A LIVING HISTORY BLOG.

18TH CENTURY LIVING HISTORY IN AUSTRALIA.

Friday 27 January 2012

The Adoption of Mary Jemison by Robert Griffing

5 comments:

Jenny said...

The "adopted by natives" is a curious thing in contemporary thinking about our frontier days.

I confess I've always been a little bothered by the romantization of it, as the line between "adopted into the tribe" and "kidnapped and enslaved" seems kind of muddy in a lot of these stories. Especially when you know her captors murdered her family, keeping just the pretty girl as a captive.

On the other hand, Andy Jackson wiped out native villages, and adopted a native son.

People are weird. Mercilessly cruel one moment, adopting and nurturing the next.

Keith said...

I think too that we must be careful not to bunch all natives into one catagory. They were individuals like us. Some good, some indifferent and some not so good. I recall reading about babies being dashed against trees to kill them, and you are right, it is hard to get a handle on sometimes.
Keith.

Zeph said...

I imagine that Mary Jemison's experience with the Seneca was a good one and that's why she lived amongst the Seneca throughout most of her life.

On Mary Jemison, i wrote a related article on her life and experiences: http://hubpages.com/education/Mary-Jemison-Dehgewanus-White-Woman-of-the-Genesee

Meliss said...

How do I purchase this print?

Keith said...

Meliss, the link to the gallery is under the painting image.
Regards, Keith.