A NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF MRS. MARY JEMISON, WHO WAS TAKEN BY THE INDIANS, IN THE YEAR 1755, WHEN ONLY ABOUT TWELVE YEARS OF AGE, AND HAS CONTINUED TO RESIDE AMONGST THEM TO THE PRESENT TIME.

Seaver, James E.:

Edité par Howden: Printed for P. Parkin., 1826.

A propos de cet article

The rare second, and first British, edition of "one of the most authentic and interesting of captivity narratives," according to Howes and Streeter. Mary Jemison (Deh-he-wä-nis) (1743-1833) was captured by the Senecas in 1758 at the age of fifteen, the rest of her family having been massacred. She was initially taken from the area around Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania, to eastern Ohio, but after the French and Indian War, her adoptive tribe moved north to western New York state. The book provides long accounts of the Revolutionary War in upstate New York, incidents of later frontier conflicts through the War of 1812, as well as Mrs. Jemison's life in the area around Buffalo from the Revolutionary period to 1823. Frederick Strecker, the bibliographer of the Jemison narrative, notes that "considerable of the history of the settlers of western New York, has its source in the Jemison narrative." Jemison's account was recorded when she was seventy-seven years old by Dr. James Seaver, who transcribed and arranged for the publication of her memoirs. "Much of the content of the narrative resists stereotypical depictions of Indigenous peoples, offering insight into the lives of the Seneca Nation through Jemison's perspective as a sister, wife, mother, and respected member of the community.the Narrative is an exceptional record of Seneca life in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries" - Potter & White. Jemison lived with the Seneca until her death at ninety, having married several times. After the Revolution, Jemison chose to remain a Seneca rather than return to White society even though she was free to do so and became known to her European-American neighbors near the river where she lived as the "White Woman of the Genesee." By far the best bibliographical account of the Jemison narrative is given by Strecker in The Colophon No. 7 (1931), "My First Year as a Jemisonian," in which he lists some twenty-three editions of the narrative published between 1824 and 1929; the present edition he describes as "rare." An early edition of an important captivity narrative. HOWES S263. CHURCH 1334. PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 3541. SABIN 78678. FIELD 1380. AYER, INDIAN CAPTIVITIES 99. 249. James E. Seaver, Tiffany Potter (editor), Willow White (editor), "Introduction" in A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, a Broadview Anthology of American Literature Edition (Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2022), p.174. 12mo. Original printed green paper boards, backed by later brown cloth. Boards rubbed and worn, new endpapers. Scattered foxing and staining. Contemporary ownership inscription of Ann Pring on front flyleaf (upper quarter of leaf clipped away). Good plus.

N° de réf. du vendeur 62656

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: A NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF MRS. MARY JEMISON, WHO WAS TAKEN BY THE INDIANS, IN THE YEAR 1755, WHEN ONLY ABOUT TWELVE YEARS OF AGE, AND HAS CONTINUED TO RESIDE AMONGST THEM TO THE PRESENT TIME.
• Éditeur: Howden: Printed for P. Parkin., 1826.