Susanna Cole
Encyclopedia
Susanna Cole, born Susanna Hutchinson (1633 - c. 1713), was the only survivor of an Indian attack in which many of her siblings, her famed mother, Anne Hutchinson
, and other household members were killed. Following the attack, she was taken captive, and held by her captors for several years before her release.
Born in Alford
, Lincolnshire
, England, she was less than a year old when her family sailed from England to New England
in 1634, and less than five when her family settled on Aquidneck Island
(later Rhode Island) in the Narragansett Bay
following her mother's banishment from Massachusetts
. Shortly after her father's death, when she was about eight years old, she, her mother and six of her siblings left Rhode Island to live in New Netherland
, settling in an area that became the far northeastern section of the Bronx in New York City
, near the Westchester County line. Caught in the middle of severe tensions between the local natives and the Dutch
, the family, except for Susanna, was massacred in August 1643. Susanna was taken captive, and raised by the Indians, later to be traded back to the English.
Taken to Boston where her oldest brother and an older sister lived, she was re-introduced into English society, and at the age of 18 married John Cole, the son of Boston innkeeper, Samuel Cole. They lived in Boston for a few years, but by 1663 had moved to the Narragansett country of Rhode Island
(later North Kingstown, Rhode Island) to look after the lands of her oldest brother, Edward Hutchinson
. Here the couple remained and raised a large family. Susanna was still alive in 1707 when given administration of her husband's estate, but was deceased by December 1713 when her son William took receipts concerning his parents' estate.
to accompany her parents on the voyage from England to New England
in 1634. She was the 14th child of her parents, of which 11 survived to make the trip to the New World
, with one more born in New England. The family settled in Boston
, and lived across the street from magistrate John Winthrop
, who would take the lead during a civil trial in 1637 that led to her mother's banishment from the Massachusetts colony. Her mother had hosted very popular religious discussions at her home, and held some religious views at odds with the rigid orthodoxy of the Puritan
ministers, creating a major division in the Boston church, and an untenable situation for the colony's leaders Forced to leave Massachusetts, the family settled with many of her mother's supporters on Aquidneck Island
in the Narragansett Bay
, establishing the settlement of Portsmouth
, which soon became a part of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
. Susanna was about five years old when the family left Boston, and was only eight when her father died in Portsmouth.
Frightened at the prospect of Massachusetts gaining influence or control over Rhode Island, Susanna's widowed mother took her six youngest children, an older son, a son-in-law, and some servants and moved to the part of New Netherland
that would later become the Bronx in New York City
. The Dutch and native Siwanoy
were engaged in Kieft's War
during the Hutchinson's tenure there, and in August 1643 the household was attacked by the Indians, and all members of the family were killed, except for nine year old Susanna. According to one story, Susanna was spared from slaughter because of her red hair, while another account related that she was out picking blueberries and went to hide in the crevice of Split Rock
when the attack occurred a distance away at the house. Susanna was then taken captive by the attackers, being held for two to six years (accounts vary.)
Susanna's captivity ended when she was traded back to the Dutch, then to the English, and then returned to unnamed friends or family members. Her known living siblings at the time of her return were her oldest brother, Edward Hutchinson
, another brother, Samuel, and her two oldest living sisters, Faith, the wife of Thomas Savage
, and Bridget, the wife of John Sanford
. All of these siblings lived in Boston except for Bridget who lived in Portsmouth. Susanna returned to Boston, and likely stayed with her oldest brother and his family. On 30 December 1651 she married John Cole, the son of Samuel Cole who owned Boston's earliest inn, the Three Mariners.
. Here the Coles lived for the remainder of their lives, rearing many children. In April 1667, John Cole deeded their house in Boston to Susanna's two older brothers, Edward
and Samuel, signifying that they intended to remain in Narragansett. They lived in the vicinity of Wickford
, which area was claimed by both Connecticut
and Rhode Island. Many of the Wickford inhabitants preferred to be under the jurisdiction of Connecticut, and in the late 1660s Susanna's husband became a magistrate and commissioner for the area under the auspices of the Connecticut government. Eventually, following many years of dispute and tension, Rhode Island was given control over the Narragansett lands, and in 1682 John Cole was made a conservator of the peace under the Rhode Island government. By 1707 John had died, and Susanna and her son William were given administration of his estate during that year. Susanna had died by 14 December 1713 when her son, William, "took receipts from heirs for their full proportion of estate of deceased father and mother..."
. A second John grew to maturity, Hannah married Thomas Place, and William married Ann Pinder. Francis grew to maturity, Elizabeth married Robert Potter, and Elisha married Elizabeth Dexter and was for many years a Deputy or Assistant in the Rhode Island colony.
