USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Derby > The history of the old town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880. With biographies and genealogies > Part 3
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Between this first deed and that by which the northern half
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INDIAN CLAIMANTS.
of the town was disposed of, nearly ten years had elapsed, so that it would hardly be expected to find precisely the same sig- natures attached to both, even if Indian society had been more stable than it was. In the second deed Patucko's name stands first and Atumtucko's second ; then Taphow, then Wawowus. This fourth name sounds like a new one, but making due al- lowance for inaccurate hearing and spelling on the part of the early scribes, it may be easily identified with Alwaush in the former list. The rest of the signers are new; Judas (another English name), Mantow, Momantow's squaw, Mercy (Sepuses's squaw) and Quatowquechuck, who is described as Taphow's son.
Between this second deed and the third, by which the south- ern half of the town was sold the second time to the settlers, a few months only elapsed, but the names for the most part are different. Patucko has disappeared, but we have in his stead Patucko's squaw, who is here described as Atumtucko's mother. John a-Compound appears again, and Warm Compound appears, who is described as Nesaheag's son. This fact suggests that John a-Compound, whose name stands next to Nesaheagon's in the first deed, may have been an elder son of the same chief. Spinning Squaw also appears and Aupkt under the form of Abuckt; and besides these there is Mantow, who signed not the first deed, but the second. In addition the following appear : Hachetowsock (and squaw), Sebockett, the sisters of Cocoesen, whoever he may be, and a daughter of one of them. It is prob- able that Cocoesen's sisters were the daughters of James ; ap- parently the same James for whom Patucko promised in the first deed. As one of them was Patucko's squaw and Atumtucko's mother, a connection between the two families is established ; a connection which becomes specially interesting when it is known who James was.
But, as already indicated, the Tunxis Indians were not the only claimants. The Paugasucks on the south roamed over the same hunting grounds, and apparently considered their right to them as valid as that of their neighbors on the east. Messrs. Judd and Stanley, without inquiring particularly into the jus- tice of the claim, deemed it expedient to extinguish it by pur- chase. A deed was accordingly drawn, dated February 28,
E
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INDIAN HISTORY.
1685, and signed by sixteen Paugasuck Indians, by which in consideration of " six pound in hand received " twenty parcels of land, named and described in the deed, all of them appar- ently embraced in the first and third purchases from the Farm- ington Indians, were conveyed to the settlers of Mattatuck. The deed which is contained in the volume of land records already referred to, is peculiarly interesting because the twenty parcels of land are designated each by its Indian name.5 Nine of these were on the east side of the river, the others on the west side. The grantors were sixteen in number. Prominent in the list is the name of Conquepatana, [Konkapatanauh] who signs himself sagamore, the same already spoken of as sa- chem at the mouth of the river until 1731, when he died. In the body of the deed, however, his name is preceded by that of Awowas. Already among the signers of the second deed an Awowas has appeared, apparently identical with Alwaush, who signed the first. It might naturally be supposed that the name occurring among the Paugasucks designated a different per- son, but there are facts which establish a connection between
5Twenty parcels of land, by their names distinguished as follows :
Wecobemeus, that land upon the brook, or small river that comes through the straight [Straitsville] northward of Lebanon and runs into Naugatuck river at the south end of Mattatuck bounds, called by the English Beacon Hill brook; and Pac- awackuck, or Agawacomuck, and Watapeck, Pacaquarock, Mequuhattacke, Mus quauke, Mamusqunke, Squapma sutte, Wachu, " which nine parcels of land lie on the east side of Naugatuck river southward from Mattatuck town, which comprises all the land below, betwixt the forementioned river, Beacon Hill brook and the hither end of Judd's meadows, called by the name Sqontk, and from Naugatuck river eastward to Wallingford and New Haven bounds, with all the lowlands upon the two brooks forementioned.
And eleven parcels on the west side ; the first parcel called, Suracasko; the rest as follows: Petowtucki, Wequarunsh, Capage, Cocumpasuck, Megenhuttack, Pa- nooctan, Mattuckhott, Cocacoko, Gawuskesucko, Towantuck, [the only name that has survived] and half the cedar swamp, with the land adjacent from it eastward; which land lies southward of Quasapaug pond ; we say to run an east line from there to Naugatuck river ; all which parcels of land forementioned lying southward from the said line, and extend or are comprised within the butments following : from the forementioned swamp a straight line to be run to the middle of Towantuck pond or the cedar swamp, a south line which is the west bounds toward Woodbury, and an east line from Towantuck pond, to be the butment south and Naugatuck river the east butment, till we come to Achetaqupag or Maruscopag, and then to butt upon the east side of the river upon the forementioned lands,-these parcels of land lying and being within the township of Mattatuck, bounded as aforesaid, situate on each side of Naugatuck and Mattatuck rivers."
