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New York Indian
Tribes
Saponi. Some years after leaving Fort Christanna,
Va., the Saponi settled among the Iroquois and were formally adopted by
the Cayuga tribe in 1753. (See Virginia.)
Tuscarora. After their defeat in the Tuscarora War, 1712-13, bands
of this tribe began moving north and in course of time the majority
settled in New York so that the Iroquois came to be known afterwards as
the "Six Nations" instead of the "Five Nations." (See
North Carolina.)
Tutelo. The Tutelo accompanied the Saponi from Virginia an were
adopted by the Cayuga at the same time. (See
Virginia.)
Wappinger. From the same root as Abnaki and Wampanoag, an meaning
"Easterners"
Connections. The Wappinger
belonged to the Algonquian linguist family and spoke an r-dialect, their
nearest allies being the Mahica the Montauk, and next the New England
tribes.
Location. The east bank of
the Hudson River from Manhattan Island to Poughkeepsie and the territory
eastward to the lower Connecticut Valley. (See also
Connecticut.)
Subdivisions or "Sachemships"
Hammonasset, west of the Connecticut River, Conn., at its
mouth.
Kitchawank, in the northern part of Westchester County beyond Croton River
and between Hudson River and the Connecticut.
Massaco, in the present towns of Simsbury and Canton on Farmington River,
Conn. Menunkatuck, in the present town of Guilford, Conn.
Nochpeem, in the southern part of Dutchess County, N. Y.
Paugusset, in the eastern part of Fairfield County and the western edge of
New
Haven County, Conn.
Podunk, in the eastern part of Hartford County, Conn., east of Connecticut
River. Poquonock, in the towns of Windsor, Windsor Locks, and Bloomfield,
Hartford
County, Conn.
Quinnipiac, in the central part of New Haven County, Conn.
Sicaog, in Hartford and West Hartford, Conn.
Sintsink, between Hudson, Croton, and Pocantico Rivers.
Siwanoy, in Westchester County and part of Fairfield County, Conn.,
between
the Bronx and Five Mile River.
Tankiteke, mainly in Fairfield County, Conn., between Five Mile River and
Fairfield and extending inland to Danbury and even into Putnam and
Dutchess Counties, N. Y.
Tunxis, in the southwestern part of Hartford County, Conn.
Wangunk, on both sides of Connecticut River from the Hartford city line to
about the southern line of the town of Haddam.
Wappinger proper, about Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County, N. Y.
Wecquaesgeek, between the Hudson, Bronx, and Pocantico Rivers.
Villages
Alipconk, in the Weckquasgeek sachemdom, on the site of
Tarrytown, N. Y.
Appaquag, on the Hockanum River east of Hartford, Conn.,
in the Podunk
sachemdom.
Aspetuck, near the present Aspetuck in Fairfield County, Conn., in the
Tankiteke
sachemdom.
Canopus, in Canopus Hollow, Putnam County.
Capage, near Beacon Falls on Naugatuck River, Conn., in the Paugusset
sachemdom.
Cassacuhque, near Mianus in the town of Greenwich, Conn., Siwanoy
sachemdom.
Cockaponset, near Haddam in Middlesex County, Conn., in the
Wangunk sachemdom.
Coginchaug, near Durham, Conn., in the Wangunk sachemdom.
Cossonnacock, near the line between the towns of Haddam and Lyme, Conn.,
in the Wangunk sachemdom.
Cupheag, given as the probable name of a town at Stratford, Conn., but
this was
perhaps Pisquheege.
Hockanum, at the mouth of Hockanum River, Hartford County, Conn., in the
Podunk sachemdom.
Keskistkonk, probably on Hudson River, south of the highlands, in Putnam
County, in the Nochpeem sachemdom.
Kitchiwank, about the mouth of Croton River, N. Y., in the Kitchiwank
sachemdom.
Machamodus, on Salmon River in Middlesex County, Conn., in the Wangunk
sachemdom.
Massaco, near Simsbury on Farmington River, Conn., in the Massaco
sachemdom. Mattabesec, on the site of Middletown, Conn., in the Wangunk
sachemdom.
Mattacomacok, near Rainbow in the town of Windsor, Conn., in
the Wangunk
sachemdom.
Mattianock, at the mouth of Farmington River in the Poquonock sachemdom.
Menunketuck, at Guilford, Conn., in the Menunketuck sachemdom.
Meshapock, near Middlebury, Conn., in the Paugussett sachemdom.
Mioonktuck, near New Haven, Conn., in the Quinnipiac sachemdom.
Namaroake, on Connecticut River in the town of East Windsor, Conn., in the
Podunk sachemdom.
Naubuc, near Glastonbury, Conn., in the Podunk sachemdom.
Naugatuck, near Naugatuck, Conn., in the Paugussett sachemdom.
Newashe, at the mouth of Scantic River, in the Podunk sachemdom.
Nochpeem, in the southern part of Dutchess County.
Noroaton, at the mouth of Noroton River, in the Siwanoy sachemdom.
Norwauke, at Norwalk, Conn., in the Siwanoy sachemdom.
Ossingsing, at the site of Ossining, N. Y.
Pahquioke, near Danbury, Conn., in the Tankiteke sachemdom.
