USA > Massachusetts > Nantucket County > The history of Nantucket County, island, and town : including genealogies of first settlers > Part 21
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hose, Peleg Tuphose and Benj'a Joab Yompashom. This also pur- ports to be translated by Experience Mayhew, is endorsed as re- corded July 23, 1745 and the copy made by Enoch Coffin. Register April 20, 1750 .* The fourth purports to be a copy of the record of the General Court at Edgartown made by Enoch Coffin ordering certain lands, rights and privileges set apart for the Indians per- petually. The record is alleged to bear the date of June 20, 1672. The fifth purports to be a copy of a deed given June 5, 1677, by Nicornoosoo to his brothers, Keattohquen and Woh- uauinwat of certain lands on Nantucket with all the priveleges on and in .; It reads as follows: "The Deed of Niconoosoo Which he Gave To his Brothers In Before this General Cort at Nantuckett This fifth of June 1677 Then This Keattohquen and Wohwauinwat These Two have full Commission To Use of all Niconoossoo his Land and With all ye fruits of The Land at Nantuckett Every Roots or trees or Grass and all That is There in aye and the Stones Shall Be theirs and If ye Whale Shall happen to come Shore That Shall be theirs also and all that Is Belongs There in Shall Belong to his heirs & Assigns for Ever: after him This Deed was Given Before me Tho's Mayhew. Witness Pakepanossoo and Wananicoh- quontum and Restuumm This is a True Coppie of a Deed of Nico- noossoo Gave to my own Borthers-Keatohauen and Wohwaninwat. They Shall Inherit it for Ever as Well as I and Niconossoo and all our Children for Ever In witness whereof I Do to this Before Generall Cort Sett To my hand This fifth of June 1677-
NICONOOSSOO X his mark."
This interesting document bore the following indorsements
"I Wauwinit Like my father's Deed and I willingly sett to my hand This 5th of June 1677.
WAUWANIT his mark. v"
"This Wrighting Was made in Before This Generall Cort at Nantuckett This fifth of June 1677
BY NICONOOSOO and WAUWENIT (Seal)
me THO'S MAYHEW Witness by my hand.
Enter'd June 6th, 1677
Enter'd June 6th 1747.
A True Coppie of on the Records
MATT MAYHEW this 6th September 1689.
A True Coppie of yt on ye Record of Land Evidence for Dukes County in Book ye 1st folio 38. Compear'd Sept'r 25th 1749
pr. ENOCH COFFIN Reg'tr."
Still another complaint seems to have been sent to the General Court at or about the same session, which alleges-"Thus It is concerning Land at onkawoam. There were Certainly Two Sa-
*Ib. 168.
+Ib. 170.
The phraseology ascribed in the indorsements to Thomas Mayhew bears little resemblance to what one might expect from him.
#Mass. Archives. Indians, Voi. 32, p. 273.
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
chims: I, David Yompashom Do Say Lame Sachim and Wunnon- chumaomog ware the Sachims at Onkawom and These Were both Children of one Man and one Woman. They were brothers. Wherefore one had one half ye other had The other half of ye Land of onkawam. I David Yompashom Do Say that Nakedco- toonit Was The first Born after him was Born Wunnonchuma- nog .- Wunnonchumnomog had a Son Called Soosooahquekhat. I David Yompashum had for my Grandfather nakadootuannit Who was owner of the Land Which I David Yompashum Do own. I first Sought it at The hands of Able Soosooahquakhut and Kain Soo- soohquakhut and Before Their Greate men and I say I found or obtained it from their hands who all said David Yompashon Did Speak True That There was but Two Sachims at onkawoam: and David Yompashom Speaks True That Nakadtooaamit was his Grandfather and wunnauchumaamog who were Brothers Nakad- tootnanmit or Lame Sachim was the first Born. after him was Born Wunnanchumaomog. Therefore I say I David Yompashom am ye owner of half Onkauwom Because Nakodtataonnit Was my Grandfather and he Did Not Sell Land as Long as he Lived. I David Yompashom say this is Certainly True. God is my Witness."