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WESTERN LANDS.
XXXV
the two tribes. For among the signers of this Paugassett deed there is found the name Cocoesen and not only so, but Co- coesen's sisters also, who signed the third deed given by the Tunxis tribe. Their names are Wechamunk and Werumcaske, and in the Tunxis deed they are described as the daughters of James. In the deed given to Lieutenant Wheeler at Paugassett, in 1657, there is the name Pagasett James. . It is almost impos- sible to avoid the conclusion that Cocoesen was his son and Co- coesen's sisters his daughters, that one of these was Patucko's squaw, that a connection by marriage between the two tribes was thus established, and that this relationship was recognized in the various sales of land. Besides the names thus far mentioned there are the following : Curan, Cocapadous (Konkapot-oos, perhaps Little Konkapot), Tataracum, Cacasahum, Wenunta- cum, Arumpiske, described as Curan's squaw, and Notanumke, Curan's sister.
To this instrument the following note is attached : " Milford, February, 1684 (o. s.). Awowas, the Indian proprietor, appeared at my house and owned this deed above mentioned to be his act, and that he has signed and sealed to it. Robert Treat governor." On the 18th of April Conquepatana made a similar acknowledgment of the deed before the governor, "and said he knew what was in it." Several years afterward (June 28, 17II,) the same sagamore and " Tom Indian," his son, for twenty-five shillings, deeded to the proprietors of Waterbury " a small piece of land," north of Derby bounds, west of the Naugatuck river, and south of Toantuck brook.
The original owners of all the land in the Naugatuck valley have thus far been traced, except of what lies in Harwinton and Litchfield. This territory has a history of its own. On Janu- ary 25, 1687, the General Court of Connecticut, for the pur- pose of saving the so-called " western lands " from the grasp of Sir Edmund Andros, conveyed to the towns of Hartford and Windsor as follows : " Those lands on the north of Woodbury and Mattatuck, and on the west of Farmington and Simsbury, to the Massachusetts line north, and to run west to the Housa- tunock or Stratford river."6 As has already been seen, a por- tion of this territory, sixteen miles in diameter, had been con-
6Conn. Col. Rec. 3, 225.
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INDIAN HISTORY.
veyed in 1657 to William Lewis and Samuel Steele of Farming- ton. The General Court, in its action in 1686, paid no regard to this old conveyance, and on the other hand the Farmington company, represented by Steele and Lewis, insisted on their claim. On the eleventh of August, 1714, they obtained from the successors of the original grantors a deed by which the title to this whole tract was conveyed, "in consideration of the sum of eight pounds received from Lieut. John Stanley about the year 1687, and other gratuities lately received," to Stanley, Lewis, Ebenezer Steele and their associates and successors. To Lieut. Stanley, in especial, fifty acres were laid out and confirmed, near the hill where he found the black lead, " and fifty acres more where he shall see cause to take it up, or his heirs." This deed was signed by Pethuzo and Toxcronuck, who claimed to be the successors of Kepaquamp, Querrimus and Mattaneag, and in the following October it was signed by Taphow the younger and his squaw, by Awowas, whose name (written also in this same deed Wowowis) has been previously noticed, and Petasas, a female grandchild, probably of Awowas. By the action of the General Court, the title to all this land had been vested in the towns of Hartford and Windsor, and these towns therefore claimed the exclusive right to purchase the Indian title and to survey and sell the lands7. In the final settlement of the mat- ter, however, the claim of the Farmington company was to some extent recognized. In 1718 they received from the two towns a grant of one-sixth of the township of Litchfield, in considera- tion of their making over to said towns their interest in the disputed territory.