Pashesauke, on Lyndes Neck at the mouth of the Connecticut River in the
Hammonassett sachemdom.
Pasquasheck, probably on the bank of Hudson River in Dutchess County.
Pataquasak, near Essex Post Office, Conn., in the Hammonassett sachemdom.
Pattaquonk, near Chester, Conn., in the Hammonassett sachemdom.
Paugusset, on the bank of Housatonic River about 1 mile above Derby,
Conn.,
in the Paugusset sachemdom.
Pauquaunuch, in Stratford Township, Fairfield County, Paugusset sachemdom,
apparently the same town as Pisquheege.
Pequabuck, near Bristol, Conn., in the Tunxis sachemdom.
Pisquheege, near Stratford, Fairfield County, in the Paugusset sachemdom.
Pocilaug, on Long Island Sound near Westbrook, Conn., in the Hammonassett
sachemdom.
Pocowset, on Connecticut River opposite Middletown, Conn., in the Wangunk
sachemdom.
Podunk, at the mouth of Podunk River, Conn., in the Podunk sachemdom.
Pomeraug, near Woodbury, Conn., in the Paugussett sachemdom.
Poningo, near Rye, N. Y., in the Siwanoy sachemdom.
Poquannuc, near Poquonock in Hartford County, Conn., in the Poquonock
sachemdom.
Potatuck, the name of one or two towns on or near Potatuck River, in the
town
of Newtown, Fairfield County, Conn., in the Paugusset sachemdom.
Pyquag, near Wethersfield, Conn., in the Wangunk sachemdom.
Quinnipiac, on Quinnipiac River north of New Haven, Conn., in the
Quinnipiac
sachemdom.
Ramapo, near Ridgefield, Conn., in the Tankiteke sachemdom.
Sackhoes, on the site of Peekskill, N. Y., in the Kitchawank sachemdom.
Saugatuck, at the mouth of Saugatuck River, Conn., in the Tankiteke
sachemdom.
Scanticook, on Scantic River near its junction with Broad
Brook, Hartford County, Conn., in the Podunk sachemdom.
Senasqua, at the mouth of Croton River, in the Kitchawank sachemdom.
Shippan, near Stamford, Conn., in the Siwanoy sachemdom.
Sioascauk, near Greenwich, Conn., in the Siwanoy sachemdom.
Squantuck, on the Housatonic River, above Derby, Conn., in the Paugussett
sachemdom.
Suckiauk, near W. Hartford, Conn., in the Sicaog sachemdom.
Titicus, near Titicus in the town of Ridgefield, Conn., in the Tankiteke
sachemdom.
Totoket, near Totoket in the town of N. Branford, New Haven County, Conn.,
in the Quinnipiac sachemdom.
Tunxis, in the bend of Farmington River near Farmington, Conn., in the
Tunxis
sachemdom.
Turkey Hill, near Derby, Conn., in the Paugussett sachemdom, perhaps given
under another name.
Unkawa, between Danbury and Bethel, Conn., in the Tankiteke sachemdom.
Weantinock, near Fairfield, Conn., in the Tankiteke sachemdom.
Wecquaesgeek, at Dobbs Ferry, in the Wecquaesgeek sachemdom.
Weataug, near Weatogue in the town of Simsbury, Conn., in the Massaco
sachemdom.
Wepowaug, near Milford, Conn., in the Paugusset sachemdom.
Werawaug, near Danbury, Conn., in the Tankiteke sachemdom.
Woodtick, near Woodtick in the town of Wolcott, New Haven County, Conn.,
in the Tunxis sachemdom.
Woronock, near Milford, Conn., in the Paugusset sachemdom, evidently
another
name for Wepowaug.
History. The Wappinger
were found by Henry Hudson in 1609 in occupancy of the lands above
mentioned. The Connecticut bands gradually sold their territory and joined
the Indians at Scaticook and Stockbridge. The western bands suffered
heavily in war with the Dutch, 1640-45, but continued to occupy a tract
along the coast in Westchester County until 1756, when most of those who
were left joined the Nanticoke at Chenango, Broome County, N. Y., and were
finally merged, along with them, into the Delaware. Some joined the
Moravian and Stockbridge Indians while a few were still living in Dutchess
County in 1774, and a few mixed-bloods live now on Housatonic River below
Kent. These belong to the old Scaticook settlement founded by a Pequot
Indian named Mauwehu or Mahwee, and settled mainly by individuals of the
Paugusset, Unkawa, and Potatuck towns of the Paugusset sachemdom.
Population. Mooney (1928)
estimates the population of the New York divisions of Wappinger at about
3,000 in 1600, and places that of the various Connecticut bands at 1,750,
a total of 4,750. The war with the Dutch is said to have cost the western
bands 1,600, but we have no estimates of their population at a later date,
except as parts of the Stockbridge, Brotherton, and Iroquois Indians, and
a few mixed-bloods at Scaticook, Conn., a few miles below Kent.
Connection in which they have
become noted. The Wappinger bands
were among those particularly engaged in the manufacture of siwan or
wampum. They occupied much of the mainland territory of the present
Greater New York but not Manhattan Island. Wappingers Falls in Dutchess
County, N. Y., preserves the name.
Additional
New York Indian Resources
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