Hacked, Scalped, and Left for Dead

I got sidetracked on Ancestry.com again today, and traced an additional six (!!) generations, making an exciting discovery. While I can't confirm that my sleuthing is 100% accurate, I'm pretty sure that my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother was the amazing Penelope VanPrincis Stout.

Penelope was born in Amsterdam in 1622. In 1640 she married John Kent and they sailed for New York, but their ship crashed on the coast of New Jersey. Most of the passengers escaped, but John was ill and Penelope would not leave him. Soon they were attacked by Indians, who killed John and left Penelope for dead, having hacked up her left shoulder, sliced open her abdomen, and partially scalped her. For eight days she survived by finding shelter in a hollow log and eating the moss and mushrooms that grew from it, until a couple Indians found her. The younger one wanted to finish her off, but the older one threw her over his shoulder, took her back to the wigwam, sewed her up and nursed her back to health. Eventually Penelope returned to her Dutch community in New Amsterdam (now NYC), married Richard Stout, had 10 kids, and lived to be 110 years old (or 90, depending on the source). She became known as the "First Lady of Middletown" and was highly influential in her community and relations with the Indians.

I think it's incredible that 400 years ago a person could avoid infection and survive these injuries and then go on to bear so many children and live so long. She was obviously a very strong, very determined woman. I am honored to be a descendant of her—and what a cool story I have to tell now! (Read more about Penelope at History of American Women.)