Researched
and Written by - John Buczek
Thanks
go to Melissa Johnson for the corrections
It
was a cold winter New England morning that Monday in December as the Goodnow
family of Samuel and Mary were readying themselves for the days activities.
The fireplaces had been stacked with wood and the heat from them filtered
through the large house, their only child, two year old Thomas, lay sleeping
in his crib. Mother Mary had spent the past days baking and cooking.
Samuel had taken time to go hunting in hopes to catch something to place
on the table for dinner. Amidst all of this, Samuel and Mary
were awaiting the arrival of their second child, and on this day December
15, 1673, Mary Goodnow arrived.
Mary led the typical childhood life of a daughter born in those times.
She played in the yard of her fathers house which lay on the Great Road
to Boston in that part of Marlborough which was known as the "North Borough
of 
Marlborough"
and later to be called Northborough. The house was set upon 20 acres
of land and was that which was originally owned by his father Thomas Goodnow,
who on the 26th day of November 1660 laid claim to this area at a meeting
of the inhabitants of the town of Marlborough. The homestead was
but a few rods from "Stirrup Brook" and was nestled in an area of meadow
land and forest. The homestead was designated as Garrison Number
12 and served the surrounding families of Nathaniel Oakes, Jonathan Forbush
and Gershom Fay as a place to seek shelter in case of Indian attacks.
As Mary grew older she was blessed with the arrival of two brothers, Samuel born Tuesday November 30, 1675 and David born Thursday December 21, 1678. By 1683 young Thomas was twelve years old and learning how to work the farm and how to hunt. Mary, who was only ten years old, had become an important part of the family; she was responsible for watching her younger siblings and at the same time learning from her mother those things that were needed in running a household. It was important that she learn how to cook, sweep the floors, wash the clothing, gather nuts, berries and herbs from the meadows and garden. She would be responsible to make sure that the fire places had wood at all times and that she collect water from the brook with her mother and younger brothers.
December 15, 1694, another cold and blustery Saturday in New England, Mary reached her 21st birthday. She had little to celebrate for there where still the daily chores to do. Her brothers where well onto their education getting formal training from the school teacher and their father. Mary learned those things that were considered important to a girl of her age and was taught her ABC's and how to write by her mother. She had become of marrying age, however something happened during her childhood that would impact her for the remainder of her life. It is not known how or when, but Mary had been afflicted with a lameness of the leg which did not allow her to walk with much dexterity or run with any speed. As we will see, this was her undoing. When Mary reached her 24th year of age, she was still not married as most of daughters of other families were.
It was a hot and humid Monday morning this 18th day of August in 1707 when Mary awoke to do her daily chores. Her father and brothers and the other men of the Garrison had left earlier to work the fields. The Indian raids at this time had become more frequent and the Garrison had been fortified with a stockade fence surrounding it to prevent raiding Indians access to the house. There remained at the house but one man that morning when Mary and Mary Fay, the wife of Gershom Fay and about the same age as her, set out to gather herbs from the meadow. They had reached a portion of the meadow that was with in eye site of the Garrison, about five hundred yards distance, when a party of raiding Indians, twenty four in all, broke out of the surrounding woods and set upon the two defenseless women. Upon hearing the Indians, both women set off towards the Garrison seeking the shelter of the stockade and the house. Both ran screaming in fear of their lives, but Mary with her lameness could not keep up with her friend.
As Mary Fay continued to run towards the garrison, her friend Mary Goodnow fell further behind despite calls of encouragement to 'keep up, keep up, you can make it" she (Mary Goodnow) could not. As Mary Fay reached the Garrison calling for help from the man that remained behind, poor May Goodnow was now in the grasps of the Indians. As the two of them within the Garrison took up the muskets and firing shots at the Indians, they could hear poor Mary's screams of terror and anguish. The two continued to shoot at the Indians until the muskets were empty, Mary Fay then took up the task of reloading them so as they could continue to fire upon the savages.
The men in the field, upon hearing the ruckus, dashed to the Garrison and evading the Indians, they reached the house and entered into the battle. The Indians seeing that they were outnumbered, ran to the safety of the woods, but not until they ended poor Mary's life. When it was over, the men cautiously looked for Mary. To their dismay and horror, they found her body mutilated and butchered. In grief and sorrow, her body was laid to rest on the spot where she was slain.
Mary's
grave can be found today just off the Great Road now known as Route 20
in Northborough. There is a sign on the main road directing those
who would like to visit her grave; and within a short distance is another
marker indicating the site where the Garrison once stood..
The Inscription Reads
"In Memory of
Mary Goodnow
Who was killed by Indians
on this spot
August 18, 1707
Erected by the Town of Northborough
1889
It should be noted that the signs indicate Northborough, however at the time of the incidance the land was located in that part of Marlborough that was called the "Northboro of Marlborough".
Return to Stories