Learn More About Mary Jemison

Books

Bloom, R. L. (1992).  A history of Adams County, Pennsylvania 1700-1990. Gettysburg, PA: Adams County Historical Society.           

Gangi, R.M. (1996). Mary Jemison: White Woman of the Seneca. Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers.

                Adult fiction with epilogue by Peter Jemison

 

Gardner, J.L. (1966). Mary Jemison: Seneca captive. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace & World.

                Non-fiction for elementary students

 

 History of Adams County, Pennsylvania. (1886) Chicago, IL: Warner, Beers & Company.

1992 reprint by the Adams County Historical Society.

 

James, E. (Ed.). (1971). Mary Jemison. In Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

 

Lenski, L. (1941). Indian captive: The story of Mary Jemison. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

                Fictional account for elementary students

 

Merrill, A. (1987). The white woman and her valley. Interlaken, NY: Empire State Books.

                Adult non-fiction

 

Moore, R. (1998). My life with the Indians: The story of Mary Jemison (An incredible journey). Parsippany,    

                NJ: Silver Burdett Press.

                Non-fiction children’s book

 

Roop, C. & Roop, P. (Ed.). (2001). In my own words: The diary of Mary Jemison, captured by Indians.           

                Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish.

                Non-fiction for elementary students based on selections from Seaver’s book.

 

There have been over 35 editions and numerous reprints of Dr. Seaver’s 1824 work published in  

Canandaigua, NY by J.D. Bemis.   Unfortunately no copy of Seaver’s original notes remain, so we do not have a primary source of Mary’s oral narrative.  We do not know if Dr. Seaver changed the order of her account or the words she used, or if he deleted any parts of her story. This is still regarded as the main source for the study of Mary Jemison’s life.

 

Seaver, J.E. (1824). The life of Mary Jemison: Deh-he-wa-mis, the white woman of the Genesee. Jersey Shore, PA: Zebrowski Historical Services and Publishing Company.

                1991 reprint of the fifth edition. 

 

Seaver, J.E. (1824). Life of Mary Jemison. Scituate, MA: Digital Scanning.

                2001 digital reproduction of an 1877 edition by W. P. Letchworth

 

Seaver, J.E. (1824). A narrative of the life of Mrs. Mary Jemison. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

1990 edition, but except for the foreword by George Abrams, is a reprint of a Peter Smith edition done in 1975.

 

Seaver, J. E. (1824). A narrative of the life of Mrs. Mary Jemison.  Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. 

                1992 edition with an introduction by June Namias (Ed.)

 

Sipe, C. H. (1927). Indian chiefs of Pennsylvania. Bulter, PA: Ziegler Printing Company.

                Adult non-fiction

 

Sutherland, M. B. (1955). The life of Mary Jemison [Indian Captive]: narrative poem presented by the Castile Historical Society annually at Letchworth State Park. Castile, NY: Castillian Press.

 

Whalen, W. W. (1923). The red lily of Buchanan Valley. Orrtanna, PA: White Squaw Press.

                Romantic adult fiction

 

Zeinert, K. (Ed.). (1995). Captured by Indians: The life of Mary Jemison. North Haven, CT: Linnet Books.

                Non-fiction for secondary students based on an abridged account of Seaver’s book.

 

 

Journal Articles

 

Glatfelter, C.H. (1996). The Jameson raid (1758) as a focus for historical inquiry. Adams County History. 2, 4-40.

 

Oakes, K. (Spring 1995). We planted, tended and harvested our corn: gender, ethnicity, and transculturation in A narrative of the life of Mrs. Mary Jemison. Women and Language. 18, 45-51.

 

Wyss, H. (Summer/Fall 99). Captivity and conversion.  American Indian Quarterly. 23 Issue 3/4, 63-83.

 

 

Websites

 

Cook, T. A. A glimpse of Mary Jemison. Retrieved March 3, 2008, from People, Places, and Things in Letchworth Park History website: http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/jem.html.

 

Free e-book download of A Narrative of the Life of Mary Jemison by James E. Seaver is available at: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6960.

 

DVD

 

The History Channel (Producer). (1998). Captives [videorecording].

                DVD 50 mins.

 

 

The Adams County Historical Society in Gettysburg, PA is also a source for material about Mary Jemison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This resource list was compiled in March 2008 by Debra Flinchbaugh, Virginia Green, Brian Scriven, and Marya Tipton.  It has been published by the Adams County Library System, Gettysburg, PA.  You can access this material through visiting any of our libraries or online at: http://www.adamslibrary.org.