This statement is also sworn to by Askamosoo (March 4, 1719), by Sosawapin William and by Wullontoonckin. And Yompashom con- tinues-"I David Yompasham Sought this Land at Boston and with me the Partner Daniel Spotsoo and a True man Micah Peemy and I found or obtained it Before the Sachims There at Boston Daniel Spotsoo and Micah Peem and Ebn'r Coffin was There before the Boston Sachims who ordered s'd Coffin that when he Came to Nantucket he Should Measure it to me Because he said David Yompashom speak True but after they came to Nantucket Yom- pashom Went to Ebn'r Coffin Desireing him To Measure his Land to him but said Coffin Then bid him Go to Boston for a Com- mission for him to Do it Thus much Being Don David Yompashom Died." The concluding part appears to be the affidavit of Banj'n Yompashum, that he is heir to the land through his father who never sold it. He says further that he is "the Last Alive of that Race or family." The marks of Titus Judah, Nat Oypahchamuk, Titus Haranus and James Panahtohkut are appended as witnesses and are followed by this affidavit: "The Within Written is a True Coppie Taken from Old Papers by ye Request of Benj'n Joab.
Taken by me ENOCH COFFIN."*
Still another petition appears from the Indians to the General Court t setting forth substantially but more briefly the same story of oppression by the English who for the past forty years have taken horses and cattle alleging that the Indians had no right to keep them and claiming that they (the Indians) could obtain no remedy at law. The English also deprived them of their planting land. They petitioned that their cases might be tried in some other county. This petition is dated December 2d, 1734, and is appended to the other papers. It is signed by :
ISACKEOOSSOO TITAS JUTAS
BONCHEMON JOAB AMSIAS
*Of Martha's Vineyard.
¿State Archives. Indians, Vol. 32, p. 274.
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
PAUIL WUBASOEKE
EBEN CAIN
SAMME BOPAMOO
SAMUEL AUTCKE
JOSIAH ARUTUSBEKEN
ANTM NABER
JEMUS MOLES
RICHOT ASBATAMUK
BELUK TITUS
BELUK SHAE
JOHN SAMSUN
ISACK JOEL
SAM BAN JAME
ROBEN ASSATEAMAK
JOHN BOUKEN
ABKIL JO
JUNATAN BEPAMOS
EBEN ROBEN
BUTAS JUTAS
MICAH SMEK
JOHN TITUS
PATESMER
POM SAUL
JOSEB SAMSUN
JOHN KUTUS .*
These matters were considered by the Council, December, 28, 1751, and Jacob Wendell, Samuel Danforth and Andrew Oliver, Esqs., on the part of the Council were joined with Mr. Oliver, Capt. Livermore, Maj. Lawrence and Capt. Fry on the part of the House "to take this petition into Consideration and Report thereon as soon as may be."
The Committee made the following report: -
"The Committee appointed to consider the Petition of a num- ber of Indians, Inhabitants of Nantucket, have met & heard two of said Indians thereupon who farther alleged that they are Owners of one half of said Island, altho the English set up a Claim to a greater proportion in consequence of a late Indian deed.
The Committee are therefore humbly of opinion that the Guardians of said Indians be served with copies of their Petition & of the Evidence brought to support it, and that the s'd Guardians notify the English Inhabitants who may be affected thereby, that so they may make answer thereto as soon as may be. And that the said Guardians be directed likewise to make a representation of Facts relating to this affair at the same time, that so the Court may give the necessary Order about it. And in the meantime that the said Guardians be directed to take effectual care that the Indians be supported & protected in the enjoyment of their wonted Priviledges , Improvements.'
The Council accepted this report and added an order "that the English Inhabitants of Nantucket concerned in the Affair with- in mentioned give in their Answer to the Indians' Complaint, & the Guardians of the Indians their Representation of ye Facts, on the first Fryday of the next Sitting of this Court."
The House concurred with the Council order and Lt. Gov. Phips gave it his approval.
