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An Account of the Captivity of Elizabeth Hanson Now or Late of Kachecky; in New-England: Who, with Four of Her Children and Servant-maid, Was Taken Captive by the Indians (1760)
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About An Account Of The Captivity Of Elizabeth Hanson Now
"Elizabeth Hanson's captivity narrative reveals the difficulties New England families faced…after captivity among the Indians." - Abraham in Arms: War and Gender in Colonial New England (2013)"As in the Puritan captivities, Hanson was taken from her house with her children…subjected to terrible suffering on the trail." - The Oxford Handbook of Early American Literature (2008)"Hunger, a primary concern of many captives, is the focal condition in Hanson's account." -Captive Selves, Captivating Others: The Politics And Poetics Of Colonial American Captivity Narratives (2018)"Not the most well-known colonial captivity narrative, but it was sufficiently popular before 1800 to go through 13 editions." - Authority and Female Authorship in Colonial America (2021) How did this heroic 18th century New Hampshire Quaker woman survive five months of harrowing captivity among the hostile Wabanaki tribe, eventually to be reunited with her surviving children? In 1760, the short 40-page book authored by former captive Elizabeth Hanson(1684-1737) would be published posthumously under the title "An Account of the Captivity of Elizabeth Hanson." Elizabeth Hanson (September 17, 1684—c1737) was a colonial Anglo-American woman from Dover, New Hampshire, who survived Native American Abenaki capture and captivity in the year 1725 alongside four of her children. Five months after capture, a French family ransomed Elizabeth and her two children in Canada. Her husband was then able to secure them and find another daughter before having to return home, leaving the eldest daughter, Sarah, behind. Elizabeth's captivity narrative became popular because of its detailed insights into Native American captivity, which was a threat to the people in New England due to the almost constant wars with the Native Americans and French in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Her religious take on her experiences was heavily emphasized in her story. Because Elizabeth and her family were Quakers, they refused to take refuge in the garrison when the Abenaki first attacked their area during Dummer's War. Elizabeth and four of her children, Sarah, Elizabeth Jr, Daniel, and her two week old daughter, were taken from her home in Dover, New Hampshire on August 27, 1724. They were held captive by Native Americans until early 1725. Two of her six children were killed during the capture. The first was killed to intimidate them and the other because he wouldn’t be quiet and the Indians were afraid they would be discovered. Their journey from New Hampshire to Canada was difficult especially because Elizabeth had given birth two weeks before hand. The lack of nourishment and clothing resulted in inadequate milk production and therefore had a hard time feeding her baby. The youngest barely made it to the camps where the Native American women showed Hanson how to make a nut and corn infant formula milk that saved the baby's life. Her captivity narrative: Elizabeth’s story, God’s Mercy Surmounting Man’s Cruelty, was published in 1728. It was later renamed “An Account of the Captivity of Elizabeth Hanson." The 40-page booklet explored her captive experience and reflected highly on her religion. Such views allowed the use of her narrative to spread the Quaker ideals of households and the role of women. Elizabeth attributed her family’s survival to “God’s mercy” rather than the leniency of her Native American captors and the French who ultimately secured their freedom. She criticized the native American practices of feasting when there is food and starving when there is not instead of making the surplus last.
