Customer Reviews

The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is an example of petite histoire, the account of particular households and villages, set in the larger context of early colonial New England. Demos tells the story of an Indian raid of 1704, in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and its aftermath. In the raid, prominent minister John Williams, his family, and many others are taken captive and transported to Quebec, near Montreal. Some die in transit; many others are returned or "redeemed" to their homes. Williams' daughter, Eunice, remains "unredeemed", a convert to Catholicism and a new way of life, now married to a member of the capturing tribe. Demos does a marvelous job in reading and explicating the meager original sources which survive, and applying a judicious historical imagination to reconstruct this story, both in the larger context of time and place and the smaller context of the Williams family. As a resident of Northern New York, close to both Quebec and the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation, this story has significant local interest for me. Despite these attributes, however, I found the book often lost my interest, I think because Demos tries too hard to be writerly, with his narrative devices (ellipsis, enjambment, etc.) getting in the way of the story. For this reason, I must qualify my recommendation, at least for this general reader. I must say, however, that my wife, Carol, loved this book, stayed up late reading it, and enthused about it for weeks after a late night conclusion. Other critics also have been very enthusiastic.

I enjoyed this book because I thought that Demos presented new theories about this well-known incident in Colonial history (at least to those of us who lived near Deerfield). He also does an excellent job showing all points of view (English, French, Indian) of not only the February 1704 attack on Deerfield but also the march into Canada, the subsequent redeemption of most of the captives, and, of course, why Eunice Williams chooses not to return to the English colonies and her birth family. I also thought that Demos did an great job of laying the foundation for the attack, describing the very different philosophies & policies of the French and the English (in England, France, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and Quebec) towards the Indians as well as the Indians' philosophies & policies towards the English and French. It is a tale of an "experiment" (to "help" the Indians become Christian) that resulted in a clash of cultures (English, French, and Indian), religions, societies, etc. that was doomed from conception because it never occurred to the English that the Indians might be perfectly content with their lives and their own religion and thus not welcome the English intrusion. The larger, political story woven into the personal tragedy of the Williams family shows how events thousands of miles away and often intitally having nothing to do with the victims effects ordinary people in extraordinary ways. Although Eunice Williams left no written word explaining why she chose not to return to her birth family, Demos' theories seem highly likely. He also does a nice job illustrating the Williams family's puzzlement and hurt over Eunice's "rejection" of them as well as her adopted family's concerns and fears for their newest (but not least loved) member. I liked the book because Demos treats each point of view with respect, no one side is made out to be a monster (there is no reality, only perception applies here), and tells the sad tale of an early New England family without becoming maudlin or sentimental. I highly recommend this book. If you are looking for a story about this event and family that is written in the novel form, try "Boy Captive of Old Deerfield". I do not recall the publication date on it, but be warned that it is a book written for a different generation.

The Unredeemed Captive is a meticulously researched history. Not a historical novel, not a screenplay, it is intended to inform, not to entertain. If you approach this book with a clear understanding of its purpose, it is quite enjoyable. Eunice Williams' sister Esther, who was also taken captive, moved to the town where I now live and is buried in our oldest cemetery. Her very large tombstone tells something of her story. I've often wondered why, although they are both daughters of a minister who was kidnapped along with most of their family, Esther and her other siblings came home when given the chance, but Eunice alone chose to stay. Well, Demos does a good job of inferring possible reasons from 300 year old data. If you find the research boring, it's possible to skim over those parts and read only the narrative of Eunice's story. It's fascinating.

Brings the history of an obscure event to the reader in a way that makes one want to learn more. The study of history can suffer from failure to integrate events into the full matrix of their time, hence can be dull. This book, in contrast, helps us to see the individuals involved as fully human and integrated into their times and the assumptions of their cultures. This is a very poignant story which allows (of necessity) the reader to read between the lines to understand the motivations of Eunice and her family. Why did Eunice choose to stay in Canada rather than return to her family? Was it because she now feared for her soul (having been converted to Catholicism)if she returned; because she found the Indian way of life more emotionally sustaining than that of her Puritan family; or because she was angry that her father had remarried? This book gives the reader some understanding of the difficulties that arise when two very different cultures collide--even when there is some degree of good will in either side. In the hands of the right people, this could be a great movie!