There have been numerous books and articles written about Susanna's famous mother, Anne Hutchinson
, most of which mention Susanna. One book has been written about Susanna, Trouble's Daughter by Katherine Kirkpatrick, which presents a fictionalized account about Susanna's life with the native Americans who captured her, but also presents some of the limited historical information that is available about her.
A bronze statue placed in front of the Massachusetts State House in Boston in 1922 displays an assumed likeness of Susanna as a youngster, and her mother, Anne Hutchinson
.
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
, and other household members were killed. Following the attack, she was taken captive, and held by her captors for several years before her release.
Born in Alford
Alford, Lincolnshire
- Notable residents :* Captain John Smith who lived in nearby Willoughby* Anne Hutchinson, pioneer settler and religious reformer in the United States* Thomas Paine, who was an excise officer in the town....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England, she was less than a year old when her family sailed from England to New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
in 1634, and less than five when her family settled on Aquidneck Island
Aquidneck Island
Aquidneck Island, located in the state of Rhode Island, is the largest island in Narragansett Bay. The island's official name is Rhode Island, and the common use of name "Aquidneck Island" helps distinguish the island from the state. The total land area is 97.9 km²...
(later Rhode Island) in the Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
following her mother's banishment from Massachusetts
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
. Shortly after her father's death, when she was about eight years old, she, her mother and six of her siblings left Rhode Island to live in New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
, settling in an area that became the far northeastern section of the Bronx in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, near the Westchester County line. Caught in the middle of severe tensions between the local natives and the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the family, except for Susanna, was massacred in August 1643. Susanna was taken captive, and raised by the Indians, later to be traded back to the English.
Taken to Boston where her oldest brother and an older sister lived, she was re-introduced into English society, and at the age of 18 married John Cole, the son of Boston innkeeper, Samuel Cole. They lived in Boston for a few years, but by 1663 had moved to the Narragansett country of Rhode Island
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...
(later North Kingstown, Rhode Island) to look after the lands of her oldest brother, Edward Hutchinson
Edward Hutchinson (captain)
Edward Hutchinson was the oldest son of the founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony William Hutchinson and the dissident minister Anne Hutchinson...
. Here the couple remained and raised a large family. Susanna was still alive in 1707 when given administration of her husband's estate, but was deceased by December 1713 when her son William took receipts concerning his parents' estate.
Early life
Baptized in Alford, Lincolnshire on 15 November 1633, Susanna Hutchinson was the youngest child of William and Anne HutchinsonAnne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
to accompany her parents on the voyage from England to New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
in 1634. She was the 14th child of her parents, of which 11 survived to make the trip to the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, with one more born in New England. The family settled in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and lived across the street from magistrate John Winthrop
John Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...
, who would take the lead during a civil trial in 1637 that led to her mother's banishment from the Massachusetts colony. Her mother had hosted very popular religious discussions at her home, and held some religious views at odds with the rigid orthodoxy of the Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
ministers, creating a major division in the Boston church, and an untenable situation for the colony's leaders Forced to leave Massachusetts, the family settled with many of her mother's supporters on Aquidneck Island
Aquidneck Island
Aquidneck Island, located in the state of Rhode Island, is the largest island in Narragansett Bay. The island's official name is Rhode Island, and the common use of name "Aquidneck Island" helps distinguish the island from the state. The total land area is 97.9 km²...
in the Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
, establishing the settlement of Portsmouth
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,389 at the 2010 U.S. Census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water. Most of its land area lies on Aquidneck...
, which soon became a part of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...
. Susanna was about five years old when the family left Boston, and was only eight when her father died in Portsmouth.
Frightened at the prospect of Massachusetts gaining influence or control over Rhode Island, Susanna's widowed mother took her six youngest children, an older son, a son-in-law, and some servants and moved to the part of New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
that would later become the Bronx in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The Dutch and native Siwanoy
Siwanoy
The Native American Siwanoy or Sinanoy were a band of Algonquian-speaking people, the Wappinger, in what is now the New York City area. By the mid-17th century, when their territory became hotly contested between Dutch and English colonial interests, the Siwanoy were settled along the East River...
were engaged in Kieft's War
Kieft's War
Kieft's War, also known as the Wappinger War, was a conflict between settlers of the nascent colony of New Netherland and the native Lenape population in what would later become the New York metropolitan area of the United States...
during the Hutchinson's tenure there, and in August 1643 the household was attacked by the Indians, and all members of the family were killed, except for nine year old Susanna. According to one story, Susanna was spared from slaughter because of her red hair, while another account related that she was out picking blueberries and went to hide in the crevice of Split Rock
Split Rock (Bronx, New York)
Split Rock is a large dome-shaped granite boulder measuring approximately from north to south and from east to west. It is located in the borough of The Bronx in New York City, at the southeast corner of the intersection of the New England Thruway and the Hutchinson River Parkway, near the...
when the attack occurred a distance away at the house. Susanna was then taken captive by the attackers, being held for two to six years (accounts vary.)
