CULTURAL BRIDGES: The Capture of Eunice Williams

Taken Captive

Eunice Williams, taken captive in the Deerfield, Massachusetts raid in 1704, at the age of seven, lived the rest of her life among the Kanienkehaka (Mohawks).  Eunice bridges the cultures of the indigenous and colonists in America.  A true example of courage and love .

Eunice Williams was born in Deerfield, Massachusetts in 1696, the daughter of Puritan minister Rev. John Williams.

In 1704, the Williams' home was attacked during a raid led by French and Mohawk fighters that became known as the Deerfield Massacre. Eunice's six-week-old sister and brother were killed by hatchet .  Eunice, her parents, and four of her siblings were taken captive and forced on a strenuous march northward. The next day, her mother was killed by hatchet after she fell while crossing the icy waters of the Green River. 

 

   artist:  Francis Back

Eunice and the surviving members of her family reached the area near Montreal, where she was adopted by a woman who had recently lost her own daughter in a smallpox epidemic. Eunice was given the symbolic name Waongote, meaning "one who is planted like an Ashe", and was instructed in the Mohawk language and customs.  The years passed.

  

Negotiations were commenced to ransom Eunice and her 2 siblings.

In 1713 Rev. Williams learned she had married a Mohawk brave, named Arosen. He hired a trader in Albany, who was friendly with the Mohawks, to visit her in Canada to urge her to return to her family in Deerfield.  The trader, John Schulyer, reported that the girl and her husband were brought to him, and the girl no longer knew English.

"She looking very poor in body,
bashfull in the face,

but proved harder than steel in her breast"

Her father, Rev. Williams was allowed to meet with Eunice on two occasions.   The Mohawk declared, however that they "would as soon part with their hearts as the child.”  The Mohawks agreed to release her.  When asked if she wanted to return, Eunice quietly murmured "Jaght oghte" meaning "maybe not", a polite way of saying "No." 

The Reverend and his group began to realize she truly might not be coming.  He was heartbroken, as he said in a letter, that "she is yet obstinately resolved to live and dye here, and will not so much as give me one pleasant look." Eunice never returned to live in Deerfield.  

Eunice had several children and remained married to Arosen.  Eunice and her Mohawk family frequently travelled to Albany, NY to trade furs.  Eunice visited her 'white' family in Deerfield  -- numerous times, camping out in the nearby forest.   However, the story of Eunice was troubling to the Puritans:  the mixing of the "heathen" culture was outside their realm of thought.  Yet her family welcomed her.

In the words of Mohawk Kenneth Williams, her descendant: 

This (story) speaks of the most powerful force in the universe, whether a Mother's love for a child, a brother for a sister, or love of one's country.  We should not forget these things."

The Captivation of Eunice Williams

A wonderful Opera about Eunice's life has been produced, "The Captivation of Eunice Williams".   The opera explores the incredible journey this young girl made and how she bridged cultures.  The production was present on the Mohawk Reservation, Kahnawake, where she had lived.

Video - Opera "The Captivation of Eunice Williams:

 

Online Eyewitness Accounts: