Early life , where Mary Draper Ingles and her husband William lived out their lives. Photo c.1890 Mary Draper Ingles was born in 1732 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to George and Elenor (Hardin) Draper, who had immigrated to America from
County Donegal, Ireland in 1729. Between 1740 and 1744, the Draper family moved to the western frontier of Virginia, settling in
Pattonsburg on the
James River. According to John P. Hale, in 1744 George Draper went on an exploratory trip into what is now West Virginia, and never returned, although there is evidence that Draper was still alive as late as 1748. By 1746 his family had established Draper's Meadow, a
pioneer settlement on the banks of
Stroubles Creek near modern-day
Blacksburg, Virginia. In 1750, Mary married fellow settler
William Ingles (1729–1782). They had two sons prior to Mary's captivity:
Thomas Ingles, born in 1751, and George, in 1753.
Draper's Meadow massacre On 30 July (or 8 July, according to John P. Hale They took five captives, including Mary and her two sons, her sister-in-law Bettie Robertson Draper, and her neighbor Henry Lenard (or Leonard). Mary's husband was nearly killed but fled into the forest. According to her son, Mary was not required to do this. Mary was separated from her sons, who were adopted by Shawnee families. According to John P. Hale, Mary's oldest son Thomas was taken to
Detroit, her sister-in-law Bettie was taken to what is now
Chillicothe, Ohio, and her youngest son George was taken to an unknown location and died soon afterward. An article in the
New-York Mercury of 16 February 1756, describing Mary's capture and escape, mentions that while in Lower Shawneetown she saw "a considerable Number of English Prisoners, who have been taken Captives from the Frontiers of Virginia." although there is evidence to the contrary. They wore
moccasins and carried only a
tomahawk and a knife (both of which were eventually lost), and two blankets. As they were leaving the camp, they met three French traders from
Detroit who were harvesting walnuts. Mary traded her old dull tomahawk for a new one. During their journey, they crossed at least 145 creeks and rivers—remarkable as neither woman could swim. On at least one occasion they "tied logs together with a grape-vine [and] made a raft" to cross a major river. on or about 1 December 1755, 42 days after leaving Big Bone Lick. Shortly afterward, a search party went back and found the old Dutch woman. Mary remained uneasy, however, and persuaded her husband to move again, this time to Robert Ewing's Fort near
Montvale in
Bedford County, Virginia. On the same day that they left, 25 June 1756, Fort Vause was attacked by French troops and a mixed force of 205 Shawnee, Ottawa and Miami Indians. Mary's brother-in-law John was killed, and her brother-in-law Matthew was captured. The Ingles had four more children: Mary, Susanna (b. 1759), Rhoda (b. 1762), and John (1766–1836). and the associated Ingles Ferry Hill Tavern and blacksmith shop. She died there in 1815, aged 83. , built on the foundations of her original home. Mary's son George probably died in Indian captivity, but
Thomas Ingles, who was 4 when taken captive, was ransomed and returned to Virginia in 1768 at the age of 17; after 13 years with the Shawnee, he had become fully
acculturated and spoke only
Shawnee. He underwent several years of "rehabilitation" and education under
Dr. Thomas Walker at
Castle Hill, Virginia. He married Eleanore Grills in 1775 and settled in
Burke's Garden, Virginia. In 1782, his wife and three children were kidnapped by Indians. Thomas came to rescue them and in the ensuing altercation, the two older children were killed. Eleanore was tomahawked but survived. In 1761, Mary Ingles' brother John Draper attended a gathering of
Cherokee chiefs at which a treaty to end the
Anglo-Cherokee War was prepared. He found a man who knew of his wife, Bettie Robertson Draper, who had been taken captive in 1755. At that time, she was living at
Chillicothe with the family of a widowed Cherokee chief. On 8 May 1779,
Lord Henry Hamilton, a British prisoner of war, was being escorted under guard to Williamsburg and spent the night at the home of William and Mary Ingles. In his journal, Hamilton noted that the trauma of Mary's captivity and escape still affected her, 24 years later: :8th. In the Evening crossed over in a ferry the new river or great Canhawa, and were kindly and hospitably received at the house of Colonel Ingles-- here we rested for an entire day...Mrs. Ingles had in her early years been carryed off with another young Woman by the Savages, and tho carryed away into the Shawanes country had made her escape with her female friend, & wonderful to relate tho exposed to unspeakable hardships, & having nothing to subsist on but wild fruits, found her way back in safety, from a distance (if I remember right) of 200 miles-- however terror and distress had left so deep an impression on her mind that she appear'd absorbed in a deep melancholy, and left the management of household concerns, & the reception of Strangers to her lovely daughter. ==Historical accounts of Mary Draper Ingles' journey==