Eunice Kanenstenhawi Williams - Later Life

Later Life

When the senior Williams' ransom and freedom were arranged about three years later, he sought to have Eunice reunited with him. The French told an intermediary that this was impossible because the Mohawk people with whom she was living "would as soon part with their hearts as the child." The French government would not generally interfere when the Mohawk adopted captives, even if they were European. He was able to redeem his other children, who returned to live in Massachusetts.

Eunice became fully assimilated into the tribe, at age 16 marrying a young Mohawk man, François-Xavier Arosen, age 25. They had three children together. Nonetheless, Rev. Williams, succeeded by his son Samuel, continued through the years to try to ransom and later persuade Eunice to rejoin her New England family.

Eunice, called Kanenstenhawi as her adult Mohawk name, finally returned to New England in 1741, by which time her father had died. Her brother Samuel had kept in touch with her. When Eunice and her husband went to Massachusetts, it was with a guide and interpreter, as they spoke only Mohawk and French. She made two more visits to her Williams family, bringing her children with her and one year staying for an extended period through the winter.