Susanna's captivity ended when she was traded back to the Dutch, then to the English, and then returned to unnamed friends or family members. Her known living siblings at the time of her return were her oldest brother, Edward Hutchinson
Edward Hutchinson (captain)
Edward Hutchinson was the oldest son of the founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony William Hutchinson and the dissident minister Anne Hutchinson...
, another brother, Samuel, and her two oldest living sisters, Faith, the wife of Thomas Savage
Thomas Savage (major)
Thomas Savage was an English soldier and New England colonist and merchant, attaining the rank of major in King Philip's War.-Life:...
, and Bridget, the wife of John Sanford
John Sanford (governor)
John Sanford , was an early settler of Boston, Massachusetts, an original settler of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and a governor of the combined towns of Portsmouth and Newport, in the Rhode Island colony, dying in office after serving for less than a full term...
. All of these siblings lived in Boston except for Bridget who lived in Portsmouth. Susanna returned to Boston, and likely stayed with her oldest brother and his family. On 30 December 1651 she married John Cole, the son of Samuel Cole who owned Boston's earliest inn, the Three Mariners.
Adult life
Susanna and John Cole began raising a family in Boston, but by 1663 they had gone to look after her brother's land in the Narragansett country, which was then in disputed territory, but later became North Kingstown, Rhode IslandColony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...
. Here the Coles lived for the remainder of their lives, rearing many children. In April 1667, John Cole deeded their house in Boston to Susanna's two older brothers, Edward
Edward Hutchinson (captain)
Edward Hutchinson was the oldest son of the founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony William Hutchinson and the dissident minister Anne Hutchinson...
and Samuel, signifying that they intended to remain in Narragansett. They lived in the vicinity of Wickford
Wickford, Rhode Island
Wickford is a small village in the town of North Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, which is named after Wickford in Essex, England. Wickford is located on the west side of Narragansett Bay, just about a 20 minute drive across two bridges from Newport, Rhode Island...
, which area was claimed by both Connecticut
Connecticut Colony
The Connecticut Colony or Colony of Connecticut was an English colony located in British America that became the U.S. state of Connecticut. Originally known as the River Colony, it was organized on March 3, 1636 as a haven for Puritan noblemen. After early struggles with the Dutch, the English...
and Rhode Island. Many of the Wickford inhabitants preferred to be under the jurisdiction of Connecticut, and in the late 1660s Susanna's husband became a magistrate and commissioner for the area under the auspices of the Connecticut government. Eventually, following many years of dispute and tension, Rhode Island was given control over the Narragansett lands, and in 1682 John Cole was made a conservator of the peace under the Rhode Island government. By 1707 John had died, and Susanna and her son William were given administration of his estate during that year. Susanna had died by 14 December 1713 when her son, William, "took receipts from heirs for their full proportion of estate of deceased father and mother..."
Family and legacy
Susanna and John Cole had 11 children, at least nine of whom grew to maturity. Their oldest daughter, Susanna, married Thomas Eldred, but the fate of their oldest son, Samuel is not known. Mary lived into her 60s, never marrying, and John, Jr. died as a youngster. Ann married Henry Bull, the son of Jireh Bull, and grandson of Rhode Island colonial governor Henry BullHenry Bull (Governor)
Henry Bull was an early colonial Governor of Rhode Island, serving for two separate terms, one before and one after the tenure of Edmund Andros under the Dominion of New England...
. A second John grew to maturity, Hannah married Thomas Place, and William married Ann Pinder. Francis grew to maturity, Elizabeth married Robert Potter, and Elisha married Elizabeth Dexter and was for many years a Deputy or Assistant in the Rhode Island colony.
There have been numerous books and articles written about Susanna's famous mother, Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
, most of which mention Susanna. One book has been written about Susanna, Trouble's Daughter by Katherine Kirkpatrick, which presents a fictionalized account about Susanna's life with the native Americans who captured her, but also presents some of the limited historical information that is available about her.
A bronze statue placed in front of the Massachusetts State House in Boston in 1922 displays an assumed likeness of Susanna as a youngster, and her mother, Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
.
See also
- Colony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsColony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsThe Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...
- Indian massacre
External links
- biography A short biography of Susanna Cole
- statue info Background on the Anne Hutchinson statue; while this source gives a dedication year of 1915, most other sources give the year as 1922.
- find-a-grave Info for "Susanna Hutchinson" buried in Granary Burial Ground, Boston, with the correct dates. This entry is questionable: why would she be called Susannah Hutchinson, instead of Susanna Cole? The entry does not say whether or not she has a tombstone. Perhaps her name is only mentioned on the marker of another relative.