Plymouth, MA

During King George's War, a handful of Pigwacket men volunteered to fight for the English in exchange for protection for their families. In June of 1744, the Pigwacket chieftains Saquant and Weranmanhead (one of whom may have been Molly Ockett's father), with sixteen women and children—including a girl named "Mareagit"—arrived at Saco Falls. Eventually, these Indian families were taken to Weymouth, Massachusetts, and then to a nearby coastal location in Plymouth County, where they remained, "provided for by order of government" for about four years. Following the cessation of hostilities, the Pigwacket families, except for three unwilling young girls, were returned to Maine to be present at peace treaty negotiations at Falmouth in 1749. Among the three recalcitrant girls was Mareagit, who by now was used to English ways and was no doubt uneasy about leaving the Boston area (an early view of Leyden Street in Plymouth is shown here). Nevertheless, she and the other two girls were brought back to Maine, arriving at Fort Richmond on the Lower Kennebec aboard an English sloop in the spring of 1750.