The Capture of Abigail Allis

William Allis may have been descended from William Alis of England. This William took part in the invasion and conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy, 1066-1071. He came to America with Winthrop's fleet in 1630. The fleet consisted of eleven vessels: Arabelia, Talbot, Ambrose, Jewel, Charles, Mayflower (third voyage), William and Francis, Hopewell, Whale, Success and Trial.

In the Winthrop colonists, consisting of 700 immigrants, there were three distinct communities represented: (1) those from Dorset and Devon, known as the Dorchester men, who first settled in Boston a number of years before it received that name, (2) those from Lincolnshire, who were properly called Boston men and had determined upon the name of Boston for the new settlement before they left England, (3) those from London and Essex. William Allis came with the last named company and was no doubt one of the 39 men on the Mayflower (third voyage). They first touched at Salem, but landed at Charlton Harbor, Boston (then called Trimountain), 1 Jul 1630.

William was a leading citizen of Hatfield and a trusted lieutenant of John Pynchon of Springfield. He held the offices of deacon, justice of the peace and selectman, was often on advisory committees with prominent men of that section and in 1672 was one of those commissioned to lay out Squakeage (Northfield). He was a member of the committee which was appointed by the town on 7 Mar 1673, and authorized to say who should be the inhabitants of Deerfield by right of purchase or otherwise, to regulate the herding of cattle, to advise about the institution of a church and secure a good orthodox minister, et. At a later date, namely 7 May 1673, the Great and General Court appointed him one of a committee of six to act in all respects, to lay out the farms and to admit inhabitants to Deerfield, and in 1674 was one of those commissioned to lay out Swampfield (Sunderland).

During these years, as the Indians had been fairly dealt with by the settlers, peace existed between them until war was incited by King Philip, sachem of the Wampanoag tribe. On 19 Oct 1675 the Indians, numbering about 800, attacked Hatfield with the intention of destroying the town and slaying the inhabitants as they had at the neighboring towns of Northfield and Deerfield. But they were expected by the settlers and beaten off with small loss to Hatfield.

The Indians then assumed a defiant attitude. They stole cattle and horses from the English and appropriated a number of the outlying farms. As a result the settlers decided to take the offensive and the battle at Great Falls (now Turner’s Falls) resulted. The men from the different towns to the number of 150 started from their homes on 18 May 1676, and assailed the Indians at the Falls early in the morning of the 19th, when they were asleep, killing about 175 of them with practically no loss to themselves. But when they began their homeward march this success was turned into a defeat. The Indians attacked them from the rear and a panic was created among the English by the report that a thousand warriors under King Philip were at hand. The men were scattered, and although the retreat was conducted with bravery and skill 38 of the settlers were killed, and some became lost and wandered around in the woods for two or three days before reaching their homes.

William Allis was a captain in the fight at Great Falls and had with him three sons, one of whom, William Allis, Jr., was killed.

The settlers now saw the need of a larger force to cope with the Indians. A cavalry regiment called the Hampshire Troop, under command of Maj. John Pynchon, was recruited from the different towns. William Allis was at first Coronet and later Lieutenant of the mounted troops. Garrisons were established in the various towns, that of Hatfield being made up of 36 men under Lt. William Allis, who was in charge of the fortifying at Hatfield in the winter of 1677-78.

For a while after the Great Falls fight there was an occasional plundering expedition by the Indians, but they became scattered by famine and disease and by the English troops, and the death of King Philip on 12 Aug 1676, appeared to put an end to the war. Nothing more was seen of the Indians until 19 Sep 1677, when 50 of them from Canada, led by their chief Ashpelon and encouraged by the French, attacked Hatfield without any warning.

They entered the town when most of the men were harvesting corn in a distant field, set fire to many buildings, killed 12, captured 17 and immediately started for Canada with their captives. William’s wife, Mary, was killed in the massacre and Abigail Allis, the daughter of his son John Allis, was one of those taken captive.

The suddenness of the Hatfield Massacre [link to book pictured right] seemed to paralyze the settlers and apparently no effort was made to rescue their relatives and friends. Perhaps they feared that the captives might be tomahawked, if pursued, and hoped they might be spared if unmolested. Upon their arrival in Canada, the prisoners were turned over to the French. Those who survived did not see their homes again until eight months later.

On 24 Oct 1676, with a commission from the Massachusetts government, they left for Albany, NY by way of Westfield, MA … that being the only travelled route to Canada. They reached Albany, but the authorities were unfriendly and sent them to New York on a false pretense. After a time they were sent back to Albany with a pass, but it was December 10th before they were able to resume the journey to Canada.

They first hired a Frenchman as a guide (who deserted them) and then hired a Mohawk Indian, who remained with them. In the face of many trials and discouragements, and at times without food, they finally reached the captives at Sorell, Quebec, Canada. But they were unable to secure all of them without the help of the French authorities and went on the Quebec.

They were successful in their mission and were assigned a guard of 11 soldiers to Albany. They left Quebec on 19 Apr 1677 and Sorell on 2 May 1677, having redeemed all of the captives. The ransom cost £200, which was made up of contributions from the English. The party reached Albany on 22 May 1677 and eventually arrived safely at Hatfield. [See "Family Histories" Generation 10]