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Why did Eunice Williams remain unredeemed
children. This was especially true to Eunice, who, due to her fathers position within the community would have lived a very sheltered life. It has been documented that the Williams family had a slave to do their jobs for them and Eunice would therefore be simply known for being her fathers daughter. This is a stark contrast to the way of life of the Indians, for women play a more prominent role in society. They were involved in “planting and tending cornfields. And harvesting the fully grown crop” In fact the women do everything with regard to bringing in the corn, from drying it out and grinding and storing the kernels. They also grew other things such as pumpkins and “watermelons and sunflowers”. The women were also responsible for cutting the wood to make the fires and tending to animals, as well as running the home and bringing up the children. Playing such a prominent place in society could have given Eunice a feeling of self worth, which she would not have felt at home. It could have made her feel like she had more of a purpose and it could have been the very thing she needed to make her stay.
Indians also incorporate captives into society better than the English incorporate the Indians, especially children. They are adopted into families and therefore there is less distinction between those who are born there and the captives. The care the Indians showed for Eunice could be what encouraged her to stay, as she did not feel threatened by her captors.
Another major reason was the dedication on the part of the Indians in depriving her of her previous culture and lifestyle. They changed her dress and her religion and her way of life to such a degree that she lost all of her former culture. This isolation from everything she knew forced her to rely heavily on her captors and this could have prevented her from trying to return as she had become too dependant on her adoptive family.
Her loss of English also played a big role in why she remained unredeemed. This occurred sometime in the first two years of her captivity as even if you were held captive with other English speaking people it was forbidden to converse in it. Joseph Kellogg remembers his own captivity and how “the Indians prevented the captive children speaking together in the native tongue”. The loss of her English was apparent when John Schuyler came to visit her. After he “first spoak to her in English, Upon which she did not answer me” it was his belief that “she did not understand me”. Due to being unable to converse with her as she did not understand him it could have had an effect on why he was unsuccessful in trying to get her back.
It seems clear that in those early years Eunice wanted to be redeemed as her father says after meeting with her she was “very desirous to be redeemed out of the hands [next page]