The management of these western lands was intrusted to a joint committee appointed by the towns. In 1715 this commit- tee entered upon an exploration of the region lying west of the Naugatuck river, and appointed as their agent Mr. John Marsh,
"These lands were claimed' by Connecticut under its then existing charter, and fearing lest Andros might wrest them from the state and sell them to others, or an- other colony, the General Court gave them to the towns of Hartford and Windsor, to hold until the danger should be past, with the private understanding that the lands should revert to the state as soon as the danger should be past. When the danger was past these towns would not surrender the lands, but claimed them as their property. It was one of the clearest cases of betrayal of trust that ever oc- curred in the settlement of the country, and will be a lasting disgrace to the actors.
xxxvii
LAND IN LITCHFIELD.
one of their number, who in May of that year undertook what was then a perilous journey into a pathless wilderness. When the committee had concluded to commence a settlement they proceeded to purchase the Indian title to the lands. But they did not recognize any claim to these lands on the part of the Tunxis tribe, but applied instead to the Pootatucks, from whom the settlers of Woodbury had made their various purchases, who had their chief village, at that time, it will be remembered, on the Ousatonic at the mouth of the Pomperaug. Mr. Thomas Seymour, a member of the joint committee of the towns, vis- ited Woodbury in January, 1716, and again in May, and ob- tained the necessary deed. "In consideration of the sum of fifteen pounds money in hand received," the Pootatucks sold a tract of land lying north of the Waterbury and Woodbury lim- its, bounded on the east by the Naugatuck river, on the west by the Shepaug and its east branch, and on the north by a line run- ning from the north end of Shepaug pond easterly to the Nau- gatuck. It comprised nearly 45,000 acres. This deed, dated March 2, 1716, was signed by twelve Indians and witnessed by three others. The witnesses were Weroamaug (whose name is familiar to many as connected with a beautiful lake in New Preston and Warren), Wagnacug and Tonhocks. Among the names of the signers appears the name Corkscrew, which has a very civilized sound. It was originally Coksure or Cotsure. The other names as given in " Woodruff's History " are as fol- lows : Chusquunoag, Quiump, Magnash, Kehow, Sepunkum, Poni, Wonposet, Suckquunockqueen, Tawseume, Mansumpansh, and Norkquotonckquy. Comparing these names with the names attached to the Woodbury purchase of May 28, 1706, it appears that although that deed precedes this by ten years, yet several of the names are the same in both. Chusquunoag appears in the earlier deeds as Chesquaneag (or Cheshconeag of Paugas- sett) ; Magnash is evidently an error of the copyist for Ma- quash8 (or Mawquash of Paugassett) ; Kehow appears as Kehore, Sepunkum as Wusebucome, Suckquunockqueen as Wussocka- nunckqueen, and in a still carlier deed, Corkscrew as Cotsure. It appears that Quiump, under the form of Aquiomp, was also
8 Mauquash, the last sachem of the Pootatucks, died about 1758. Wooodbury Hist.
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INDIAN HISTORY.
the name of the sachem of the Pootatucks in 1661 at Pom- peraug. As that was fifty-five years before this, it was proba- bly not the same person, although possibly a relative. Such identifications as these are of but little account to the world to-day, but to the explorer of ancient records, preparing the way for the more stately historian, they are as interesting and perhaps as valuable as the discoveries of the modern genealo- gist or the devotee of heraldry.
It thus appears that the aboriginal ownership of the Nauga- tuck valley was divided among three quite distinct tribes, and that the claims of these tribes were recognized by the early set- tlers. It would be interesting to consider the nature of this primitive proprietorship, for it has decided bearings upon the great modern question of the origin of property, and the signifi- cance of that "institution," in the history of civilization. It was said by Sir Edmund Andros that Indian deeds were " no better than the scratch of a bear's paw," and there are those at the present day who for different reasons from those which shaped the opinion of Andros, would deny that the aboriginal ownership of the soil was of any account whatever. Because their system was a kind of communism, their rights amount to nothing in the eyes of these modern thinkers. The early set- tlers, however, either from a sense of justice or out of regard to expediency, and possibly somewhat of both, made it a rule to extinguish the titles of the natives by actual purchase ; and now, in their recorded deeds with the signatures, is treasured up a large part of the only history the world will ever have of the Red man of the forest. And when the value of the money of that day is considered, the unimproved condition of the lands and the fact that in almost all cases the grantors reserved either large sections as hunting grounds, or else the right to hunt every- where, as before the sale, it can hardly be said that the Indians were dealt with unfairly. The late Chief-Justice Church of Litchfield, in his centennial address in 185 1, commented severely upon the action of the early settlers in this respect, but he seems to have looked at the subject in an unjudicial way. The other side is strongly presented in Dr. Bronson's " History of Waterbury9.
