Mary Jemison

Adams County teenager abducted by Indians in 1758

Born aboard ship en route to America from Ireland, Mary Jemison (née Jameson) was just 15 when she was abducted in 1758 from her Buchanan Valley home. While her Shawnee captors killed other members of her family, they spared Mary, later trading her to a Seneca Nation where she was adopted by two Seneca women.

After the war Mary lived on with her Seneca family, becoming a leading member of the tribe. She was twice married to Seneca chiefs and acquired substantial property in New York state. Although she had chances later in life to leave the Seneca, she chose not to. Mary died at the age of 90.