Hannah Dustin

When we arrived at my parents house over Christmas break I found this statue/liquor bottle sitting on my parents countertop. My dad told me that she was was the first women in the United States to have a statue erected in her honor. And she is my great great great great ..... grandmother (10 generations). This is the story (very condensed):

Six days after Hannah delivered their twelfth child (Martha), a band of Indians kidnapped her, her nurse (Mrs. Neff), and the baby. Then they killed her baby right in front of her eyes. (I can only imagine the emotions she must have felt). Over the next few days they marched approximately 100 miles, and were lead to an island (now named Dustin Island).

A young boy, Samuel, who had been living with the Indians for about 18 months was also with them. At Hannah's request, Samuel asked the Indians how they killed their captives and then relayed the information to Hannah. With the stories of what happened to Indian captives, and her desire for revenging the death of her baby and the cruel treatment of their captors while on the march, Hannah resolved to escape in any way that she could. After reaching the island, the Indians had become careless and no longer kept watch at night. Shortly after midnight Hannah awoke Samuel and Mrs. Neff and together they killed ten of the twelve Indians and took their scalps. They then escaped off the island and after several days of travel returned safely home to Haverill.

When I first heard that she helped kill 10 Indians I was totally shocked and wondered how she could bring herself to do it. But, after finding out that they killed her baby in front of her very eyes and knowing that she had family back at home that she desperately needed to be with, I understood her a little bit better.



My parents were able to visit Haverill, MA in October and see the statue. (They were back east because my Dad was awarded a Silver Medal by the US Dept. of Commerce!).

(For a more accurate and detailed history go to www.hannahdustin.com)