Miriam (Willard) Whitney (1740 - 1769)

Born 25 Sep 1740 in Lunenburg, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Wife of Phinehas Whitney — married 28 Apr 1762 in Weston, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Died 20 Jun 1769 at age 28 in Shirley, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Daughter of Moses Willard and Susanna HastingsMiriam was born in 1740.

Miriam Willard was captured by the Abenaki Indians on Aug. 29, 1754

Excerpt from WRG

Her father was an early inhabitant of Charlestown No. 4, a frontier town particularly exposed to attack from the French and Indians. And so it happened in the old French war, that, on the 18th of June, 1756, when Lieut. Moses Willard with his son of the same name, was at work upon his farm, within sight of the fort, the Indians made a sudden attack upon them. The father fell mortally wounded. The Indians pursued the son and wounded him with a spear; but he succeeded in making his escape, carrying the spear with him into the fort. Lieut. Moses had two children and the sufferings of the family did not begin with the death of the father or the wound of the son.

In Aug. 1754, on a previous attack the daughter Susannah, wife of James Johnson and her sister Miriam, a young girl of fourteen, afterward the wife of Rev. Phinehas Whitney, of Shirley, were with several others taken captive and carried through the wilderness to Canada. Mrs. Johnson published a narration of her captivity, which contains many interesting recitals. Moses Willard was the son of Simon and Mary (Whitcomb) Willard, and this Simon was a son of Henry and Mary (Lakin) Willard, and his Henry was the fourth son of Major Simon. He resided Shirley, MA.

Rev, Phinehas Whitney and Miriam Willard posted intentions to marry on 27 Mar 1762 ^[1]

She passed away in 1769^[2] at the age of 28 and is buried at Center Cemetery located in Shirley, Middlesex County, Massachusetts Find A Grave: Memorial #58633318

Sources

1. ↑ Whitney Willard Marriage Intentions
2. ↑ Headstone Inscriptions

• Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).

• The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011, New England Historic Genealogical Society. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston: The New England Historic Genealogical Society. Inscriptions of Center Cemetery

• Labaree, Benjamin. Historical address at the dedication of a monument in Charlestown, N.H. Boston: T.R. Marvin & Son, 1870. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/05034813/.Page 20 Image 26 Miriam and sister Susannah

• Calico Captive, is Elizabeth George Speare's first historical fiction children's novel, published in 1957. It was inspired by the true story of Susanna Willard Johnson (1730–1810) who, along with her family and younger sister, were kidnapped in an Abenaki Indian raid on Charlestown, New Hampshire in August 1754.

• A narrative of the captivity of Mrs. Johnson: containing an account of her sufferings, during four years, with the Indians and French : together with an appendix, containing the sermons, preached at her funeral and that of her mother with sundry other interesting articles by Johnson, Mrs. (Susannah Willard), 1730-1810 Story of taken captive

• Willard genealogy, sequel to Willard memoir, by Willard, Joseph, 1798-1865; Walker, Charles Wilkes, b. 1849; Pope, Charles Henry, 1841-1918 Moses Willard and Family Pages 51-53

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58633318/miriam-whitney: accessed April 4, 2024), memorial page for Miriam Willard Whitney (25 Sep 1740–20 Mar 1769), Find a Grave Memorial ID 58633318, citing Center Cemetery, Shirley, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by KChaffeeB (contributor 46506715).

• WRG, Family:Whitney, Phinehas (1740-1819), https://wiki.whitneygen.org/wrg/index.php?title=Family:Whitney,_Phinehas_(1740-1819)

• Source: S-2040432029 Repository: #R-2138607983 Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created. Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=18933837&pid=554
• Repository: R-2138607983 Ancestry.com Note: