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Subject: [GM-L] Captivity of Matthias Farnsworth of Groton, Mass.
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 13:33:04 EDT

Subject: Captivity of Matthias Farnsworth
Source: Groton Historical Series by Dr. Samuel A. Green Vol II 1890

p. 364 MATTHIAS FARNSWORTH'S CAPTIVITY

Among the Massachusetts Archives (LXXI.761) at the State House is a
list of prisoners held by the French and Indians in Canada on March 5,
1710-11, wherein the name of Matthias Farnsworth appears. There is a
reference to this list in "Groton during the Indian Wars" (p.109),
where the statement is made that "it is unknown when Matthias Farnsworth was
captured, and this entry appears to be the only record
of the fact." Within a few days, through the kindness of Miss C. Alice
Baker of Cambridge, I have learned the date of his capture as well as
some facts about his family. Miss Baker obtained them from the early
parish records of Montreal, and she has placed them at my disposal.
The account is as follows:

"On January 10, 1706, was baptized Mathias Farnet, born at Groton, New
England, in the year 1680 [1690?]. He was a son of Mathias Farnet,
weaver, and of his wife, Sara Nutting, and was captured in August 1704;
at the time of baptism he was living at the Mission of Notre Dame de
Lorette on the island of Montreal. His godfather was Claude de Ramezay
and his godmother was Elizabeth, wife of Charles Le Moyne, Baron of
Longueuil. In a list of English and Dutch captives who ask for
naturalization papers dated May, 1710, the name of Mathieu Claude farnet"
appears. The middle name was taken from the godfather. In
another list of English captives who had taken out naturalization
papers dated May 1710, the name of "Mathias Claude Farnet," is given.

By the conditions of the process those who received the papers could
NOT return to live in New England, without permission of the French
king. In fact they obtained all the privileges of Canadian born sub-
jects, - they could inherit property and dispose of it, but HAD to be
Roman Catholics."

This account lays in neatly with the very few facts known about the
Matthias Farnsworth family. Matthias Farnsworth Sr. was a weaver and
it seems natural that Matthias Farnsworth Jr., the boys father, should
have learned the same trade. The account gives also the maiden name
of the mother, which until now has been unknown to the present genera-
tion; while the given name corresponds with that in the town-records.
She was the daughter of John and Sarah Nutting, born at Groton on May
29, 1663. I think, however, that there is a mistake in the date of the
boy's birth, as a contemporaneous entry in the County records at East
Cambridge says that he was born on August 6, 1690 and there is no
reason to doubt its accuracy. It would be very easy to confound the
figure 9 with an 8. According to the record found in Canada, Matthias
was captured in August 1704, during the early part of which month the
town of Groton suffered somewhat from the depredation of the Indians.
Samuel Penhallow, in "The History of the Wars of New-England" Boston,
1726, thus refers to this attack:

"They afterwards fell on Lancaster and Groaton, where they did some
Spoil, but not what they expected, for that these Towns were seasonably
strengthened - and yet a little while after they fell on Groaton and
Nashaway [Lancaster], where they kill'd Lieut Wyler [Wilder], and
several more." (Pages 24, 25.)

In the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society is a manuscript
diary of John Marshall of Braintree, which has the following entry:

"The begining of this month of august [1704] the indians did mischeif
at Lancaster - Killed 3 or 4 persons - burnt their meeting house: and
did some harm allso at Groton. the same Week Killed one or more: about
200 men went out after them who weer gone 20 days under major Taylor,
but Returned Without doing any spoill on them."

The attack on Lancaster was on July 31, and that on Groton, probably
within a day or two of the same time. According to John Shepley's
petition, printed in "Groton during the Indian Wars" (pages 68, 69)
"three or four men were either killed or carried away from Groton in
the summer of 1704; and perhaps Matthias Farnsworth was one of this
number. They were in a field at the time, some reaping and others
on guard, when they were attacked".

The first volume of a Genealogical Dictionary of Canadian Families (in
French), by the Abbe Cyprien Tanguay, was published in the year 1871
and since then four other volumes have appeared. This work gives some
interesting particulars about many of the captives taken in New England
who afterward were naturalized in Canada; and it refers by name to Lydia
Longley (I.9,396) and to Matthias Farneth [Farnsworth] (IV.9),
who both were of Groton. In early times the use of a particular form
of a surname, even in the same family, was not always uniform; and it
is easy to see, therefore how Farnworth which was the common way of
writing the name in the beginning of the last century, should have be-
come Farnet or Farneth in Canada. It is said that Matthias married;
and if so, there may be now in that Province representatives both of
his name and family. His wife without doubt was a French woman.

Twelve years ago at St. Regis I saw descendants of the two Tarbell boys
who were carried off by the Indians on June 20, 1707. These children
assimilated in their mode of life with the captors and afterward they
married squaws and when they died they left a large posterity. The
physical resemblance between some members of the family that I saw
and their collateral kindred in Groton was very marked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note p. 15 of the Farnsworth Memorial, Moses Farnsworth says:
"All the immigrants of that name to this country in the seventeenth
century wrote it in the same or substantially the same way [Farnworth].
But as the writers and recorders of those times were not well instructed in
orthography, they were not at all uniform in their spell-
ing of this name. Thus we find Farneworth, Fernworth, Farnot, Farnoth
Fearnoth and many other forms. The pronounciation in early times in
this country was probably as if spelled Farnoth, as it is spelled in
some of the records." Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth

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