' story was printed many times. It became one of the most famous captivity narratives from the colonial period. The 19th-century author James Fenimore Cooper used this story as inspiration for his novel, The Last of the Mohicans (1826).
In the summer of 1707, Williams' new house was finished. In September of that year, he remarried. His new wife was Abigail Bissell, a widow from Connecticut. She was a first cousin to his late wife. At that time, he brought his children back to Deerfield from different places in Massachusetts.
Williams lived and worked in Deerfield until he died in 1729. He tried to stay in touch with Eunice. He kept trying to convince her to return to Massachusetts. His son Stephen, who also became a minister, did the same. Eunice did not return until after her father's death.
Williams was a minister for the Puritans in New England. He lived at the same time as other important figures like Samuel Willard, Increase Mather, Cotton Mather, Edward Taylor, and Solomon Stoddard. He died shortly before the Great Awakening began. He published several sermons during his life.
Death
Williams died in Deerfield in 1729. His son Stephen became a minister and continued to live there.
It was not until 1741 that Eunice Williams and her husband visited Massachusetts for the first time. Her brother Stephen had worked hard to stay in touch with her. She made two more visits, including a longer one with her children. But she lived in Kahnawake for the rest of her life. Eunice Williams, also known as Marguerite Kanenstenhawi Arosen, was the last known survivor of the Deerfield raid. She died on November 26, 1785.
Images for kids
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Portrait believed to be of John Williams, c. 1707
