BenjaminWaite, the third son of Thomas and Elinor Wait,left Portsmouth Rhode Island in the middle 1660s to settle in the ConnecticutValley at Hatfield messengers his first years there were marked by clashes withthe law. At one time he was tried for slander; at another he was hauled intocourt at Northampton traveling on Sunday. In 1670 same court the judge to himguilty of selling liquor to the Indians and find him 44 this line was laterabated in part.
In 1670 Benjamin weight married Martha Leonard ofSpringfield the fact that the ceremony took place in Hartford, Connecticut,makes one speculate whether this might have been in elopement however Benjaminbrought his bride back to Hatfield, build a house just north of the stockade,and started to rear family.
In 1675, King Philip’s war hit the frontier towns of thevalley like a thunderbolt. Hadley, Springfield, Hatfield, Deerfield, andNorthampton felt the sting of surprise attack by the Native Americans. in this struggle Benjamin weight took animportant part: you early commissioned a sergeant.
From the fall of 1676 to the fall of 1677 was a quietyear for the frontier towns of Western Massachusetts Deerfield started duringthe rebuild more and more, the farmers would leave their weapons at home whenthey gather the first good harvest three years. So it was a complete surprisewhen, in the mid morning of September 19, 1677, a small band of Indiansdescended on the town of Hatfield they disregarded the stockade turning theirattention to the dwellings inside the came with fire guns and arrows quicklyignited most of the houses, shooting anyone who came out to resist women andchildren they herded together marched north, captive. Later in the day theyduplicated this rate of Deerfield arriving back in Hatfield that day BenjaminWaite found that four of the 24 of the 20 odd captains were his wife, Martha,and three daughters, aged five, four, and two. The rescue party had alreadybeen started north the darkness overtook them and they returned empty-handedmost of the survivors were so bewildered they had no idea as to what should bedone several was sure that the attackers were Mohawk New York.
Benjamin swung into action. He made a fast trip to Albanyand found the Mohawks were not the culprits. He then went to Boston to pleadwith the governor for ransom money. Colonial treasury was empty, due the debtsfrom King Philip’s War. The best Benjamin could do was to obtain a letter ofcredit promising ransom that would be paid when there are funds available.
Then then return to Hatfield where he was joined byStephen Jennings. Jenning’s wife had also been captured. Together they madetheir way to Albany and sought the assistance of the New York Colony in gettingthe captors returned. Back in Albany, winter was beginning, but Waite andJennings picked up a French guide and started out to Canada. This guidedeserted them first night. However, a friendly Mohawk guided them to the shoreof Lake George a rough map for them on a piece of birchbark. When, snow, ice,and cold them. Their progress up Lake Champlain toward Canada. Some days thewind was so strong that they scarcely made a few miles. Their food ran low, andwild game was almost nonexistent.
Finally, on January 6, 1678, they stumbled into theFrench town of Chambly, 300 miles to the north. Here they found some of the captives. Theremainder were discovered several miles away in Sorel. Some the captors had beensold the French; some remained in the hands of the Indians. No one had power tonegotiate their ransom, so it was up to Benjamin Waite to go to Québec tobargain with Count Frontenac.
It was necessary to wait until spring for travel. Then,Benjamin and Stephen Jennings and 20-odd prisoners accompanied by an escort ofFrench soldiers, started down Lake Champlain. About 20 miles east of Albany in ,the captives met the Hatfield citizens. Thus culminated, successfully, an endeavorwhich many people probably would have labeled foolhardy and without a chance ofsuccess. If we tried to ascribe the reason for Waite and Jennings undertakingsuch a venture, the only valid one would be love of wife and family human havehad greater faith than these two.
This was among a number of raids on the settlers on the frontier starting with King Philip’s War in 1675. During Queen Anne’s war, the French stirred up the Indians again. A major raid was planned for early in 1704 on Deerfield, with French troops accompanying the Indians onFebruary 29, 1704. With snow over 3 feet deep, they burst into Deerfield, almost completely destroying the town. Smoke and flames of the burning building were so great that they could be seen in Hatfield. Among the first to go to Deerfield's rescue were Benjamin Waite and his eldest son John. Arriving on the scene, they surprised the Indians were preparing to leave the burning town but, pursuing Indians to the north of town to sell into an ambush. here was Indians to the north of town, the English ran into an ambush. It was here that Benjamin fell, mortally wounded.
Martha Leonard was killed during the attack by the French and Indians on Deerfield in 1704. Martha Leonard had person sources.
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