Indian Hannah

A huge thank you to "Unionville in the News" reader John, who was nice enough to alert me to a forthcoming book about Indian Hannah entitled "A Lenape Among the Quakers: The Life of Hannah Freeman." It's by Dawn G. March, an assistant professor at Purdue University.
According to the blurb on Amazon, "A Lenape among the Quakers reconstructs Hannah Freeman’s history, traveling from the days of her grandmothers before European settlement to the beginning of the nineteenth century. The story that emerges is one of persistence and resilience, as “Indian Hannah” negotiates life with the Quaker neighbors who employ her, entrust their children to her, seek out her healing skills, and, when she is weakened by sickness and age, care for her. And yet these are the same neighbors whose families have dispossessed hers. Fascinating in its own right, Hannah Freeman’s life is also remarkable for its unique view of a Native American woman in a colonial community during a time of dramatic transformation and upheaval. In particular it expands our understanding of colonial history and the Native experience that history often renders silent."
"A Lenape Among the Quakers" will be published March 1, 2014, by the University of Nebraska Press.
Indian Hannah was a Lenni-Lenape woman who lived in Chester County in the late 18th century. There are several historical markers in her memory, including a recently dedicated monument at the Embreeville Center, where she spent the last years of her life. Newlin Township has a road named in her honor.