9Hist., pp. 64-65.
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THE LAST VISIT.
The Indian usually reserved, or supposed that he reserved, the right to hunt and fish everywhere, the same as before the lands were sold. In most of the towns he remained harmless and unmolested in the neighborhood of the settlements, from · generation to generation. The relations of the aboriginal in- habitants to the whites are well illustrated in the statements of an aged citizen of Farmington, who died within the present century, and who was born about 1730, "that within his recol- lection the Indian children in the district schools were not much fewer than those of the whites. In their snow-balling parties the former used to take one side and the latter the other, when they would be so equally balanced in numbers and prowess as to render the battle a very tough one and the result doubtful." But however good the intentions of the white man may have been, the transformation of the wilderness into a fruitful field must go steadily on, and the red man must inevitably fall back, seeking new hunting grounds. For example, the Paugasucks of the sea-coast removed inland, as we have seen, and made their principal seat at the lower end of the Naugatuck valley, which thus became practically a new settlement, which was their head- quarters from before the English settlement until after King Philip's war, or about 1680, when they began to collect at Wesquantuck and to join the Pootatucks at Pomperaug. After the death of their sachem, Konkapatana, who resided either at Wesquantuck or at the Falls (Chusetown,) but almost certainly at the former place, the " nation " broke up, and as such be- came extinct, except those who remained at Chusetown. " Some joined the Pootatucks," it is said. Quite a large num- ber must have done so, since nearly half the names given in the "History of Woodbury" as being Pootatucks are Paugas- uck Indians and signers of the Derby deeds. Those who col- lected at the Falls were there earlier as well as in larger num- bers than has usually been supposed. "Some went to the coun- try of the six nations." This is quite probable. "In the spring of 1831 a company of Indians, consisting of about thirty, men, women and children, from the shores of Lake Champlain came to the Point [Milford] and encamped for a number of days, per- haps fifteen. They were led by an old patriarch or chieftain of ' eighty winters,' whom they appeared to obey and reverence.
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INDIAN HISTORY.
They conversed in the Indian tongue, and some of them knew but little of English. They had a tradition that some of their ancestors lived at Poconoc Point, and said they had come for the last time to the hunting ground of their fathers."10 These were no doubt descendants of the Paugasuck tribe, whose an- cestors had removed from Milford to Turkey Hill, Paugassett, Pootatuck or Newtown, and who went back yearly to Milford to catch and dry oysters, "spending the summer at a watering place." Again, " some emigrated to Scatacook," but this was some years after the decease of Cockapatana. At Turkey Hill a few remained, their number growing less year by year until about 1830, when Molly Hatchett only was left ; but ere long she passed on to the far away hunting land of the Indian. There are indications, indeed it is very probable, that some of these Indians removed to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The last deed of Derby lands that Cockapatana signed was in 1710, but his son, Waskawakes (alias Tom), seems to have signed a deed, given by the Pootatuck Indians, in 1706, indicating his active part in the business transactions of that tribe. In 1724 the Stockbridge Indians gave a deed of land to the white men which was signed by Konkapot and twenty other Indians. In 1734 Konkapot received a captain's commission from the Massachusetts government ; in 1735 he was baptized in the Christian faith, and he died previous to 1770, one of the first fruits of the Housatonic Mission, of which the Rev. Sam- uel Hopkins, born in Waterbury, was the founder. Konkapot's name became celebrated through the northern part of Litchfield county, and is perpetuated, after a fashion, in connection with one of the streams of Stockbridge, which was originally called Konkapot's brook. It was afterwards known as Konk's brook, and latterly has been degraded to Skunk's brook.
10Lambert, p. 130.
CHAPTER III.
CHUSE . AND THE LAST FAMILIES.
CATACOOK in Kent became one of the largest In- dian settlements in the state.
It was composed of wanderers who retreated be- fore the advancing colonists, and was founded by Gid- eon Mauwee1 (or Mawwee), who was a resident for a time in or near Derby, and was the father of Joseph Mauwee whose nick- name " Chuse " gave rise to the name Chusetown (now Sey- mour). Considerable has been written about this man; and most writers have followed what is said of him by Mr. John W. Barber in his " Historical Collections." Mr. Barber says he was a Pequot (or Mohegan) ; but Mr. DeForest says that while " various connections might be traced between the Narragan- setts and the tribes of western Connecticut," "both united in holding the Pequots in abhorrence and seldom bore any other relations to them than those of enemies, or of unwilling sub- jects."2 Hence it would have been almost impossible for a Pe- quot to come among the Paugasuck Indians, after the English began to settle here, and become a chief.
