INDIAN
STONES TIMELINE
June 15, 1747: Susannah Willard marries Capt., James Johnson in Lunenburg, Ma.
1750: Moved from Lunenburg to Fort No. 4 in Charlestown, NH
August 29, 1754: The Johnsons host a party with neighbors, celebrating with watermelon and
flip, at their homestead close to Fort #4.
Aug. 30 1754: Captain, Susannah, their children (Sylvanus-6; Susanna-4; Polly-2 and
Susannah’s sister Miriam Willard (14 years of age) captured, along with their
neighbor Peter Laberee and hired hand
Ebenezer Farnsworth.
Aug. 31, 1754: Susannah gives birth to daughter-Elizabeth Captive-1/2 a mile up the
Knapp Pond Rd. making her the first recorded child of European descent born in
Cavendish. The Indian Stones, which were erected by Susannah 43 years after the
birth of her daughter, are in Reading.
Sept.7, 1754. They reach East Bay in Lake Champlain. Loaded into canoes and taken to
the French Fort Crown Point (NY). They were well treated and remained for four
days. They then traveled by water to St. Francis (Saint Francois du Lac) near
Montreal. Everyone but Susannah, Sylvanus and Captive are taken to Montreal to
be sold. In November, Susanna and Captive join them but the Abenaki keep
Sylvanus.
Nov. 12, 1754: Once in Montreal, Capt. Johnson is given two months to secure a ransom
for his family by the Governor. Accompanied by two Indians, he heads to Albany
to secure ransom. Ultimately he is directed to Boston and then meets with Gov.
Wentworth in Portsmouth, NH. He secures 150 pounds for ransom plus 10 pounds to
defray expenses.
Feb. 15, 1755: Capt. Johnson is making his way back to Canada to pay the ransom.
Receives a letter from Gov. Shirley (Mass) and is told not to return to Canada
but come to Boston instead.
While Capt. Johnson is gone, Susannah, Miriam, and
Captive reside with the DuQuesne family who treat them well. Polly (2) is now
owned by the Mayor and his wife and Sue (4)
was bought by three elderly women. When Capt. Johnson doesn’t return in
the prescribed timeframe, circumstances become more difficult and they leave
the DuQuesnes, renting a room and supporting themselves by sewing.
June 1755: Capt. Johnson returns to Montreal but the governor has changed and is
not sympathetic to their situation. They are reduced to paupers.
July 1755: Capt.Johnson is jailed in Montreal. On July 22, the family (Susannah,
James and their two youngest children) is sent to Quebec and jailed. By this
time Miriam’s ransom has been paid. She goes to the family of the Lt., General,
where she continues to sew. Also having paid full ransom were Laberee &
Farnsworth. However, they were not allowed to leave
Early spring 1756: Laberee makes
his escape from the French, traveling at night and arrives in Charlestown in
the winter. Farnsworth made it back to Charlestown before the other captives.
December, 1756: Susannah gives birth to a boy in prison that dies
July 20, 1757: Susannah, Miriam, Polly, and
Elizabeth were sent to England via ship. James was not granted permission to
leave and continued to fulfill his remaining prison sentence. They sailed to
England and then to Ireland and arrive at Sandy Hook, NY in Dec.
January 1, 1758: Susannah is reunited with her husband. Because of legal
troubles for violating parole, he travels back to New York to “adjust his
Canada accounts.” There he was persuaded to take a Captain’s position in the
French and Indian War. Move to Lancaster, MA.
July 8,1758: Capt Johnson dies in 1758 as an officer of the Crown at Ticonderoga-the
Battle of Carillon.
October 1758: Sylvanus is returned to his mother at age 11 after his ransom was paid
by the British. He was fluent in Abenaki and
conversational in French, and fully accustomed to Abenaki life.
1759: Susannah moves from Lancaster, Mass to Charlestown, NH to her husband’s
land. She opens a small store to support her family.
1760: The eldest daughter Susannah (Sue) is reunited with her family after
the French surrendered Montreal. She only speaks French
1762: Susannah marries John Hastings Jr. She has seven children with him, of
which only two survive. Ultimately she had 38 grandchildren and 28 great
grandchildren.
March 20, 1769: Miriam Willard dies in Shirley, Mass, having been married to the Rev.
Phinehas Whitney. They had no children.
1780: Captive Johnson marries George Kimball, of Cavendish. She is his second
wife and has four children with him. He does not appear in the census after
1790 and it is possible that Captive moved with her daughter Betsy to Montreal.
1784: Polly marries Major General Timothy
Bedel. They have two children. Polly dies in NH in 1789 at the age of
36.
1794: Farnsworth dies in Charlestown, NH
1796: “A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson: An Account of Her
Suffering During Her Four Years with the Indians and the French” is published.
1799: Susannah hires a stonecutter to create two slate
markers, with the intent that one was to be placed at the birthplace, and the
other at the nearby Native encampment site. The two stones were placed side-by-side
in a location not far from their present site. Descendants of Johnson in 1918
had the two stones mounted in the granite slab.
1803: Laberee dies in Charlestown, NH at the age of 79.
1804: John Hastings dies
Nov. 27, 1810: Susannah dies in Langdon, NH, buried In Forest Hill Cemetery,
Charlestown, NH
1824: Susannah Johnson Wetherbee dies in Concord, VT at the age of 73-74. She
has 15 children, including five sets of twins.
1827: Captive Johnson Kimball dies in Montreal. She is buried under the Place
d’Armes Orange Line Station on Montreal Metro
1832: Sylvanus dies in Walpole NH at the age of 84. He had married Susanna
Hastings and had six children, none of whom married. He owned most of the land
now known as North Walpole.
1957: Elizabeth George Speare’s publishes “Calico Captive”
Prepared by the Cavendish Historical Society for 8/25/19
presentation.
802-226-7807 www.cavendishhistoricalsocietynews.blogspot.com margocaulfield@icloud.com
CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142
