In 1837, when a group of Abenaki and Mohawk people from St. Francis, Quebec, Canada, camped near Deerfield, Massachusetts, local residents were curious as to why they had stopped to visit. In the group were descendants of Deerfield residents captured during the 1704 raid on the town by French soldiers and their Indigenous allies from Canada. Most notable among them was a granddaughter of Eunice Williams. She had been captured as a child, was adopted into a Kanien’kehaka (Mohawk) family, eventually married there, and never returned to live in Deerfield. Family ties among these Indigenous peoples, even over many years and despite past differences, were, and still are, highly valued.
Phelps and Ingersoll [editors]. “A Visit.” August 29, 1837. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l01-008/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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