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- Thomas was a millwright and farmer by trade, he built the first mill in Lancaster and Bolton,MA and would agree to built the first mill in Canada, but only for the purchase of his liberty. Thirty years had past since Thomas Jr. made his escaped from Lancaster with his father's family during King Philip's War, when in October 1705, during Queen Anne's War the Abnaki Indians and French forces attacked Englishsettlements in New England, making their way as far south as Hadley,MA. The French authorities stimulated the body of French half-breeds and Indians to make a raid on the British colonies. They started with 700 men for Hadley. The citizens had anticipated trouble form the Indians and had procured from the Goverment a company of soldiers, which was called the "Flower of Essex," for their protection, and were building a stockade fort for their defence, intending to winter there. They had grain in Deerfield which they wished to procure and sent teams for the prupose, and also sent the company of soliers to protect the teams. The grain was loaded and started for home, the soldiers protecting it the while. Going through a swamp near a brook (now known as Bloody Brook), they fell into an ambush of Indians. The soldiers and teamsters were all killed, except one soldier and one teamster, who esacped to Hadley and carried the news. Hadley quickly organized, with the help of an English(possibly Lord Goff) stranger who happened upon the town. The 700 French and Indians were soon on a retreat, 200 of whom returned to Canada, the remaining 500 of them changed their course to Lancaster. When they arrived there, Lancaster again became the scene of a bloody massacre. The house of Peter Joslin was first entered, in which two woman and two children were killed. Mr. Joslin himself returning from work,found his family weltering in their blood. Many citizens were shot down in their fields and the inhabitants were left to defend themselves in their garrison houses. Thomas Sawyer's Sr. garrison proved a safe defense against the Indians. There were numbers of French, among whom was one high French officer who is said to have been mortally wounded while in Lancaster, which much exasperated them. Thomas Jr., with his young son, Elias, were taken prisoner from his own house, and in company with John Biglow, they were taken to Canada. On arriving there, Biglow and Elias were delivered into the hands of the French Governor; but Thomas Sawyer Jr., they would not deliver up for money or any other consideration. He had been brave and caused the death of several of their number. He was destined to torture. He was taken out, fastened to a stake, the fagots(bundles of sticks), placed around him ready for a fire, and the Indians were assembled ready to rend the air with their hideous cries, mingled with his groans of torture. At that moment a man appeared as a Catholic Friar, exhibiting what he claimed to be the keys of purgatory, and told them if they burned Sawyer he would unlock purgatory and pitch them all in. Superstition prevailed, and then unbinding Sawyer they delivered him into the hands of the French Governor. Thomas Jr. told the French Governor that there was a good place for a saw mill on the Chamblee River. The French were very much in need of a saw mill, as there were none in Canada. Neither had any man competent to build one. Thomas proposed that he and Biglow would build a mill, and the compensation should be their freedom. The terms were accepted. In a years's time they completed the mill and recieved their freedom, but young Elias was kept another year to teach others how to keep the mill in order and run it. He was then amply rewarded and returned home. While in Canada, Elias formed the aquaintance of a young lady, whom he promised to go back and marry after he had visited his friends. She gave him a little brown earthen plate as a memento, which in 1883 was in the possession of Elsworth Sawyer, who says that Elias regretted while on his death bed that he did not go back and marry her. Instead of marrying the Canandian lady, he did marry Beatrice Houghton. The attack of 1705 was the final major attack on the town of Lancaster by Indians.
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1649 - 1736 (87 years)
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