This scrap of paper was sent to Deerfield, Massachusetts, resident John Sheldon at Quebec City, Canada. It was March 1705, and he had made a long journey in the dead of winter in an effort to redeem (return) the members of his family who had been taken captive by Native Americans during the Deerfield Raid of 1704. They were his daughter-in-law Hannah Chapin Sheldon (23 years old when captured), his daughter Mary (16), and his sons Ebenezer (12) and Remembrance (11). Sheldon’s youngest child, Mercy, was killed in the raid, as was his wife. The survivors were taken to Canada, and during Sheldon’s mission they all were living in Indigenous villages near Montreal. The letter may have been written by James Adams, a Wells, Maine, resident who had been captured during a raid on that town in 1703. It was the first direct news Sheldon had heard that his children had survived. He was seeking a general exchange of prisoners from the raid and was partially successful. During this visit, he was able to purchase the freedom of his daughter-in-law, Hannah, and another captive, Esther Williams, the daughter of Reverend John Williams. They all returned to Boston in early June, and Deerfield soon after. Sheldon tirelessly sought the return of all the captives and traveled several more times to Canada. By 1706, he was able to free his remaining two family members, along with others from Deerfield. Some of the children taken in the raid, though, would never return.
Adams, James. Letter to John Sheldon. ca. 1705. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l01-112/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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