Uncas (corruption of Wonkus,
fox,' lit. 'the circler.'-Gerard). A Mohegan
chief, son of Owenoco, who in 1626 married a daughter of Sassacus, chief
of the Pequot, and became one of their leaders (De Forest, Inds. of Conn.,
86, 1852).
He was known also as Poquim or Poquoiam. A rebellion
against Sassacus
led to his defeat and banishment, whereupon he fled to the Narraganset,
but soon made his and returned. This conduct was repeated several times.
He warred against the Pequot, Narraganset, and other tribes. After
taking prisoner Miantonomo he executed him at command of the English. He
sided with the English in King Philip's war in 1675.
His death occurred in 1682 or 1683. The family line
became extinct early in the 19th century. De Forest (op. cit., 86) says:
"His nature was selfish, jealous, and tyrannical; his ambition was
grasping and unrelieved by a single trait of magnanimity." Stratagem and
trickery were native to his mind. His personal habits were bad and he was
addicted to more than one vice of the whites. He protested against the
introduction of Christianity among his people. A monument to his memory
was erected by the citizens of Norwich, Conn., in July, 1847, the
cornerstone of which was laid by President Jackson in 1833. Another
memorial, consisting of a bronze surmounting a large bowlder, was erected
by Mrs Edward Clark, afterward the wife of Bishop H. C. Potter, on the
site of the home of James Fenimore Cooper, at Cooperstown, N.Y.
Oneka. A Mohegan chief of
Connecticut, eldest son and successor of the celebrated Uncas; born about
1640, died 1710. In 1659, under the name Owanecco, he joined with his
father and his brother, Attawenhood, in deeding a tract 9 m. square for
the settlement of the town of Norwich, Oneka signing with the totem of a
bird. In 1661 lie made an attack, with 70 men, on one of
Massasoit'svillages, killing 3 persons and taking 6 prisoners. In 1675, at
the instance of Uncas, he went to Boston, with two brothers and 50
warriors, to offer their services to the English against the Wampanoag
under King Philip, which were accepted, and shortly after his party almost
captured this noted leader In 1679 Uncas and Oneka trade a grant of 600
acres to the county for rebuilding the jail, and two years later the
General Court gave its consent that Uncas should deed his lands to Oneka.
The latter had a son named Mahome•t, or Mawholnott.
Indian Genealogy
Source: Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, Frederick Webb Hodge, 1906
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