orig. Mary White
born 0441; 1637, England
died Jan. 5, 1710/11, Wethersfield, Conn.
British-American colonial author.
She was the daughter of the original proprietor of Lancaster, Mass., where she lived with her minister husband and their four children. When Indians razed the settlement in 1676, she was captured and held hostage for 11 weeks. Ransomed, she moved to Connecticut with her husband and two surviving children. Her narrative of captivity, titled The Soveraignty & Goodness of God, Together with the Faithfulness of His Promises Displayed; Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson and published in 1682, became popular in the colonies and in London.