Eunice Kanenstenhawi Williams

Eunice Williams, also known as Marguerite Kanenstenhawi Arosen, (17 September 1696 – 26 November 1785) was an English colonist taken captive by French and Mohawk warriors from Deerfield, Massachusetts in 1704.

While choosing not to return to her natal family, she, along with her children, repeatedly made the trek to Deerfield to visit with her Puritan siblings over the course of her life.

On 29 February 1704, the Williams' home was attacked during a raid on the settlement led by French and allied Abenaki and Mohawk fighters.

Later called the Deerfield Massacre, the event was part of a series of raids and conflicts between the French and English and their Indigenous allies during Queen Anne's War in the early 18th century.

[1] The attackers killed numerous settlers in their houses, including Eunice's younger brother John Williams, Jr. and six-week-old sister Jerusha.

Eunice was given the symbolic name Waongote, meaning "one who is planted like an Ashe", and was instructed in the Mohawk language and customs, and catechized in the Roman Catholic religion.

Williams was allowed to meet with Eunice on two occasions; both times, he responded to her requests for guidance by telling her to recite the Puritan Catechism.