Hannah Westcarr Beamon

Hannah Westcarr Beamon (also spelled Beman) is remembered for being the first known schooldame of Deerfield, Massachusetts, and a generous donor of land for town schools. She was born Hannah Barnard in nearby Hadley to Francis and Hannah (Merrill) Barnard. Her first husband, Doctor John Westcarr of Hadley, died at age thirty-one. In 1680 Hannah married Simon Beamon (also spelled Beman) of Deerfield. Like many women in towns with no schoolhouse or schoolmaster, Hannah taught school in her home. The house was outside the town fort, and in 1694 during an attack on the town Hannah and her students had to flee to safety. All reached the fort unharmed. In the 1704 raid on Deerfield during Queen Anne's War (1701-1713), Hannah, Simon, and their servant girl, Mary Harris, were captured and their house was burned. All three were taken to Canada. Hannah and Simon returned to Deerfield, while Mary Harris stayed in Kahnewake and married an Indian with whom she had at least two sons. Hannah lived into her nineties, a widow for many years after Simon's death in 1711 at age fifty-four.