Hannah Duston: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Hannahdustinmarker.JPG|thumb|Hannah Dustin historical marker in [[Boscawen, New Hampshire]] ]] |
[[File:Hannahdustinmarker.JPG|thumb|Hannah Dustin historical marker in [[Boscawen, New Hampshire]] ]] |
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[[File:Hannahdustin statue.JPG|left|thumb|Statue on the island in [[Boscawen, New Hampshire]] where Hannah killed 10 Indians and escaped down river]] |
[[File:Hannahdustin statue.JPG|left|thumb|Statue on the island in [[Boscawen, New Hampshire]] where Hannah killed 10 Indians and escaped down river]] |
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'''Hannah Duston''' (born Hannah Emerson, December 23, 1657 - |
'''Hannah Duston''' (born Hannah Emerson, December 23, 1657 - March 6th, 1738) was a colonial [[New England]] woman who, having been captured during an Indian raid, escaped from her captors by killing them in the night and fleeing in their [[canoe]]. After escaping, she went back and scalped the Indians who captured her. She is believed to be the first woman honored in the [[United States]] with a statue. (Due to the phonetic spelling of her time, her last name has also been written '''Dustin''', '''Dustan''', and even '''Durstan'''.) |
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Hannah, her husband Thomas Duston, and their nine living children were settlers in [[Haverhill, Massachusetts]] when in March 1697 the town was attacked by [[Abenaki]] Indians. Thomas fled with eight children; Hannah, her baby Martha, who was only six days old, and her nurse Mary Neff were captured and forced to march into the wilderness. The Indians took the baby from Hannah and killed her by smashing her against a tree. Hannah and Mary traveled with a family group north, during which time they were joined by Samuel Lennardson, a 14-year-old white captive. Along the way, they stopped at an island<ref>located at {{coord|43|17|16|N|71|35|28|W|type:isle_scale:10000_region:US-NH}}</ref> in the [[Merrimack River]] at the mouth of the [[Contoocook River]] near what is now [[Penacook, New Hampshire]], where the party stayed some days. Hannah there led Mary and Samuel in a revolt after all the others were asleep, using the Indians' [[tomahawk (axe)|tomahawks]] to kill ten of the twelve Indians, including six children.<ref name="NYT120907">{{cite web |
Hannah, her husband Thomas Duston, and their nine living children were settlers in [[Haverhill, Massachusetts]] when in March 1697 the town was attacked by [[Abenaki]] Indians. Thomas fled with eight children; Hannah, her baby Martha, who was only six days old, and her nurse Mary Neff were captured and forced to march into the wilderness. The Indians took the baby from Hannah and killed her by smashing her against a tree. Hannah and Mary traveled with a family group north, during which time they were joined by Samuel Lennardson, a 14-year-old white captive. Along the way, they stopped at an island<ref>located at {{coord|43|17|16|N|71|35|28|W|type:isle_scale:10000_region:US-NH}}</ref> in the [[Merrimack River]] at the mouth of the [[Contoocook River]] near what is now [[Penacook, New Hampshire]], where the party stayed some days. Hannah there led Mary and Samuel in a revolt after all the others were asleep, using the Indians' [[tomahawk (axe)|tomahawks]] to kill ten of the twelve Indians, including six children.<ref name="NYT120907">{{cite web |
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Revision as of 20:00, 31 January 2011
Hannah Duston (born Hannah Emerson, December 23, 1657 - March 6th, 1738) was a colonial New England woman who, having been captured during an Indian raid, escaped from her captors by killing them in the night and fleeing in their canoe. After escaping, she went back and scalped the Indians who captured her. She is believed to be the first woman honored in the United States with a statue. (Due to the phonetic spelling of her time, her last name has also been written Dustin, Dustan, and even Durstan.)
Hannah, her husband Thomas Duston, and their nine living children were settlers in Haverhill, Massachusetts when in March 1697 the town was attacked by Abenaki Indians. Thomas fled with eight children; Hannah, her baby Martha, who was only six days old, and her nurse Mary Neff were captured and forced to march into the wilderness. The Indians took the baby from Hannah and killed her by smashing her against a tree. Hannah and Mary traveled with a family group north, during which time they were joined by Samuel Lennardson, a 14-year-old white captive. Along the way, they stopped at an island[1] in the Merrimack River at the mouth of the Contoocook River near what is now Penacook, New Hampshire, where the party stayed some days. Hannah there led Mary and Samuel in a revolt after all the others were asleep, using the Indians' tomahawks to kill ten of the twelve Indians, including six children.[2] (A young boy and a woman escaped.) The former captives immediately left in a canoe, taking with them scalps as proof of the incident and to collect a bounty.[2]
They traveled down the river only during the night, and after several days returned to Haverhill. The Massachusetts General Court later awarded them a reward for killing the raiders. Hannah received 25 pounds, and Mary and Samuel split another 25 pounds. (various accounts say 50 or 25 pounds, and some accounts allege that only Duston received the award).
The event became well known, due in part to the account of Cotton Mather in his Magnalia Christi Americana.[3] She became more famous in the nineteenth century as her story was retold by Henry David Thoreau and in many genealogical histories. In 1879 a bronze statue of Hannah grasping a tomahawk was placed in Haverhill town square (now GAR Park), where it still stands, and another on the island in New Hampshire. Some of her artifacts are displayed at the Haverhill Historical Society.
Footnotes
- ^ located at 43°17′16″N 71°35′28″W / 43.28778°N 71.59111°W
- ^ a b Allitt, Patrick (December 9, 2007). "City on a Hill". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
- ^ Mather, Cotton; Magnalia Christi Americana. Volume 2, Article XXV, pages 634-636 [1]
Bibliography
- Caverly, Robert B. Heroism of Hannah Duston: Together With the Indian Wars of New England (orig. pub. 1875). Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1990. ISBN 1-55613-301-4
- Mather, Cotton. Magnalia Christi Americana (orig. pub. 1702). New York: Russell & Russell (Atheneum House), 1967. ASIN B0007DLZGI
- Namias, June. White Captives: Gender and Ethnicity on the American Frontier. University of North Carolina Press, 1993. ISBN 0-8078-4408-X
- Sayre, Gordon M., ed. American Captivity Narratives. Houghton Mifflin, 2000. ISBN 0-395-98073-9
External links
- HannahDustin.com site includes various versions of the story
- Dustin Cousins Add your Dustin/Duston line here.
- HawthorneInSalem gives Nathaniel Hawthorne's version, plus related documents, websites, etc.
- Photos of the monuments at HannahDustin.com
- Hannah Duston at Find a Grave