Forward from: Canada The Unknown Country
~Oyster River Massacre, July 18, 1694, 100 people killed or kidnapped
•Captain Benjamin Mathes and family:
—he and his sons successfully defended their Garrison House. Many of his neighbour were not so lucky. The Mathes family helped dig a mass grave for 15 of their neighbours on their property. This is a real mass grave.
•John Bunker successfully defended his Garrison house. It stood until the 1930s.
•Francis Drew and family, 14 members
—Francis and family awoke to the Natives besieging their house. Francis tried to escape to a neighbours house but was captured. He surrendered the house but they killed him anyway.
—his wife Lydia was was left behind in the woods to die
—their son Benjamin, aged 8, was used for target practice by the Natives and killed.
—son John escaped, but was later killed in 1707
—son Thomas and his wife Tamsen were taken captive and separated. Tamsen was pulled out a window by Chief Bomazeen while pregnant.
—Tamsen was forced to give birth to her baby later that winter in a snow storm, after which the Natives took her baby and killed it.
—Tamsen and Thomas were released and reunited in 1698. Tamsen later witnessed against Chief Bomazeen caught and imprisoned.
•Two Children of Thomas Egderly and Rebecca, daughter of Francis Rand, were killed.
•John Rand and wife Remembrance were killed and their house burnt down. Their daughter Remembrance was taken to Canada. Sons John Jr. and Nathaniel survived.
•Nicholas Otis
—after surviving the Cocheco Massacre the Otis family were attacked again while walking home from church on July 26, 1696. Nicholas and his wife were killed
•Experience Otis/Heard
—she was attacked and scalped in the same attack that killed her brother. She never recovered and died sometime the next year.
•Richard Otis Jr.
—he was wounded but survived.
•John Locke was killed while harvesting in his field on Aug. 26, 1696. The Natives sought him out in revenge for sabotaging their canoes a few years before. Before he was killed, he managed to cut off one of their noses with his sickle. He was 69 years old. It is believed his sons tracked down an old warrior with no nose years later and got their revenge.
Queen Anne’s War 1702-1713
•Nicholas Hodgdon, killed with several others on May 11, 1704 at Wells, Maine. His age is not known exactly but he was probably in his 80s.
•Lydia Drew, kidnapped by Natives in 1707 and taken to Quebec with one other girl. She was assimilated and died there. Her uncle John Bunker was also killed at this time.
—John Tuttle, the husband of Judith Otis, was killed at his sawmill on May 7, 1712. He saved the life of his son, Nicholas by holding off their attack, buying time for him to escape.
Dummer’s War, 1722~1727
•Captain Matthew Scales, killed while defending his garrison house, April 13, 1725.
•Family of John and Elizabeth Hanson
—Elizabeth had survived the Oyster River Raid when she was young. Her family, the Meader’s, had their house burnt down.
—she was kidnapped on Aug. 27, 1725, and taken to Quebec with four of her children and servant-maid, the youngest being two weeks old.
—her little sons Caleb and Ebenezer were scalped and killed in front of her.
— she was held captive for a year and witnessed a lot of Native brutality before being sold to the French and redeemed by her husband with three of her children and maid.
—Her daughter Sarah was assimilated into Quebec society, the Natives and French refusing to redeem her.
—John Hanson died on his way to Quebec, trying to redeem Sarah one last time.
—Elizabeth wrote a small book, detailing her experience. This was the last raid on this part of New Hampshire.
•Captain Benjamin Mathes and family:
—he and his sons successfully defended their Garrison House. Many of his neighbour were not so lucky. The Mathes family helped dig a mass grave for 15 of their neighbours on their property. This is a real mass grave.
•John Bunker successfully defended his Garrison house. It stood until the 1930s.
•Francis Drew and family, 14 members
—Francis and family awoke to the Natives besieging their house. Francis tried to escape to a neighbours house but was captured. He surrendered the house but they killed him anyway.
—his wife Lydia was was left behind in the woods to die
—their son Benjamin, aged 8, was used for target practice by the Natives and killed.
—son John escaped, but was later killed in 1707
—son Thomas and his wife Tamsen were taken captive and separated. Tamsen was pulled out a window by Chief Bomazeen while pregnant.
—Tamsen was forced to give birth to her baby later that winter in a snow storm, after which the Natives took her baby and killed it.
—Tamsen and Thomas were released and reunited in 1698. Tamsen later witnessed against Chief Bomazeen caught and imprisoned.
•Two Children of Thomas Egderly and Rebecca, daughter of Francis Rand, were killed.
•John Rand and wife Remembrance were killed and their house burnt down. Their daughter Remembrance was taken to Canada. Sons John Jr. and Nathaniel survived.
•Nicholas Otis
—after surviving the Cocheco Massacre the Otis family were attacked again while walking home from church on July 26, 1696. Nicholas and his wife were killed
•Experience Otis/Heard
—she was attacked and scalped in the same attack that killed her brother. She never recovered and died sometime the next year.
•Richard Otis Jr.
—he was wounded but survived.
•John Locke was killed while harvesting in his field on Aug. 26, 1696. The Natives sought him out in revenge for sabotaging their canoes a few years before. Before he was killed, he managed to cut off one of their noses with his sickle. He was 69 years old. It is believed his sons tracked down an old warrior with no nose years later and got their revenge.
Queen Anne’s War 1702-1713
•Nicholas Hodgdon, killed with several others on May 11, 1704 at Wells, Maine. His age is not known exactly but he was probably in his 80s.
•Lydia Drew, kidnapped by Natives in 1707 and taken to Quebec with one other girl. She was assimilated and died there. Her uncle John Bunker was also killed at this time.
—John Tuttle, the husband of Judith Otis, was killed at his sawmill on May 7, 1712. He saved the life of his son, Nicholas by holding off their attack, buying time for him to escape.
Dummer’s War, 1722~1727
•Captain Matthew Scales, killed while defending his garrison house, April 13, 1725.
•Family of John and Elizabeth Hanson
—Elizabeth had survived the Oyster River Raid when she was young. Her family, the Meader’s, had their house burnt down.
—she was kidnapped on Aug. 27, 1725, and taken to Quebec with four of her children and servant-maid, the youngest being two weeks old.
—her little sons Caleb and Ebenezer were scalped and killed in front of her.
— she was held captive for a year and witnessed a lot of Native brutality before being sold to the French and redeemed by her husband with three of her children and maid.
—Her daughter Sarah was assimilated into Quebec society, the Natives and French refusing to redeem her.
—John Hanson died on his way to Quebec, trying to redeem Sarah one last time.
—Elizabeth wrote a small book, detailing her experience. This was the last raid on this part of New Hampshire.