History of Frances Slocum has many angles
American Indians' side of story of abduction of Quaker girl rarely gets
told.
By GRACE DOVE
Back Mountain Leader Correspondent
If you visit Frances Slocum State Park in Kingston Township or have studied
local
history, you've doubtless heard the story of the Quaker child who allegedly
was
kidnapped from her Wilkes-Barre home by "savage Indians" who
carried her through
the Back Mountain to their people. The state park even boasts a rock shelter
where
Frances and her captors supposedly stayed the first night after her abduction.
Although some of this story can be authenticated, I seriously question
it. You see,
my Lenni-Lenape (sometimes called Delaware) ancestors got the rap for taking
off with
Frances, and I'm sure nobody asked us to tell our side.
Frances's story has fascinated me for many years. Thanks to research by
Brianna Winter
for a high school research project, I can share it.
Frances Slocum was born in 1773 to Jonathan and Ruth Slocum, a Quaker couple
who came
from Rhode Island to settle in the wilderness near Wilkes-Barre. The Lenape
respected
the Quakers because they, like the Lenape, believed in telling the truth,
keeping one's
word and dealing fairly and honestly with all people.
The Quakers, whom the Lenape called "the black hats" because
of their characteristic
headgear, were also pacifists, avoiding war at all costs, as did the Lenape
for many
centuries before the time of William Penn.
Against Mr. Slocum's wishes, Frances's oldest brother, Giles, had sneaked
out to join
Washington's army in Wilkes-Barre, possibly lured by the promise of a grant
of land
once his service was up. The Lenape believed that by allowing Giles to
join the army,
Mr. Slocum had broken his promise to them and to the Creator to never go
to war.
Breaking one's word was, and is still, a serious offense to our people,
who called
Mr. Slocum "the false black hat."
The Slocums were also caring for two boys, Nathan and Wareham Kingsley.
On the day
Frances was taken, Nathan was wearing a cast-off solder's uniform, which
probably
added insult to injury in the Lenapes' eyes. Its understandable for them
to have shot
Nathan, whom they may have mistaken for a soldier.
Nobody ever asked the Lenape why they kidnapped Frances and Wareham Kingsley.
Nobody
ever asked them how they felt to be cheated out of their land and valuable
hunting
grounds. Nobody ever asked them much of anything.
During their flight from Wilkes-Barre, Frances and her abductors supposedly
stayed in
a rock shelter on top of a hill in what is today the state park.
History tells us Frances was adopted by an elderly Miami couple who gave
her the name
"Mocanaqua" and raised her as their own daughter. Even her name
has been changed -some
people say it means "Little Bear" because she supposedly fought
like a bear, which is
now the name of a little town across the river from Shickshinny.
Not so. One of our elders researched the name, which translates to "Little
Deer at
Night." The same elders told me that our ancestors wouldn't simply
go into someone's
house and make off with their little ones.
History also tells us that Frances/Mocanaqua was so well-treated by her
adopted people
that, even when given the chance, she refused to go back to the world of
the white man.
She married twice and owned land and cattle in Deaf Man's Village, a Miami
village in
Indiana, where she was a very respected person. Certainly she must have
known that
returning to the white man's world would mean giving up these rights. She
died in 1847.
It's nice to add some local color to our nation's history, and it's great
to pass along
a local legend. Let's just try to get both sides of the story.