Mary Jemison was one of the most famous white captives who, after being captured by Indians, chose to stay and live among her captors. In the midst of the Seven Years War(1758), at about age fifteen, Jemison was taken from her western Pennsylvania home by a Shawnee and French raiding party. Her family was killed, but Mary was traded to two Seneca sisters who adopted her to replace a slain brother. She lived to survive two Indian husbands, the births of eight children, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the canal era in upstate New York. In 1833 she died at about age ninety.
This first-hand account of Mary Jemison's capture and life among the Seneca Indians in the 18th century is a captivating glimpse into the experiences of Native Americans and white settlers during this time in history. The book highlights Jemison's resilience and adaptation to her new way of life, while also delving into the conflicts and complexities of race relations in early America. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
"A Narrative Of The Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison Who was taken by the Indians in the year 1755," when only about twelve years of age, and has continued to reside amongst them to the present time. Containing An Account of the Murder of her Father and his Family; her sufferings; her marriage to two Indians; her troubles with her Children; barbarities of the Indians in the French and Revolutionary Wars; the life of her last Husband, etc.; and many Historical Facts never before published. Carefully taken from her own words, November 29th, 1823. In this book, Seaver tells the story of Jemison's captivity, her life, her marriage to a Seneca Indian, then after his death, her marriage to another Seneca man; then the birth of her 8 or 9 children, and the hard life she had as a Seneca woman--though once accepted into the tribe she was treated like any other woman of the tribe. Mary Jemison became known, probably in her own lifetime, as "The White Woman of the Genessee." Her kindness and charity to all people were well known throughout her life, despite the cruelties she had seen or experienced from both the settlers and the Seneca tribe. She ended her life owning land and a small house, and living near her daughters and grandchildren. At 80 years old she was still doing all the major work of a typical Seneca woman. At the end of the book, Seaver explains some of the Seneca myths, their creation myth, the mid-winter ritual, a type of winter solstice. In the mid-winter ritual two pure white dogs take on all the "sins" of the tribe during the past year. They are painted, decorated, then sacrifed and burned. Seaver also describes the war dance and the peace dance, describes funerals, their concept of the God-like "great spirit" called Nau-wan-e-u, and his brother who is a satan type of figure. One legend is that far back in time all the tribes spoke the same language...several interesting points about their customs and religion are described.
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Mary Jemison was one of the most famous white captives who, after being captured by Indians, chose to stay and live among her captors. In the midst of the Seven Years War(1758), at about age fifteen, Jemison was taken from her western Pennsylvania home by a Shawnee and French raiding party. Her family was killed, but Mary was traded to two Seneca sisters who adopted her to replace a slain brother. She lived to survive two Indian husbands, the births of eight children, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the canal era in upstate New York. In 1833 she died at about age ninety.