To this order the Guardians made the following reply: t
"To his Honour Spencer Phips Esq'r. Lieut. Governour of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England and the Honour-
*It is difficult to tell just what their names are. We can define Bonchemon as Benjamin; Jutas as Judas; Samme as Samuel; Richot as Richard; Samsun as Samson; but it is not always so easy to distinguish what is meant.
¡Mass. Archives. Indians, Vol. 32, p. 271.
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
abble his Majesties Council and house of Representatives in Generall Court Assembled :
May it Plese Your Honours we the Subscribers Guardians of the Indians at Nantuckett having Served with Copys of a Petition and Other papers put into the Great and General Court in De- cember last by Ben Job and other Indians of Nantuckett and with a Copy of the order of Your Honours we have notified the English Proprietors of Nantuckett with Copys of Said Petition the Indian Testimony and Said order of Court thereon.
And as to the Abuses of the English towards the Indians as the Indians set forth in said Petition the first is that the English people for fourty years past have taken Away all their Horses & Cattle, which is false and a Groundless Complaint for every Indian on Nantuckett that have Right to keep them Enjoys that Privi- ledge now unmolested which is Many and the Principall Com- plaint Ben Job hath a Right for to keep two horses which he had of the Occowaw* Sachem which he hath Always Enjoyed without the least molestation by the English and in the Deeds of Purchase which the English had of several Sachems originally they Re- serv'd a Considerable Number of Rights for Keeping horses for themselves and other Indians which they peaceably Enjoy and always have Except what they have since Sold, and as to their planting land which they say the English people have taken away not Suffering them to plant any in peace is as manifestly false as their other Complaint for there is many of them that had Considerable Tracts of land given them and bounded heretofore by the severall Sachems which they have always Enjoyed Clear from molestation by the English and those Indians that had no particular Tracts of land allotted them by the Sachems are all of them Allowed to plant yearly as much as they want and have large tracts to choose out of and Yearly plant more than they hoe after it is planted & they have Hundreds of Acors to Choose out of for planting So that they are not Confin'd to poor land and notwithstanding the Good and wholesome law of the Province they frequently for the Sake of strong Drink let Some of the Ill minded English plant the best of their land and plant poorer themselves and If they Own the whole Island we are Humbly of the opinion they'd wast and destroy most of the profits of the Same notwithstanding all the laws that are in favour of them they are so universally given to Strong Drink to Such a great Degree which we think together with the advice of Some Ill minded persons for Interests' Sake is the Only motive of their uneasiness and pretended Complaints and as farther touching their planting notwithstanding the Miserable Care that they take of their Corn after it is planted so that they have not above Half a Crop of Corn in a general way Yet they have So little Regard to their own wellfare that as Soon as their Corn is Ripe the Greater part of them for the Sake of Rum begin to make sale of it So that they are Out of Corn before the winter is past and by the Spring of Year that the English are obliged to supply them with Corn on Credit or they would go Nigh to perrish with Hunger.
And the said Benjamin Job Claims a Tract of land by Virtue of a Writeing said to be Given by Nekanusoo bearing date 1668. we have taken Considerable pains in Searching into that Writeing
*Obed Macy in some unpublished manuscript spells this name Ochorwaw and says it was located near the east end of Gibbs Swamp. It was a considerable Indian village containing one of their meeting houses.
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
and it seems to be self Evident to be a piece of Forgery for it appeared Originally writ in Indian Translated into English by Mr. Experience Mayhew whereas the Year that said Writeing bears date there was not an Indian on Nantuckett that understood One letter in the Alphabett neither did there ever Appear to be such a Writeing untill about the time that it Crept on the Records of Marthas Vineyard which was in the year 1745, they nor their fathers before all their lifetimes never pretended or laid any Claim to any Such Right neither doth said pretended deed Carry any Evidence with it to prove its Validity so but that any Indians at any time may forge a number of Such papers and Date them far Enough back and If they must be held Valid and of any forse they will Destroy all the most Authentick Deeds that have been upon Record for Sixty years or more past. If they do but mind to date them far enough back from which no man can be sure of his property or Safe in that Case, whereas John Swain late of Nantuckett obtained a Deed of Purchase in 1680 of Wawinit the then avowed Sachem and Son and Heir unto the said Necka- nosoo for the bigger part of the same tract of land beginning at the same bound Specified in the Indian Writeing and Running on the Same Courses untill it Comprised the greater part of s'd Indian tract mentioned in their Writeing and s'd John Swain made Con- veyance of s'd purchase unto the proprietors of Nantuckett who Immediately built Sundry Houses thereon and Improved the whole for Above Sixty years peaceably in the lives of the now Claimers Ancestors who never demur'd with them or laid any Claim of any such Right knowing the same to be Honestly and legally sold as seems to Appear.
