THE TARBELL FAMILY AND THE INDIAN WARS PT3

The story of the capture of the Tarbell children and their susequent fate was written about in books and magazine articles right up into the early 20th century.  Samuel Abbott Green wrote quite a bit about them in his book Groton in the Indian Wars, starting with this:

In a list of prisoners held by the French and Indians in Canada, March 5, 1710-11, are the names of "Zech: Tarbal, John Tarbal, Sarah Tarbal, Matt. Farnsworth [and] Lydia Longley" (Archives, LXXI. 765), all of Groton, though no date of capture is given. Lydia Longley was taken by the Indians on July 27, 1694, and the particulars of her case have already been told. The Tarbell children were carried off on June 20, 1707; but it is unknown when Matthias Farnsworth was captured, and this entry appears to be the only record of the fact. Sarah, John, and Zechariah were children of Thomas and Elizabeth (Wood) Tarbell, who, with a large family, lived on Farmers' Row, near where James Lawrence's house now stands. Sarah was a girl nearly fourteen years of age, John a lad of twelve years, and Zechariah only seven, at the time when they were taken. They were near kindred of the Longley family, who had been massacred thirteen years before. The father was unquestionably the Corporal Tarbell who commanded, in the autumn of 1711, one of the eighteen garrisons in the town.

The story of their capture and captivity is a singular one, and sounds like a romance. They were picking cherries early one evening, — so tradition relates, — and were taken before they had time to get down from the tree. It should be borne in mind that the date of capture, according to the new style of reckoning, was July I, when cherries would be ripe enough to tempt the appetite of climbing youngsters. These children were carried to Canada, where, it would seem, they were treated kindly, as no inducement afterward was strong enough to make them return permanently to their old home. The girl, Sarah, was sold to the French, and placed in a convent at Lachine, near Montreal; but what became of her subsequently I am unable to say.

Thomas Tarbell, the father of these children, made his will September 26, 1715, which was admitted to probate six weeks later, and is now on file at the Middlesex Probate Office in East Cambridge. After making certain bequests to different members of his family, he says: —

all the rest & residue of my Reall Estate I give to be Equally divided between my three children, John, Zachary, & Sarah Tarbell, upon their return from Captivity, or In Proportion unto any of them that shall return, & the rest, or the parts belonging to them that do not return, shall be Equally divided among the rest of my children.

pp109-110

 Groton During the Indian Wars  : J. Wilson and Sons, Cambridge , Ma. 1883

Even after eleven years since their capture, my 8x great grandfather held out hope for their eventual return


His sons would come back to Groton after his death, but not as he had hoped they would.


To be continued.