King Philip's War and the Destruction of Groton, MA 1676

[Farns10th at aol.com]

Subject:  King Philip's War
Source:   Farnsworth Memorial
Source:    Rev. William Hubbard in his "Narrative of the
           Indian Wars"      
p.25
In the year 1675 King Philip's War" broke out between
the Indians and the New England settlers, commencing
June 20th at Swanzey, Bristol County, MA which was then
in the Plymouth Colony, and soon spread so that many of
the Massachusetts towns were attacked and many of the
settlers killed, their property destroyed and their
houses and other buildings were burned.  Rev. William
Hubbard in his "Narrative of the Indian Wars" says:

"2 Mar (1676) They assaulted Groton (MA): The next day
(overnight) Major Willard with seventy horse came into
town: forty foot (soldiers) also came to their relief
from Watertown, but the Indians were all fled having 
first burnt all the houses in town save four that were
garrisoned, the meeting house being the 2nd house they
fired.  Soon after, Capt. Sill was sent with a small
party of dragoons of eight files to fetch off the in-
habitants of Groton, and what was left from the spoil
of the enemy, having under his conduct sixty carts, be-
ing in depth from front to rear above two miles, when a
party of Indians lying in ambush at a place of eminent
advantage fired upon the front and mortally wounded two
of the first carriers, who both died the next night...
Soon after, this village was deserted, and destroyed by
the enemy, yet it was a special providence that though
the carts were guarded with so slender a convoy, yet
there was not any considerable loss sustained."

Author's note:  The 'next night', (in the narrative)
is probably a misprint for 'fortnight', as the first
attack when the settlers moved away, was two weeks after
on March 17th.

It was probably on March 17, 1676 that Matthias Farns-
worth with his family, in one of those sixty carts was
on his way to Concord (MA) in that frightened process-
ion, two miles in length.  The Indians were around them,
their homes were burned, the product of fifteen years'
hard labor in the wilderness, except so much as they
could take with them, had been abandoned.  His wife
Mary (Farr) his daughter, Sarah Farnsworth, then abt
fourteen years; his son, Samuel Farnsworth (six years
old); his daughter Abigail, nearly five years old, and
his son, Jonathan Farnsworth an infant of under a year
old, were in the cart.  That must have been a terrible
time for them.  He had with him perhaps (or more likely,
in the armed guard), his three older sons.  His daughter
Mary Farnsworth had been sent in anticipation of the
danger, to her mother's relatives at Lynn (MA) for
safety.  It is also likely that his son Joseph had been
sent there somewhat earlier for the same reason, and it
appears Joseph died there.  What hardship and suffering
Matthias and his family endured in that forced emigra-
tion and in their residence at Concord (MA) where they
and all the rest of the Groton settlers stayed for two
years and how they lived during that time we can only
conjecture, it is not recorded.  They stayed there until
the immediate danger from Indian rifles and tomahawks
was over, and they thought they could try their fortunes
in the wilderness again.

In the spring of 1678 at the call for the inhabitants of
Groton to return, when some of the original settlers
had given up their interest in the settlement, Matthias
Farnsworth and his family, including his three oldest
sons who were then of age, went back to the old clearing
in the forest, gathered together again, such household
stuff, farm tools and stock as they had been able to
save, rebuilt their home and commenced anew the work of
life, at the ashes of their old homestead.  But they
must have carried on their work under a constant fear
of the merciless Indians, who some sixteen yers later
again fell upon the exposed settlement and murdered
many (of Groton's) settlers.
_________________________________________________________
Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth Feb 17, 1999