Mary Rowlandson

History

Mary Rowlandson was an Indian captive, and also an American writer. She was born in England approximately 1637-1638. She immigrated to Lancaster, Massachusetts with her parents. Joseph Rowlandson became a minister in 1654 and two years later he married Mary. They together had four children, one whom died as an infant, but the others were Joseph, Mary, and Sarah.

On February 20, 1676, Mary and her three children were taken captive in their home during a raid of the Native Americans uprising known as King Philip’s War along with 23 other people. Her children were the ages 14, 10 and 6. Sarah was 6; she died in captivity due to her wounds. She also lost her sister, brother-in-law, nieces and nephews. Of the 23 people who were captured in the raid, thirteen of them were Rowlandson family members.

Mary was sold as a slave and her two children went to other masters. Mary Rowlandson was ransomed at ₤20 just three months after she was captured. She was returned to Princeton, Massachusetts on May 2, 1676. Soon after that, her two surviving children were returned.

Joseph Rowlandson died in 1691 at the age of forty-seven. It was said that Mary died shortly after her husband’s death but come to find out just nine months after the death of her husband, Mary married Connecticut leader, Capt. Samuel Talcott. There were no more known details of her life except for a court testimony in 1707. Mary White Rowlandson Talcott died at the age of seventy-three on January 5, 1711.

Works

The narrative that Rowlandson wrote was originally titled “The Sovereignty & Goodness of God, Together with the Faithfulness of His Promise Displayed: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson Commended by her to all that Desire to Know the Lord’s Doings to, and Dealings with Her. Especially to her Dear Children and Relations.” In 1682, the title was dropped and republished the narrative under the title “Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” which is best known as today. This book is separated into “removes.” The first three “removes” focus on her desperate efforts to care for her dying daughter. The rest of the “removes” focus on the difficulties she faced while being kidnapped and held captive.