A Stone's Throw Away

Flying stones of all sizes rained with such force that those outside quickly ran for shelter. But the effort was futile: stones crashed through glass and fell down chimneys; some were hot as flames while others were bitterly cold. Hundreds at a time flew through the sky crashing down on to the tavern, making their way into walls and bruising or severely injuring anyone unlucky enough to come in contact with them. Lithobolia had arrived.

       The whirlwind of stones began furiously on the evening of June 11, 1682 on the small and peaceful isle of Great Island, New Hampshire.  There, at the home and tavern of George and Alice Walton, friends and boarders were running for shelter and protection. Small and large stones, some as hot as fire, pelted the tavern, breaking windows, causing damage, and injuring anyone who came in contact with them. These treacherous, mysterious attacks continued for three months until they came to a sudden end in September. No one ever came forward to claim responsibility, yet no one was ever seen. How could one person or even several cast hundreds of stones over four-hour periods? Some too big to lift or too hot to touch. Coincidentally, other oddities such as demonic voices and items being moved or thrown about the tavern occurred during the same three month period. There was no other answer but witchcraft.

       At the time George Walton was in a property dispute with his neighbor Hannah Jones. He accused her of resorting to using forces of the occult upon him. His proof…Hannah’s mother had been accused before of witchcraft, and those who believed knew that witchcraft was passed through the female generations. Hannah of course retaliated with a charge of wizardry against George. Unfortunately, when Hannah confronted George regarding her mother, her temper got the best of her and she threatened to cast stones at him. This was enough proof to put Hannah on trial for witchcraft.

       However, Hannah was not the only one capable of casting stones upon George. He was a successful and envied Quaker in a land of Puritans who did not take too kindly to him. In the nearby Massachusetts Bay Colony, Quakers could be hung simply for stepping on Puritan land. In addition, he employed questionable characters and catered to rowdy customers including those known as “godless fishermen.” Hannah was later acquitted of witchcraft charges, but not before similar accusations began to spread through the New England Colonies, coming to a head ten years later, at what is known as the Salem Witch Trials.

A boarder at the tavern by the name of Richard Chamberlin (secretary of the British Colony of New Hampshire) witnessed the onset and wrote about it in his journal. Sixteen years later he published it and called it “Lithobolia.” Translation: the stone-throwing devil. 

 Thank you Wayne Marshall Chase for this Modern-day Tavern Image

Today, Great Island is better known as the quiet and peaceful New Castle, New Hampshire, located at the mouth of the Piscataqua River.



If you would like to learn more about "Lithobolia," the stone-throwing devil or the pre-Salem history of witchcraft and strife in the New England colonies, please read or visit the below resources. Thank you.

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Thank you to the following resources that helped make this blog possible:

References:

Baker, E. (2007). The Devil of Great Island: Witchcraft and conflict in early New England. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Brown, J. (2007, May 7). New Hampshire Glossary: Lithobolia–The Stone Throwing Devil. Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://www.cowhampshireblog.com/2007/05/07/new-hampshire-glossary-lithobolia-the-stone-throwing-devil/

Chamberlin, R. (1698). LITHOBOLIA. Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://w3.salemstate.edu/~ebaker/chadweb/lithoweb.htm

Robertson, D. (2003, April 14). Attack of the Rock-Throwing Devil. Retrieved April 26, 2015, from http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please041403.html

The Forgotten Massacre

With the villagers still peacefully sleeping in their beds, the cold February night slowly lessened its grip on the darkness as dawn began to awaken. As daylight slowly emerged, the silence of the winter air fell to a loud and piercing war cry. The villagers awoke to broken doors and shattered windows, sounds of gunfire, and whistling hatchets barreling down on their families. Within a matter of minutes, it was over.

On May 4th, 1702 in an effort to prevent the joining of French and Spanish thrones and therefore a shift in the balance of power, England declared war to maintain British rule. In North America, it was better known as Queen Anne’s War, and both forces wanted control of the continent. During this time, several settlements on both sides were raided. With the knowledge of the impending raids, the British-owned village of Deerfield hid behind their encompassing wooden barricade for protection and additional troops were sent for support. They knew it would only be a matter of time. The question was not “if,” but “when” would it happen. 

The colonists never saw it coming in the dead of a very snowy winter. On the morning of February 29, 1704, 200-300 French soldiers, with the Iroquois and Huron Indians as their allies, raided Deerfield, completing the attack just before sunrise, exposing the bloody massacre of 49 men, women, and children killed by gunfire and hatchet strikes. The small village of Deerfield, which once stood strong along the Connecticut River in Massachusetts Bay Colony, had been captured and partially burned to the ground. 

Out of the survivors, 112 were forcefully marched 300 miles north on foot to Canada. Any colonist who could not keep up during the 25-day march over the Green Mountains would be punished by immediate death. Eunice Williams was one of the unlucky ones. Shortly after giving birth, she collapsed and was unable to continue the trek across the Green River; with her husband Reverend John Williams and her five children looking on, Eunice’s life came to a horrid end with one swoop of a hatchet. Another 20 would die by force, illness, or weather before reaching Canada. 

Twelve families survived the raid and were not forced to march northward to Canada. Ironically their decision to remain in their homes just south of the Deerfield barricade, provided more protection than for those inside the compound. Unfortunately, they bore the responsibility of burying the dead in a mass grave which stands to this day at the Deerfield Cemetery.

After a year in captivity, 60 villagers were released and returned to Massachusetts Bay Colony. Reverend Williams and his children survived and all returned home, except for one, his 4 year old daughter Eunice (shared her mother’s name) was left behind. Her story doesn't end here, it continues in Canada with the Mohawk tribe.

Eunice Williams' life may have ended during the forced march, but her spirit lives on in the search for her newborn baby. In 1974, a covered bridge in Eunice Williams' name was erected across the Green River in Greenfield, Massachusetts. It is said that with the single beep of a car horn on a moonless night, the ghost of a dying Eunice appears begging for her baby. 

Thanks Brenda Holloway for the pictures and information!

If you are interested in learning more about the Deerfield Massacre and the Williams family consider visiting or reading :

Captors and captives: The 1704 French and Indian raid on Deerfield by Haefeli & Sweeny.

The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story From Early America by John Demos. (The continuation of the story of Eunice Williams.)

Historic Deerfield 

The Raid on Deerfield the Many Stories of 1704

Deerfield Massacre Mass Grave

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Thank you to all the resources below that helped to contribute and inspire this blog. 

References:

1702 Queen Anne's War. (2011). Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://colonialwarsct.org/1702.htm

Haefeli, E., & Sweeney, K. (2003). Captors and captives: The 1704 French and Indian raid on Deerfield (p. 23, 286, 290). Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.

Holloway, B. (2012, June 9). The Haunted Eunice Williams Bridge, Greenfield, MA. Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://lifeonabridged.blogspot.com/2012/06/haunted-eunice-williams-bridge.html

MAP - Raid on Deerfield. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_Deerfield

Ranger, R. (2015). The Family of Louis Séguin and Marie Anne Raizenne Deerfield, Massachusetts - 1704. Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://rcranger.mysite.syr.edu/famhist/deerfield.htm

Raid of Deerfield, Massachusetts in Queen Anne's War. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/colonial/jb_colonial_deerfld_1.html