Sarah was a young woman when she married Martin Smith, a widower aged about 42. In 1693, he brought her to Deerfield, Massachusetts, where he had lived since 1674. In October of 1693, he was seized by Native Americans and taken to Canada. Sarah continued living in Deerfield and on the night of July 31, 1694, night watchman John Evans, a longtime resident of the town, 40 years old and married, stopped by Sarah’s house on his way home from his watch duty and raped her. It was only stopped when the guards who had relieved him came to investigate the disturbance. Five days later she swore a charge against Evans. However, no action was taken because he had a wife and children to support and they would have become wards of the town if he had been placed in jail. Sarah eventually moved into a nearby home with another couple and three years later she became involved with one of the soldiers garrisoned in Deerfield to protect the town, and bore his child in secret. The child died and she was convicted and hung for its murder. Deerfield’s minister, Reverend John Williams, preached a sermon about her just before her execution.
Smith, Sarah. Complaint against John Evans by Sarah Smith. August 4, 1694. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l02-148/. Accessed on October 10, 2024.
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