Family: Benjamin Waite / Martha Leonard (F7370)

• Male Benjamin Waite

  
  

  Birth	Abt 1640
  Death		Deerfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts
  Burial
  Marriage	8 Jun 1670	Hatfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts
  Father
  Mother

  
  

  Female Martha Leonard

  
  

  Birth	15 May 1649	Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts
  Death	Yes, date unknown
  Burial
  Father
  Mother

  
  

  Female Mary Waite

  
  

  Birth	25 Feb 1671	Hatfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts
  Death	Yes, date unknown
  Burial

  
  

  Female Martha Waite

  
  

  Birth	23 Jan 1672	Hatfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts
  Death	Yes, date unknown
  Burial

  
  

  Female Sarah Waite

  
  

  Birth	Abt 1675	Hatfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts
  Death	Yes, date unknown
  Burial
  Spouse	John Belding | F7392
  Marriage

  
  

  Female Canada Waite

  
  

  Birth	22 Jan 1677	Canada
  Death	Abt 1749
  Burial
  Spouse	Joseph Smith | F7363
  Marriage	Abt 1696

  
  

  Male John Waite

  
  

  Birth	17 Jan 1679	Hatfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts
  Death	Yes, date unknown
  Burial

  
  

  Male Joseph Waite

  
  

  Birth	Jul 1682	Hatfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts
  Death	Yes, date unknown
  Burial

  
  

  Male Jeremiah Waite

  
  

  Birth	24 Sep 1684	Hatfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts
  Death	Yes, date unknown
  Burial

  
  

  Male Joseph Waite

  
  

  Birth	11 Nov 1688	Hatfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts
  Death	Yes, date unknown
  Burial

  
  

• Notes

  Married: ". . .the epitome of courage and selflessness. . ." By Meredith Boissy Donatello My favorite ancestors are Benjamin Waite and his wife Martha Leonard Waite. Benjamin, "The Hero of the Connecticut Valley," was a courageous, loving, and capable man. When his wife and three daughters were taken captive during the Hatfield Indian Raid of September 19, 1677, Benjamin did not sit idly by but was determined to set his wife and children free or share their fate. He and another man faced the hostile French and Indians and pursued them until he returned with his family to Hatfield. During her captivity Martha gave birth to her fourth daughter, Canada Waite. Martha Leonard Waite, like her husband Benjamin, was extraordinarily courageous. She made a three hundred mile forced march to Canada while pregnant and managed to keep her three small children alive. This feat is so extraordinary because the Indians killed those captives, especially women and children, who could not keep up. This family is and was the epitome of courage and selflessness that is embedded in the American Spirit. Source: http://www.newenglandancestors.org/ Detail link, no longer valid? Source: http://www.newenglandancestors.org/education/articles/NEXUS_eNews/76_p_659_677.asp