And farther the s'd Benjamin Job Complains of a fence being lately set up which is prejudicial to them in their planting, the English have a Large Tract of land there of Some Thousands of Acors which was so Over Ran with Rubage and Bryars that it was almost Destroyed as to its Profit and the motive that Induced the English to be at such a great Expense was that the Stock Creatures might destroy the rubbage and make the land fitter for Other Im- provements again and for no other Reason. s'd fence takes in a Small part of the Land that Ben Job Claims by s'd Writeing which makes him mention that. there is some few Indians that have Some Planting fields within said fence in the Room of which the English have Allowed them what land they want without the fence which they have planted to their satissfaction.
And Ben Job farther Intimated that he Owns half Occowa Sachemship by Virtue Some former Indian Sachem there he Calls a lame Sachem and by All that we Can find there Never was any such lame Sachem at Occowa or ever any pretence before for neither the oldest English man nor Indian on Nantuckett. Never heard of any such Sachem there and the tribe Indians that lives there are Ready to destroy him for makeing any such pretence.
The English People when they first Came on Nantuckett found that Wannuchmaymock was the Avowed Sachem and lord of the s'd Occowaw Sachemship and it has Remained in the hands of him and his Successors unto this day without the least demur and who the English always Purchased of and s'd wannunchmay was Always the Allowed Sachem while we were under New York by said Government for Occawwa And as Touching the Sachems the other Indians yearly paid their acknowledgements for their' plant- ing which as soon as the English Purchased Sachems lost their profits that way which was some benefit to the Common Indians.
The English have always in favour to the Indians fenced their planting land for them Otherwise they would have had no Corn
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
which the English people were not Obliged to do. the above as to us the subscribers Seems the Real facts as they now stand.
RICHARD COFFIN ABISHAI FOLGER. Guardians unto the Indians of Nantuckett.
The Proprietors also filed a reply which was as follows :*
To the Honourable Spencer Phips Esq'r, Lieutenant Governour & Commander in Chief in and Over his Majesties Province of the Massachusetts Bay, &c. And to the Honourable, his Majesties Coun- cil and the Honourable House of Representatives in General Court Assembled the second day of April 1752: May it Please your Hon- ours :-
The Propriety of the Town of Sherborn in the County of Nan- tucket at a Meeting Legally Warned and Met together on the 19th Day of February, 1752. Made choice of a Committee to Draw up an Answer to a Petition of sundry Indians of Nantucket Preferred to your Honours in December last Past: And we having Weighed the Matter fully are Humbly of the Opinion that the said Petition is al- together Groundless their Complaint being Exhibited against the s'd Proprietors for greatly oppressing them under sundry Heads, viz't. about Forty Years ago the s'd Proprietors took away all their Horses and have continued so to do ever since which Assertion we find to be false for the said Proprietors do not appear by any Record to have Impounded any Horses or other Beast belonging to the Indians for many Years last past. And we find in fact that the Complainants Forty years past and down to this Day ever since did peaceably Enjoy the Pasturing of many Horses and Cattle and even Benjamin Joab Yom-pau-sha the very Head of this Faction doth at this Time and hath for divers years past quietly Enjoyed the Pasturage of Two Horses being a Right derived from the Onk- a-wo-om Sachem by Deed and so do all others of the Indians who by any means have obtained liberty from either of the Sachems for Pasturing of Horses or Cattle. All others tis true the said Pro- prietors have from time to time Impounded and the Indians have often compained thereof to the Great & General Court unto whom the s'd