Mary Draper Ingles

Figured starting out with something simple would be the best shot for this blog. So today we'll delve into the history and myth of Mary Draper Ingles.

Chances are if you live in Southwestern Virginia then you've heard the name more times than you can count. But the question still remains, who is she?

Our story starts in 1731 Philadelphia, it's there that Mary Draper was born. Her parents were Scotch-Irish immigrants, George Draper and Eleanor Hardin. Eventually her family, along with several others, followed a commonly traveled path and ended up settling on the Virginia Frontier. All of them being some of the first white settlers to have climbed the Allegheny Mountain range. The familes eventually settled in Blacksburg, Southwestern Virginia, on what is now the modern day Virginia Tech Campus. One of the key figures to have also settled here was Colonel James Patton (I'll speak more on him in my post concerning Smithfield). The valley they had all settled in became to be known as Draper's Meadow.

Settlements this far west aren't very big at this point, and most of the time people ended up either marrying cousins or neighbors (sometimes your cousins were both). Mary Draper eventually married William Ingles when she was 18 and together they had two sons, Thomas who was born in 1751, and George who was born in 1753.

It's also important to remember that at this time the French and Indian war is taking place. Tensions are already high among settlers and Native Americans, and the fact that Draper's Meadow was settled on what was considered a very important hunting grounds for the Shawnee, only stirred the pot more.

It isn't until 1755 that the Shawnee launch their attack on the settlement. During this attack two are wounded, four killed, and five taken captive. Among the dead were Colonel Preston and Mary's infant niece. Among the captured are Mary, her two sons and her sister-in-law Bettie. The Shawnee with their captives traveled north by following various rivers until they reached the Ohio territory, stopping in what is modern day Cincinnati. Once there, most captured white settlers were forced to run the gauntlet. This is where the Native Americans lined up on both sides while someone ran straight ahead trying to dodge their clubs and other weapons. If you failed then you had to start over. It was an easy way to weed out the weak and fragile, seeing as these people were soon to be adopted Shawnee themselves, replacing those who had been killed or captured themselves. Mary was fortunately spared this. Her sister-in-law was adopted by a Shawnee and her sons traded off to another village.

This is where the story starts to get a little jumbled. There is really only 2 accounts on Mary's escape. One of those is her son's, Thomas, who later wrote all his mother had told him. His English and spelling were not the greatest and it made it rather hard to interpret. The other is by Letitia Preston Floyd (as mentioned with her uncle, I'll speak more on her later). Thomas's account portrays his mother as nothing short of a hero, having escaped the Shawnee and followed the river for 43 days until she was home. Letitia's portrays her as more of a troublesome person who brought this upon herself. There's some speculation that there was some strife between the families at one point and Letitia used this to her advantage. One account also mentions an old dutch woman who, due to hunger, tries to kill and eat Mary. As to where the other version does not even mention an old dutch woman. Letitia's story also mentions a baby, one that Mary had either brought with her or had in captivity, that she left behind to run free.Thomas's does not mention an infant.

After having followed the river for 43 days Mary returned home and at the age of only 23 she had lost all of her teeth during the journey and her auburn hair had turned white. She reunited with her husband, William. It wasn't until Thomas was 17 that his father was able to buy him back from the Natives, and unfortunately the boy never really grew into a "proper" settler, as some would put it. There is never anymore mention of her son George.

The family eventually started a ferry that traveled up and down the New River. They had four more children and William served in the Revolutionary War, which he died in at the age of 53. Their son John had built a decent sized house for Mary, but she refused to live in it and remained in her one room log cabin until she died at the age of 83. She is buried at West View Cemetery, in Radford VA, a little more than a mile and a half from where her home and ferry was.

The path that Mary Draper Ingles followed to get back home.

Mary's one room cabin that she lived in after returning from captivity.

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Resources: womenshistory , blueridge , nps.gov ,