In writing about this interesting bit of colonial history, Demos focuses on Eunice Williams, the "unredeemed captive" who, unlike other family memory members, chose not to return to New England following her abduction in the 1704 Deerfield "Massacre. In addition, it is also a detailed look at the interfaces between Indian, French, and English cultures in colonial America. As Demos tells the story of the Williams family, he also relates the complexities of such things as Indian childrearing practices and spirituality, as well as the particular situation of the Kahnawake Indians, converted to Catholicism by the French but moving constantly back and forth across the shifting borders between English and French. Demos writes history that is impeccably researched but never tedious; this book can be read with great pleasure by anyone with an interest in history. In terms of its excellence as history that can be enjoyed by non-specialists, it is in the same class as Laurel Ulrich's "A Midwife's Tale."
M. Feldman

A walk through the shady streets of Old Deerfield, Massachusetts, presents many fine views -- the stately old homes, the colonial doorways, the lonely Union Army sentinel atop the town's sandstone monument, and Frank Boyden's splendid prep school, Deerfield Academy. A stroller then comes to the stone markers that recall moments of terror and bravery. On February 29, 1704, the tiny settlement at Deerfield was attacked by the French and the Indians. Many inhabitants, and not a few attackers, met their deaths from musket, tomahawk, blade, and fire.

Eunice Williams, 7, daughter of the settlement's minister, was one of the 112 captives seized by the raiding party. They were taken in an eight-week forced march through the snow across Vermont and south Quebec. Only 92 reached Canada; Eunice's mother was one of those killed along the way.

In Canada, many of the Deerfield children were placed with French Canadian families. They were ultimately ransomed ("redeemed") by the Massachusetts Bay Colony and returned home a few years later. Eunice, however, was one of those given to the Kahnawake Indians in a village not far from Montreal. The French could not peremptorily order the tribe to return her, so talks were delayed. When at least she sat face to face with a delegate from New England, in 1713, she refused to return to Massachusetts, for she had become a member of the tribe, been baptized a Catholic at the Kahnawake mission, and married. Her name was now Marguerite.

It was the lifetime work of her father and brother Stephen to seek her return to New England. Despite his prayers and exertions on her behalf, Eunice's father was never reconciled that his daughter had become an Indian and a Catholic. Stephen was in time accomodated to her decision, her marriage, and her honored station among the Kahnawake as the mother-in-law of a chief, and perhaps her conversion.

Professor Demos's book helps us recall that in the eighteenth century, immense chasms of national loyalty, religion, and form of government divided New England from Canada. One was English, Puritan, and congregational; the other French, Catholic, and feudal. The settlers in both colonies regarded the Indians as "savages." Even the modern reader can feel the agonies involved when Eunice crossed these great cultural divides.

Demos's scholarship is extraordinary. The primary source materials on the massacre, the exchanges, Eunice's life in Canada, and the efforts of her relatives to retrieve her -- the documents, the letters, the diaries -- would probably fit on the top of a desk. Yet from these spare materials, Demos has fleshed out an amazing human story. His use of the sociological and ethnographic materials on the Canadian tribes -- some relying on the Jesuit Relations -- is masterful.

Eunice's story ends with a notation in a Canadian parish register in 1785 -- Father Ducharme buried Marguerite, the mother-in-law of the chief Annasetegen. Demos then movingly portrays her death and her passage to another life through the lenses of the three faiths that touched her life -- Puritan, Catholic, and Indian.

There is an epilogue. In 1837, a group of Indians that included some of Eunice's grandchildren visited Deerfield to pay respects at the graves of her parents. Deerfield's pastor, John Fessenden, preached a sermon to his congregation and the visitors. Just a generation before the great struggle over slavery, Fessenden pondered the "gloomy, repulsive view" that races have fundamental differences. The view engenders in turn jealousy and aversion, enmity, and finally warfare, he said. Looking over the Indian and New England cousins seated before him, he blessed the "workings of that mysterious providence, which as mingled your blood with ours, and which ... admonishes that God ... hath made of one blood all nations of men."

Thanks to John Demos, Eunice Marguerite's soul -- like the stones at Deerfield -- reaches across the centuries with a message.