Proprietors have as often shown the Justice of their Pro- ceeding and defended their Cause to the satisfaction of that August Assembly and in no ways despair of doing the same again .By reason that all the Rights they Hold they Purchased of the Sa- chems who then subsisted (when the English first Settled this Island of Nantucket in the Years 1660 & 61) And were by the Indian Inhabitants Unanimously owned & acknowledged to be such. Who were then in Number viz. Ne-con-noo-soo-, Wan-nunch-man- mog & At-ta-pe-hot, of whom & of their Descendants (By virtue of a Grant from the Government of New York to whom we were then Subject and since upon Our being annexed to this Province was Ratified by this Court) they Purchased all the Lands & Pas- turage they Enjoy or claim And no other Sachem was then known or Acknowledged, Altho Benjamin Joab Yum-pau-sha claims half the Onk-a-woom sachemship under his great Grandfather Neka-do-to- on-net an elder Brother as he saith to Wan-nunch-mau-mog neither Man, Name nor Claim ever heard of ( as we can find) before now even by the oldest People divers of whom exceed Fourscore years. It is a very Ancient Claim for Wan-nunch-mau-mog if he had to this Time lived would have been 150 years old & upwards for he
*State Archives, Vol. 32, p. 271. This reply is a fine piece of pen- manship.
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was a Man in Years when the Island was first settled and Dy'd be- yond the memory of Man.
And as to their Planting Land where anyone hath obtain'd from the Sachem any particular Tract of Land the said Propriety hath in no Wise interrupted them in the Peaceable Enjoyment thereof And it hath ever been and still is their Practice to Indulge them in the Choice of any Piece or Parcel of Land throughout a very large part of s'd Island containing many Hundreds of Acres to plant in and the Quantity without Controul or limitation and a great Part of that which they Plant they never Hoe to Effect but Destroy our Interest and their owne too. And as to ohers (who desired it) the Propriety have alotted certain Tracts of Lands by Meets and Bounds more than a sufficiency for their owne Planting And even more than they have Occasion of or desire to make Use of so that though it was Assigned to their Use only they neveretheless often Hire it out to the Non proprietors for the sake of Rum of which their Desires are Insatiate And for which (if not Restrained) they would Hire out the whole Island which would fall far short of sufficing them.
And as to the Land Inclosed in the absence of the Complainant We find that they had no Design of the advantage of his Absence For the setting up of that Fence was many Months before Determin- ed by the Proprietors Legally Warned and Met on that Occasion. And Furthermore the Complainants have Planted no Land in that Tract for many Years Past under any Pretext of a Planting Riglit whatsoever But the Proprietors have made use of it for Meadow land which for lack of Summer feeding is over run with Briars and other Rubbish which Renders it less Profitable to the Owners, to suppress which the Proprietors by a Vote legally Passed in the propriety have Determined to Pasture and Feed the same with Sheep Cattle & Horses without the least Design of Prejudice to the Indians. And we Humbly Conceive it can be no Damage to the Complainants.
And as to the Complainants Petitioning for the Removal of Tryals in Real Estate to some other County for that both Judges and Jurors are all Interested we Answer Tis fact as to the Justices but not as to the Jurors for we have a sufficiency of Disinterested Persons to compleat divers Juries if Occasion offers nor hath it been the Parctice of our Courts to Proceed otherwise And since our Court is not finally Decisive But Our Appeals in all civil Causes are to the County of Suffolk we Humbly conceive Your Honours will not Deprive us of the Privileges Granted to us by the afores'd Gov- ernment of New York and since Confirmed to us by the Great & General Court of this Province since we have done Nothing to Render us Unworthy of the same.