Chusumack succeeded Towtanimo as sachem at Stratford and at Pootatuck, across the river from Derby Landing, and signed a deed as such in 1671. His son, one of several, signed the same deed, and also a grandson. It is barely possible that Chusumack was a Pequot, but not probable. This Chusumack signs three deeds of land conveyed to the Derby settlers, dated respectively 1670, '71 and '73, thus indicating ownership with the Paugasucks ; and there are many evidences of this close relation between these tribes. Chusumack may have been the son of Towtanimo, but this would make Ansantaway quite aged at his death, which is possible, as he had apparently been chief some years when the English came to Milford. It is worthy of remark that if Joseph Chuse was descended from
·
1So spelled on Derby records and not Mauwehu.
2 Hist. Conn. Indians, p. 60.
F
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INDIAN HISTORY.
Chusumack, his nickname could be accounted for as an abbre- viation according to the custom of those days. Another fact must be remembered, that the Indians' land at the Falls vor Chusetown) was a reservation made by Ockenuck in 1678, when the land on both sides of the river at that place was sold to the town. It was reserved in the following words : "Only the said Indians do reserve the fishing place at Naugatuck, and the plain and the hill next the river at the fishing place ; further, the Indians do grant to the inhabitants all the grass and feed and timber on the plain against Rock Rimmon, and do en- gage to sell it to them if they sell it." This reservation com- prised thirty or more acres and belonged to the Paugasuck Indians, and the Pootatucks so far as the latter were inherit- ors with the former. How then could Gideon Mauwee give this land to his son Joseph about 1720, as stated by some writers ? He did it only as a chief relinquishes his claim, for it belonged to the Paugasuck tribe. He could surrender his claim as chief, but how did he possess any claim over this land, unless by ancestral right, running back to a time anterior to the date of the reservation ? And how did Gideon Mauwee become sachem of this land before 1720, when the rightful sachem, Cock- apatana, was living at Wesquantuck until 1731, and his son with him ?
Again, Joseph Mauwee is said to have been brought up, or ed- ucated at the home of Agar Tomlinson3 of Derby. But the first man of that name, and quite a spirited business man he was, was first married in 1734, about fourteen years after Joseph was himself married and settled at the Falls, according to report. From this and other facts, it is probable that Joseph Mauwee did not settle at the Falls until a later date. An item in the town records confirms this opinion. It was customary when a man became an inhabitant of the town, to record the mark he was to put on the ears of his sheep, swine and cattle. The fol- lowing entry has force, for the reason that if Joseph was brought up among the English, which is most probable, he would not have remained thirty-nine years at the Falls before being in possession of animals upon which he would need an ear mark. " Joseph Mauwee, his ear mark is two halfpennies of the fore
8J. W. Barber, 199.
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INHERITORS OF THE RESERVATION.
side of the right ear and a half tenant [tenon] the underside the left ear. June 27, 1759." It is said, however, that his young- est child, Eunice, was born in 1755, and that he had ten children, which would indicate that his marriage took place about 1730. Barber says, "He married a woman of the East Haven tribe." The Seymour history says she was " of the Farmington Indians."
The " striking statement " 'reported to have been made by Eu- nice Mauwee, that she " had seen an old Indian who had seen King Philip," requires only the age of ninety-five in the old Indian, to have made it abundantly possible. It was from this woman that Mr. Barber received most of his information about the In- dians of Derby, as he says,4 and, making some allowances for the memory of an Indian woman seventy-two years of age, the source of information is as reliable as any but actual records, except when it comes to opinions or interpretations, or leg- endary stories, when the story is all there is of value.5 The story that Chuse's name resulted from the peculiar manner of pronouncing "choose" is not credited by the author of this book. There is no doubt, however, that the story was told to Mr. Barber, as well as several others, which the town records prove to be erroneous. It is more probable that " Chuse " was the abbreviation of a full Indian name, for although among the Indians in early times names were not hereditary, yet later, after much intercourse with the English, the paternal name was used in designating families. Hence, from Moll Hatchett we have Joseph Hatchett and David Hatchett. And we have, as early as 1702, Will Toto, John Toto, Jack Toto.
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