Sarah Tarbell , aka Sister Marguerite

From http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/tarbell_john_3E.html

On 20 June 1707 John Tarbell, a younger brother Zachariah (b. 25 Jan. 1699/1700), and an older sister Sarah (b. 29 Sept. 1693) were captured in an Indian raid on Groton during Queen Anne’s War. The three children were first taken to their captors’ home, the mission and Iroquois settlement at Caughnawaga (Sault-Saint-Louis). Sarah later went to live with the sisters of the Congregation of Notre-Dame in Montreal. John and Zachariah remained at Caughnawaga, where they were adopted into the tribe. They learned the Mohawk language and took up the Mohawk way of life. John became known as Karekowa (Karikohe), and Zachariah was called Torakaron. It is believed that they married daughters of Sakonentsiask and Atawenta, chiefs at Caughnawaga, and that they themselves became chiefs, but this information cannot be verified because the mission’s records for the period have been destroyed.

John and Zachariah apparently became fully accustomed to their new situation. Although their elder brother Thomas arranged to have them visit Groton during the winter of 1739 in hope of persuading them to settle there, they decided to return to Caughnawaga. In the following autumn John Tarbell and Henry Rice, also a captive at Caughnawaga, conferred with the governor of Massachusetts and received presents. They visited the Tarbell family in Groton and returned to Caughnawaga by way of Albany, New York. One of the Tarbell brothers is said to have been seen again in Albany in 1744.

About 1755 the mission of St Regis was established on the upper St Lawrence River as a French military outpost and as a place to which Mohawk converts to Catholicism could immigrate from the Mohawk valley. According to oral tradition the Tarbells moved there about 1760. Their descendants make up a substantial portion of the present St Regis Mohawks.

There is no record of the deaths of John and Zachariah Tarbell in the church records of Caughnawaga or St Regis.

Jack A. Frisch

Profile manager note: Though it seems that Sarah was separated from her brothers, she was just across the river. One has to think they were able to maintain family ties as much as allowed. It was the Catholic Clergy that arranged her move to "safety" in the French village and the Clergy maintain close ties to the Native peoples in St. Regis and Caughnawaga.

Additional sources:

https://kinsmenandkinswomen.com/2016/06/29/the-abduction-of-the-tar...

https://kinsmenandkinswomen.com/2016/06/29/the-abduction-of-the-tar...

http://genealogytrails.com/mass/middlesex/tarbellchiefs.html

http://www.wampumchronicles.com/firstfamilies.html

https://books.google.com/books?id=e4MxAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=...

https://books.google.com/books?id=CRjNBG0pV6MC&pg=RA1-PA76&lpg=RA1-...

http://files.usgwarchives.net/ma/middlesex/towns/groton/french_indi...

http://sbcwatch.blogspot.com/2010/07/tarbell-story.html

https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/tarbell/318/

http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/tarbell_john_3E.html

Le 20 juin 1707, John Tarbell, un frère cadet Zachariah (né le 25 janvier 1699/1700) et une sœur aînée Sarah (née le 29 septembre 1693) ont été capturés lors d'un raid indien sur Groton pendant la guerre de la Reine Anne. Les trois enfants ont d'abord été emmenés au domicile de leurs ravisseurs, à la mission et à la colonie iroquoise de Caughnawaga (Sault-Saint-Louis). Sarah est ensuite allée vivre avec les sœurs de la Congrégation de Notre-Dame de Montréal. John et Zachariah sont restés à Caughnawaga, où ils ont été adoptés dans la tribu. Ils ont appris la langue mohawk et ont adopté le mode de vie mohawk. John est devenu connu comme Karekowa (Karikohe), et Zachariah s'appelait Torakaron. On pense qu’ils ont épousé des filles de Sakonentsiask et d’Atawenta, chefs à Caughnawaga, et qu’elles sont elles-mêmes devenues chefs, mais cette information ne peut être vérifiée car les dossiers de la mission pour la période ont été détruits.

John et Zachariah se sont apparemment habitués à leur nouvelle situation. Bien que leur frère aîné Thomas ait organisé leur visite à Groton durant l'hiver 1739 dans l'espoir de les persuader de s'y installer, ils ont décidé de retourner à Caughnawaga. À l'automne suivant, John Tarbell et Henry Rice, également captifs à Caughnawaga, ont discuté avec le gouverneur du Massachusetts et reçu des cadeaux. Ils ont rendu visite à la famille Tarbell à Groton et sont retournés à Caughnawaga par Albany, New York. Un des frères Tarbell aurait été revu à Albany en 1744.

Vers 1755, la mission de Saint-Régis a été établie sur le cours supérieur du fleuve Saint-Laurent en tant qu'avant-poste militaire français et en tant qu'endroit où les Mohawks convertis au catholicisme pourraient immigrer de la vallée de la Mohawk. Selon la tradition orale, les Tarbells s'y sont installés vers 1760. Leurs descendants constituent une partie substantielle des Mohawks de St Regis actuels.

Il n'y a aucune trace de la mort de John et Zachariah Tarbell dans les registres paroissiaux de Caughnawaga ou St Regis.

Jack A. Frisch

Sources supplémentaires:

https://kinsmenandkinswomen.com/2016/06/29/the-abduction-of-the-tar...

https://kinsmenandkinswomen.com/2016/06/29/the-abduction-of-the-tar...

http://genealogytrails.com/mass/middlesex/tarbellchiefs.html

http://www.wampumchronicles.com/firstfamilies.html

https://books.google.com/books?id=e4MxAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=...

https://books.google.com/books?id=CRjNBG0pV6MC&pg=RA1-PA76&lpg=RA1-...

http://files.usgwarchives.net/ma/middlesex/towns/groton/french_indi...

http://sbcwatch.blogspot.com/2010/07/tarbell-story.html

https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/tarbell/318/