"It was about midnight when my eighth great-grandmother, Hannah, and the other two kidnap victims, Mary and Samuel, armed themselves with tomahawks.

Hanna had been waiting for the camp to be sound asleep. On her signal, she and the young boy Samuel first killed the two men who had been watching them, and then, with Mary emboldened, they incapacitated the rest of the group.

Hannah is on my father’s side of the family. We have always had a little problem with authority and the status quo.

Hannah Dustin and the younger Mary Neff had been kidnapped by Abenaki Indians in March of 1697. They were forced to travel north 75 miles without shoes, and in Hannah’s case, in sleep clothes. Shortly into the journey, Hannah’s newborn daughter was killed by their captors."

Get the Story:
Davison Cheney: Don't mess with my grandmother, Hannah Dustin (The Deseret News 3/15)