-30-

Some historians manage to convey facts; some to convey feelings. Few, such as Barbara Tuchman and John Demos, take you into the lives of real people who experienced actual events and guide you to an understanding of what it must have been like to participate in the times they describe. The details provided in this book stayed with me and have fueled my understanding of "displaced persons" in other environments. Truly a fabulous achievement.

This book is a fine example of petite histoire, the account of particular households and villages, set in the larger context of early colonial New England. Demos tells the story of an Indian raid in 1704, in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and its aftermath. In the raid, prominent minister John Williams, his family, and many others are taken captive and transported to Quebec, near Montreal. Some die in transit; many others are returned or "redeemed" to their homes. Williams' daughter, Eunice, remains "unredeemed", a convert to Catholicism and a new way of life, now married to a member of the capturing tribe. Demos does a marvelous job in reading and explicating the meager original sources which survive, and applying a judicious historical imagination to reconstruct the story, both in the larger context of time and place and the smaller context of the Williams family. As a resident of Northern New York, living close both to Quebec and the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation, I found significant significant local interest in the book. Nonetheless, I found my interest often wandered, I think because Demos tried too hard to be writerly, with the result that his narrative devices (ellipsis, enjambment, etc.) getting in the way of the story. For this reason, I have qualified my recommendation. I must say, however, that my wife loved the book, stayed up late reading it, and enthused about it for weeks after a late night conclusion.

I found this book in my husband's library while we were moving and I quite enjoyed it. I've read John Demos' work before and have always found him to be an interesting historian -- although he has a tendency to get carried away into statistics too much. This book very much surprised me because, except for one place, he didn't get involved in his usual statistical analysis of the situation. Very much enjoyed!

John Demos, the author, is in the upper echelon of academic and professional historians. As we general lay readers know all too well, far too few academic historians write history that is interesting to anyone other than (perhaps) their colleagues or a captive audience of students. From the Preface to THE UNREDEEMED CAPTIVE, it appears that Demos sought to do his small part to address that situation by writing an academically solid history of a fascinating episode from Colonial America yet doing so "yielding fully" to "a narrative voice."

While I commend the objective, the implementation falls short -- or maybe it is that I just don't care for Demos's particular "narrative voice." In much of THE UNREDEEMED CAPTIVE, the writing is far too choppy and informal. Demos also has a tendency to underscore and explain the obvious, which contributes to the overall impression that he is somewhat smug and condescending. His fellow academic historian of colonial times, David Hackett Fischer, was much more successful in "Paul Revere's Ride" (published around the same time as THE UNREDEEMED CAPITVE) in writing a highly readable, yet academically rigorous, work of history.

But withal, THE UNREDEEMED CAPTIVE is interesting. It tells the story of the Williams family, originally of Deerfield, Massachusetts. John Williams was the minister of the town in 1704, when it was raided by Indians and French from Canada, who killed 48 and captured 112, taking them back to Canada, including Williams and five of his children. Williams spent nearly three years in captivity before he was released ("redeemed" in the parlance of the time), and four of his five children also were released after varying periods of captivity. Williams resumed his career as a minister and he became the patriarch of an extended family that was one of the leading families in 18th-Century colonial Massachusetts.

"The Unredeemed Captive" was his daughter Eunice, who was seven at the time of the raid in 1704. She was taken to live in a large settlement of Catholicized Mohawk Indians near Montreal. As things developed, Eunice had no desire to return to her family or English (i.e., Puritan) life in Massachusetts. Instead, she married an Indian and spent the rest of her 89 years as a fully integrated and respected member of the Indian community. The central story and drama of the book revolve around the repeated efforts of the Williams family, and even Massachusetts society at large, to persuade and entice Eunice to return to Massachusetts and colonial English ways of life, including, of course, Puritan religious practices. Indeed, at times it appears that Eunice's adopted Catholic faith caused greater consternation among those back in Massachusetts than her "savage" marriage and lifestyle.

The cultural conflicts are quite intriguing. But part of the discussion of the Puritan side of those conflicts consists of extended and, to me, mind-numbingly boring analyses of Puritan sermons and writings. Curiously, the Puritans, with their religious conventions and tropes, are far stranger to me than the Mohawk Indians.