JOHN LONGLEY
1682/83 - 1750

As I stood before this small tombstone in the old walled burying ground at Groton, various thoughts tumbled through my mind. Bright rays of sunshine filtered down through the tall pines and came to rest on dainty yellow flowering weeds similar to Buttercups. Fallen pinecones gently covered the earth which contains the mortal remains of my ancestor to whom I owe my existence. Had he remained John Augary and not returned to civilization, who would I be? Or, would I be at all?

John Longley was twelve years old when the Indians raided the settlement of Groton on July 17, 1694, killing his parents and brothers and sisters, and carrying his two other sisters and himself through the woods toward the river and into captivity. When his captors had gone only a short distance down the Nashua, he remembered that his father's sheep were locked in the barn. He pleaded with the Indians to let him return to the farm and release the sheep with the promise that he would return to them without raising an alarm. It seems strange, in view of what happened at the Longley farm, that he should want to return to the place where the mutilated bodies of his family lay between the cornfield and the barn. Strange or not, John went back to the farm, released the sheep, made no effort to arouse the neighbors, and returned to the Indians and captivity - a captivity which he endured for four years.
Evidently life among the savages appealed to him. When relatives tried to ransom him he was so reluctant to leave the Indians that force had to be used to separate him from them. He never talked about his life in captivity to his family or friends and, the only record of his four years among the Indians is a short statement found among the Knox Manuscripts, now in possession of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

"John Longley of Groton of about fifty four years of age Testifyes & Saith That he was Taken Captive by the Indians at Groton in July, 1694, and lived in Captivity with them more than four years; And the Two last years and a half at Penobscot as Servant to Madocawando of Sd Penobscot And he was always Accounted as Chief of One of ye Chief Sachems or Captains among the Indians there and I have often seen the Indians gifting i n Council Where he always Sat as Chief; And Once in particular I observed a present was made of him a Considerable Number of Skins of Considerable Value As an Acknowledgement of his Superiority."

Signed by John Longley at Groton July 24, 1736. "Deacon John Longley above named personally Made Oath To ye Truth of the above written Testimony. Before me Benja. Prescott, Just. Of peace." Knox Manuscripts, Waldo Papers, L.13.

After returning home John became a deacon of the church and a leading citizen of Groton. "He entered into the duties of civilization with the same zeal that he manifested in his savage life. He served as Town Clerk of Groton for six years, and was elected to the office of representative to the General Court three times. "At a church meeting, 1722, John Longley was chosen deacon," of the Church of Christ, a position which he held for twenty-eight years. On Sept. 14, 1733, Deacon John Longley and brother Ephriam Pierce were a committee as trustees for the church, to receive a forty pound legacy left to the church by Jonathan Lawrence in his last will and trestament." History of Groton
The record of a town meeting shows that "John Longley, Jonathan Page, Ephriam Sawtell, William Tarbell, and William Lawrence, with such others as will freely join them, have liberty to erect and finish the bridge at the place prayed for, viz., between Squannacook and Mulphus brook, where said work has already begun, provided they do it within two years; and that for their encouragement therein, they have what hath already been provided for said bridge." Early Records of Groton

Evidence that John Longley purchased some of the Groton lands of his grandfather, William Longley, is found in various Middlesex Deeds. The recording of these deeds and a description of some of the land follows:

Middlesex Deeds, Book 32, p. 532. Mary Shattuck to John Longley for 33 pounds. Nov. 5, 1730. "-do freely and fully and absolutely, give, bargain, sell, convey and confirm unto him, the said John Longley, his heirs and assigns forever, the Lands, Meadows, rights, comanages, buildings and all other estate whatsoever, which formerly belonged to my honored grandfather, William Longley, late of Groton - and especially in and to all that part of my grandfather's lands going on the west side of the river in Groton aforesaid given or left to me by my grandmother, being twenty acres out of the ____ and in and to an acre and a half of meadow more or less lying in ye meadow called New Angle given me by my grandmother. "
Middlesex Deeds, Book 32, pp. 532-533. James and Lydia Nutting to John Longley for 10 pounds.
Middlesex Deeds, Book 37, pp. 704-704. Samuel and Elizabeth Shattuck to John Longley for 52 pounds.

ABOUT SARAH PRESCOTT -

Sarah Prescott Longley's ancestry is ancient and contains the names of many of history's great personages. - Alfred the Great, Charlemange, William I (The Conqueror), and David I, King of Scotland. Her Standish ancestor was a relative of Capt. Miles Standish of "Mayflower" fame.
Her grandfather, John Prescott, was the only man among the original proprietors of Lancaster, Mass., those who purchased land from Sholan, Chief of the Nashaways, to settle there permanently, and was called "The Founder of Lancaster."
The Prescott family has been honored by many worthy descendants. Namely - Benjamin Prescott, who carried on Paul Revere's famous ride to warn the citizens of Concord; Col. William Prescott, commander at the Battle of Bunker Hill; the noted historian, William Hickling Prescott, and Charles Warren Fairbanks, Vice-President of the United States.

Each of John Longley's sons inherited some of his land, either in Groton, or in that part of Groton which later became Shirley. Had he remained with the Indians, his name and the heritage he left to his sons would not have been carried down through the generations to continue the weaving of my Ancestral Tapestry.