May it Plese your Honours:
We are Humbly of the Opinion that the Complaints are not Grounded on any Misusage or Injustice offered by the said Proprie- tors to the Complainants But rather sprang from the Instability of that Nation easily Influenced by the Instigation of Evil-minded Persons Who for some sinister Ends stir them up to Mischief Even to Perjuries & frequent Forgeries sundry of which have been self Evidently so Others by clear Evidence have · been Proved to be so. And the Deed that Accompanies this Complaint doubtless is one of that sort. And Unquestionably will so appear to your Honours when your Honours Reflect on Mr. Thomas Mayhew's Fashion of Witnessing the same Who was a Merchant bred and President of the Court in Dukes County But he appears in said Deed to sign ( Mr. Thomas Mayhew this my Hand) Which Deed is said to be Given by Ne-con-noo-soo in the year 1668 Written in the Indian Tongue long before any Indian on this Island of Nan-
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HISTORY OF NANTUCKET
tucket knew one Letter in the Alphabet and Pretended to be Granted to Pe-te-pon-tum-Noo-soo, Wat-Noo-soo, James Noo-soo & Paul-Noo-so the Four Sons of the s'd Ne-con-noo-soo And the Mark of Wan-win-net (amongst others) is set thereto as a Wit- ness who was son & Heir to the s'd Ne-con-noo-soo And in the Year 1686 Conveyed by Deed the same Lands beginning at the same Bounds to One of the English Proprietors on s'd Island Which Deed was then Recorded And a great Part of the Lands Granted was then Entered into & Fenced by the said Proprietors Even in the lifetime of the said Pet-te-pon-tum-Noo-so, Wat-Noo-soo, James Noo-soo & Paul-Noo-Soo,, Who never Claim'd Challeng'd or Demanded the same or any Part thereof nor their Successors after their Decease by Virtue of any Title by their s'd pretended Deed Notwithstanding it was but 18 years after that was pretended to be given to them by their s'd Father Ne-con-noo-soo's Deed which Deed was never Recorded till the Year 1745 at which time it Jumpt into the Record of Dukes County Knight arrant like or rather stole in where it lay conceal'd till about Two years Past then it appeared privately abroad and now in Publick but from whence it came or by whom made we know not.
And Finally we knowing the Assertians to be true which we have herein Represented are Humbly of the Opinion that your Honours wil see Cause to dismiss s'd Petition
JER'H GARDNER JOSIAH COFFIN"
The General Court does not appear to have taken any further record action on this matter until the following June when the Council adopted the following :*
"In Council June 5, 1753. Read & Ordered that Zaccheus War- ren Esq & Dr. Mathew Mayhew of Marthas Vineyard be & hereby are appointed & impouered to repair to the Island of Nantucket as soon as may be & there make Inquiery into the Grievances sug- gested & complained of by the Indians in this Petition & other Papers accompanying the same & all other matters of complaint now subsisting. That the above mentioned Gentlemen have Power to send for Persons & Papers as occasion may be. That they en- deavour an accomodation of those Differences between the English & Indians & make Report to this Court of their doings therein &
*Still another petition bearing date Sept. 11, 1752 is on record worded in the peculiar dialect used by the Indians and setting forth very much the same story of alleged wrongs. They complain that the English have taken away from them their English hay which the In- dians have usually mowed and carried off about ten "Clash" (calash or cart) loads. "These Ronge Doings Begin in the ten Day of July 1752. Now we poor Indians we humble pray you Gentlemen be please to Con- sider and see how the English Dealt by the poor Indians At Nantucket and English Keping ther on Cattle In our Land which the land Belongs to All the Town Indians. And another trouble we have because the English take away our Rods and Oake brush and swamp brush so we think this Contrary to Justice. by that Reason we humble pray You Gentleman be please to Consider for us and help us In the honourable General Court we are Desire your help Couse we want If you can found an Indian should have any land to do be make hast leat us haue it or Received In our hand to make use out amongs our Selves becouse Eng- lish too heard for us. Another trouble we haue the English at Nan- tucket they haue great many sheep but they never keep them well In the Summer times now In the Years 1752 Sheeps eat up great many Acors of Corn from Indians." Several instances of such trespass are alleged-John Saul, Esrel Agrikah, James Esop, Amossiah, John Quaab and others. They complained also that if Indian whalemen died the English took their property from the widows. John Quaab seems to be the leading spirit in the complaints. Mass. Archives. Indians, Vol. 32, p. 287.
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