BUFFALO, N.Y. — If war were to come to your front step, what would you do? That’s the question two women in Buffalo faced during the War of 1812.

“You have troops burning down everything around you and your small village," said Cynthia Van Ness, director of library and archives for the Buffalo History Museum. "Must have been terrifying.”

It’s not too difficult to relate to these people who lived more than 200 years ago.

“They certainly weren't passive in the face of danger and conflict,” said Van Ness. “Margaret St. John and Sarah Lovejoy were neighbors on Main Street in what is now downtown Buffalo, but then was the center of a very small settlement or village when the War of 1812 broke out.”

In 1813, retreating American forces set what’s now Niagara-on-the-Lake on fire. Days later, British forces responded, destroying multiple U.S. towns and bringing them to Buffalo and St. John and Lovejoy’s doorsteps.

“There have always been women participating, protecting, picking up arms, whatever when war comes to your front door,” explained Van Ness.

Margaret St. John, a widow, was able to send some of her children away. She stayed behind, as well as her neighbor.

“Margaret encourages her like, 'you have to get out, you have to leave,' and she says, ‘do not risk your life for property,’" said Van Ness. "[Sarah] answered ‘where my property goes, my life goes with it.’” 

Decisions were made.

“One decided to stay and fight and one decide to negotiate,” said Van Ness.

Sarah Lovejoy tried to protect her home with force.

“She was attacked by an Indian working with the British forces and lost her life, and then the cabin was burned down,” said Van Ness.

She’s the only listed female casualty of this battle.

St. John, seeing this, tried to negotiate as homes and businesses were burning around her, and she had nowhere else to go.

“They could have taken her prisoner of war or any number of things they could have done, but they relented and spared her cabin, which ended up being almost like a shelter for everybody after they'd lost their homes,” Van Ness said.

It was the only house that survived in the area.

“One of them lived to tell the tale, and one gave her life to defend her home,” said Van Ness.

A few days in time, and both women made their mark.

“We don't always have women's voices when it comes to events like this,” Van Ness explained.

Their children wrote essays, dictating the history that took place on these streets. The story of two women, two paths, and two legacies that remain to this day.

“Anybody who digs into a War of 1812 experience on the Niagara Frontier is gonna hit on the Margaret St. John story and the Sarah Lovejoy story,” Van Ness said.