A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison

Unknown artist

This copy of <i>The Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison</i> is missing its title page, but it was written by James E. Seaver and likely published around 1826. <i>The Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison</i> was the biographical tale of Mrs. Jemison, who was taken from her Pennsylvania home by a raiding party of Native Americans and French during the French and Indian War in 1755. While most of her family was killed, she was adopted as a Seneca, and lived the rest of her life in Northern New York with a husband and family among the Seneca. As white settlers began to push north and west they were surprised to encounter the “White Woman” living among the Native Americans. Seaver visited Jemison to record her story in 1824, and it was soon published, garnering much interest.