icon for Home page
icon for Kid's Home page
icon for Digital Collection
icon for Activities
icon for Turns Exhibit
icon for In the Classroom
icon for Chronologies
icon for My Collection

Online Collection
Select a transcription:

Upon the 4th day of August 1694, Mary Sarah Smith
wife to Martin Smith Now in Captivitie this day appeared
in Hatfield Before Joseph Hawley & Samll Partrigg Esqrs
Justices of ye Peace & Endorsed Complaints agst John Evens of Derefeild for
That ye sd Evens On ye 31 day of July last past John Evens came to her
house wr she Now lives in Derefeild withoutside but Nere ye fortificatio
she being alone discoursed a while with her then saying it was tyme to
Look after his Watch & goeing to ye dore Lookd on ye starrs & sd it was
Not tyme yet & turning toward me put his hand Under my apron
at wch I startled to see him soe Evilly mynded & drew back wth yt he tooke
hold of me & Moved me to ye house floor & there threw me down on my
back & got Upon me holding me down pulling up my Coats wch I strove
to keepe down but he forcd them up & fell on my Naked body On my
privy pts &c & after Opened his privy pts So yt I Saw them & by force
he brought his body Soe Nere as to touch me wth his privy pts Next
& imeadiate to forceing an Unclean act upon me but with my Strive
ings I almost freed my self of him & a 2d tyme he got me under
him in wch tyme he in my apprehension had done ye act but wth
my calling Out before Two of ye Sould yc as I am informed came to
the dore then & prevented him ye Souldary can testiefie wt they did see &c

Sarah Smith abovenamed hereby Entered into Bond Given before Joseph
Hawley & Samll Partrigg Esqrs Justice of ye Peace to prosecute hereabovesd
Complt agst Jno Evens face to face before such Corts or Authoritie
as shall come before to wch she binds her self in a Bond of fortie
Pounds to wch she Subscribeth this 4th day of August 1694

Sarah Smith
her Mark

Sarah Smith abovenamed acknowledegd here abovesd
sd Bond & Subscribing thereunto before Joseph
Hawly & Samll Partrigg Justices of ye Peace this 4th
day of August 1694 in Hatfeild atty

Samll Partrigg }Just
Joseph Hawley Peace

[sidebar]
Sarah Smith appeared & made Oath to her here written testimony
before Jos Hawley & Samll Partrigg Justice of ye Peace
in Hatfd this 4th August 1694

Sarah Smith Complt
agst Jno Evens &c
Augst 4 1694.

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
Contact us for information about using this image.



label levels:

There is currently no available "Beginner" label. The following is the default level label: Sarah Smith was a young woman when she married Martin Smith, a widower aged about 42. He brought her to Deerfield, Massachusetts, in 1693 where he had lived since 1674. In October of 1693 he was seized by Native Americans, tribe unknown and taken to Canada. His wife continued living in the south part of the town, an area known as Wapping. The Native American raids meant that a permanent guard was appointed. On the night of July 31, 1694 John Evans, a longtime resident of the town, forty years old and married, stopped by Sarah's home on his way home from his watch duty. There he raped her; it was only stopped when the guards who had relieved him came to investigate the disturbance. Five days later she swore a charge against Evans. Oddly, given that this was a Puritan community, Evans was never arrested or excommunicated. But Evans had a wife and children to support and they would have become wards of the town if he had been publicly disgraced. Sarah eventually moved into a nearby home with another couple. Three years later she became involved with one of the soldiers, became pregnant and bore the child in secret. The child died and she was convicted and hung for its murder. The Rev. John Williams, the town leader, preached a famous sermon about her just before her execution.

 

top of page

Complaint against John Evans by Sarah Smith

creator   Sarah Smith
date   Aug 4, 1694
location   Hatfield, Massachusetts
height   11.75"
width   7.75"
process/materials   manuscript, paper, ink
item type   Legal Documents/
accession #   #L02.148


Look Closer icon My Collection icon Document Image icon Detailed info icon


ecard icon Send an e-Postcard of this object



See Also...

"Warnings To The Unclean": In A Discourse From Rev. XXI. 8. Preacht at Springfield Lecture, August 25th.1698.

"History of Deerfield"


button for Side by Side Viewingbutton for Glossarybutton for Printing Helpbutton for How to Read Old Documents

 

Home | Online Collection | Things To Do | Turns Exhibit | Classroom | Chronologies | My Collection
About This Site | Site Index | Site Search | Feedback