Reverend John Williams

Reverend John Williams
(1664-1729)

John Williams came to Deerfield, Massachusetts, as minister in 1686. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard College in 1683. Rev. Williams and five of his children were marched to Canada after the 1704 raid on Deerfield during Queen Anne's War (1701-1713). His wife, Eunice (Mather) Williams (1664-1704), was also captured but was killed at the Green River in nearby Greenfield shortly after the journey began. Rev. Williams and four of the children returned home, but seven-year-old Eunice chose to stay in Canada. After his return late in 1706, Rev. Williams wrote an account of his capture and imprisonment, "The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion." He returned to his ministry in Deerfield in 1707 and continued as religious leader there until his death. Seven editions of his captivity account were published before 1795.