Claude-Mathias Phaneuf (1690–1773), born Matthias Farnsworth III, is a Canadian historical figure who was an English prisoner of war as a teenager, became a French citizen, and is the source and progenitor of the family name Phaneuf in North America. He was abducted from near his home in

Groton, Massachusetts Groton is a town in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the 2020 census. An affluent bedroom community roughly 45 miles from Boston, Groton has a ...

, in 1704 by

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...

warriors and taken to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

during

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) or the Third Indian War was one in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Gr ...

Biography

Early life and family

The Farnsworth family originated from England. Matthias Farnsworth is believed to have emigrated and was first recorded settled in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

in 1657. Although the exact timeline is unclear, he married Mary Farr of Lynn before moving to Groton in 1660. He died in 1689 at "about 77 years of age". His son, Matthias Farnsworth, Jr. married Sarah Nutting in Groton and had 4 children before he died in 1693. Matthias Jr. participated in the Siege of Brookfield under Major Willard. Matthias Farnsworth III was born in Groton in 1690.

Kidnap victim

In 1704, around the time of his 14th birthday, Matthias III was kidnapped near his home in

by an

Indian raiding party and brought to

. Matthias III's nephew Ebenezer was similarly taken from

Charlestown, New Hampshire Charlestown is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,806 at the 2020 census, down from 5,114 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Hubbard State Forest and the headquarters of the Student Conservation A ...

along with

Susannah Willard Johnson Susannah Willard Johnson (February 20, 1729/30 – November 27, 1810) was an Anglo-American woman who was captured with her family during an Abenaki Indian raid on Charlestown, New Hampshire, in August 1754, just after the outbreak of the French a ...

and is featured in her memoir ''A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson''. During Matthias III's lifetime, Groton was subjected to numerous Indian attacks, and multiple other children were abducted, including

Lydia Longley Lydia Longley (''Sainte-Madeleine'') (12 April 1674 – 20 July 1758), an English colonist from Groton, Massachusetts, in the mid-20th century became known as "The First American Nun" from a popular 1958 children's novel about her decades in a C ...

Life in Canada

Late in 1704, Matthias arrived in Sault-au-Recollet and was admitted to the mission at Fort Lorette by

François Vachon de Belmont François Vachon de Belmont (3 April 1645 – 22 May 1732) was the fifth superior of the Montreal Sulpicians from 1700 to 1731. Vachon de Belmont was born in Burgundy, France to a wealthy family. He moved to Canada Canada is a country ...

. At the mission, boys were educated by

Sulpician The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (; PSS), also known as the Sulpicians, is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, where it was founded. The members of the Society add the ...

missionaries while the girls were educated by the sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame. For most children taken to Sault-au-Recollet, it was a temporary stay until they could be returned to their families. Matthias stayed at the mission and converted to Catholicism, just as Lydia Longley had done 10 years before. Matthias was baptized Mathias-Claude Farneth on Jan 10, 1706, and had as his godfather

Claude de Ramezay Claude de Ramezay, (15 June 1659 – 31 July 1724), was an important figure in the early history of New France. He was a military man by training and rose to being commander of the colonial regular troops. Life Claude de Ramezay was a son of T ...

and as his godmother Elisabeth Souart, wife of

Charles le Moyne de Longueuil, Baron de Longueuil Charles (II) le Moyne de Longueuil, Baron de Longueuil (; December 10, 1656 – June 7, 1729) was the first native-born Canadians, Canadian to be made Baron in New France. Charles le Moyne de Longueuil was the eldest son of Charles le Moyne ...

. Although it was usually the case that children would live with their godparents, Mathias remained at the mission. In October, 1706 he petitioned the crown for naturalization under the name Mathieu Claude Farnets. In 1711, he was given a land grant of 40 arpents by the Sulpicians, the grant citing his service at the mission. He was given a

ribbon farm Ribbon farms (also known as strip farms, river lots, long-lot farms, or just long lots) are long, narrow land divisions for farming, usually lined up along a waterway. In some instances, they line a road. Background Ribbon or strip farms were p ...

on the north end of the island, adjacent to Jean Carpentier and his family. In September 1713, Mathias signed a contract to marry Catherine Charpentier, his neighbor's daughter, as Claude Mathias Fanef. The contract was also signed by Claude de Ramezay and Vachon de Belmont as witnesses. They married a month later at St Joseph's parish with Fr Robert Gay presiding. They had 12 children. Later in life, they moved to Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu where Mathias died in 1773. His tombstone reads Claude-Mathias Phaneuf.

Variations on the name

The numerous spellings of his name come from a combination of the original pronunciation of Farnsworth, his presumed illiteracy at 14,His baptismal certificate (age 16) is signed with an X, whereas his marriage certificate is signed with his name. and the language barrier with the French. The original pronunciation of his name was roughly FAR-noth, which was transliterated in New France as Farneth. It transformed over time and was spelled in various records as Farnets, Fanef, Faneuf, and Phaneuf. Claude-Mathias is known today as the ancestor of all Phaneufs in Canada and the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phaneuf, Claude-Mathias People of New France People of Queen Anne's War 1690 births 1773 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism People from Groton, Massachusetts