Historic Pelham

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Pelham Founder Thomas Pell Served in the Pequot War in the early 17th Century

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It is well established that Pelham founder Thomas Pell was among those who settled Fort Saybrook in the Colony of Saybrook (now part of Connecticut) in the 1630s. It is also well established that Pell served as the "Chirugeon" (surgeon -- i.e., physician of the day) who traveled with Captain John Underhill and his militia when they sailed away from Fort Saybrook and attacked a fortified Native American settlement near Mystic on May 26, 1637 during the so-called Pequot War.

It seems clear that Pell refused to leave the ship when it arrived ferrying militia members on the way to the massacre. Indeed, at least one leader of the attack complained bitterly that Pell refused to accompany the soldiers, led by Captain John Underhill, after they disembarked from the vessel and began their overland march to the fortified settlement where they massacred an unknown number of men, women and children. There is evidence to suggest that Pell acted not from some principled disagreement with the nature of the venture that led to a terrible massacre of the Native Americans but, rather, out of fear that the venture was ill-fated and would lead to the deaths of those who planned to attack the Native American village.

Today's Historic Pelham article quotes a brief reference in Mason's History of the Pequot War and, more particularly, an excerpt of a description of the May 26, 1637 expedition against a fortified Pequot settlement at Mystic:

"They were taken in their own snare, and we through mercy escaped. And thus in little more than one hour's space, was their impregnable fort with themselves destroyed, to the number of six or seven hundred, as some of themselves confessed. There were only seven taken captive, and about seven escaped. Of the English there were two slain outright, and about twenty wounded; some fainted by reason of the sharpness of the weather, it being a cool morning, and the want of such comforts and necessaries as [Page xiii / Page xiv] are needed in such a case; especially our Chirurgeon * [see text of footnote "*" below] was much wanting, whom we left with our barks in Narragansett Bay, who had orders to remain until the night before our intended assault. . . .

[Text of footnote "*" follows.] * Dr. Thomas Pell, a gentleman of good family from London, was sent from the fort at Saybrook, as surgeon of the expedition. He afterward settled at New Haven, from whence he removed to Fairfield, and afterwards to Westchester, N. Y. [sic], where he purchased of the natives a large tract of land, which was given the name of Pelham. -- Styles' History of Windsor, p. 38. [New paragraph] Mrs. Martha J. Lamb's Hist. of New York I. 171, 257, 381. Bolton's Hist. of Westchester. Dr. Pell's will was probated at Fairfield, and some reliable documents in regard to his nephew John Pell of London, are on file there."

Source: Schenck, Elizabeth Hubbell, The History of Fairfield - Fairfield County, Connecticut From the Settlement of the Town in 1639 to 1818 By Mrs. Elizabeth Hubbell Schenck, Vol. I, pp. xiii-xiv (NY, NY: Published by the Author, 1889)(citing "Mason's Hist. Pequot War," a short-form reference to citation appearing elsewhere in the volume as "Mason's Hist., Pequot War., Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. 8, S. 2, 146-151").

Though at least one other account complains bitterly that Pell refused to accompany the expedition to the fortified village, this brief reference contains a vague and ambiguous reference. It states that the expedition especially needed "our Chirugeon . . . whom we left with our barks in Narragansett Bay, who had orders to remain until the night before our intended assault. . . . ."

At first blush, it would seem that the reference to "orders to remain until the night before our intended assault" would apply to the barks that transported the troops to the shores near the fortification at Mystic. Is it possible, however, that the reference "orders to remain" was intended to relate to "our Chirugeon," Thomas Pell? While that is at least a remote possibility, historians long have suggested the contrary, choosing to support the story that Pelham founder Thomas Pell did not believe the expedition would succeed and, thus, remained aboard a bark to avoid the risk of death.

Portion of Engraving Depicting the Attack on the Pequot Fort

at Mystic in May 1637. Source: Underhill, John, "The Figure

of the Indian's Fort or Palizado," Illustration in Newes from America;

or, A New and Experimental Discoverie of New England (London:

1638). NOTE: Click to Enlarge Image.

"Thomas Pell" by Thom Lafferty from an Original by

an Unknown Artist Who Imagined Pell as He Would

Look. There Are No Known Images of Thomas Pell.

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

* * * * *

I have written about Pelham founder Thomas Pell and various aspects of his life on countless occasions. For links to more than sixty articles and one book dealing with the topics, see the following.

Fri., Jan. 16, 2015: Possible Service of Pelham Founder, Thomas Pell, with English Forces in the Siege and Capture of Bois-le-Duc in the Netherlands in 1629.

Thu., Jan. 15, 2015: The Man For Whom The Town of Pelham Is Named.

Wed., Dec. 10, 2014: Did Pelham Founder Thomas Pell Have a Residence in Pelham?

Tue., Nov. 04, 2014: Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, Stepson of Thomas Pell.

Thu., Oct. 30, 2014: Did Thomas Pell Act on Pangs of Remorse After Witchcraft Persecution Involving His Family?

Mon., Mar. 31, 2014: Inventory of the Estate of Pelham Founder Thomas Pell Taken Shortly After He Died in Late September, 1669.

Wed., Oct. 7, 2009: 1656 Native American Deed for Fairfield, Connecticut Lands Signed by Thomas Pell as a Witness.

Fri., Apr. 24, 2009: Dutch Authorities Remove the Settlers At West Chester in March, 1656.

Tue., Apr. 07, 2009: 1666 Record Containing "Observations" on the Patent Granted to Thomas Pell.

Thu., Dec. 20, 2007: Two 17th Century Fairfield Probate Records Referring to Thomas Pell.
Tue., Dec. 18, 2007: 1648 Commercial Record Involving Claim Against Thomas Pell for Three Hundred Pounds.

Mon., Dec. 17, 2007: 1649 Record Whereby Thomas Pell Appointed Agent to Recover Bond Due From Pewterer Ambrose Adlam of the City of Bristoll.

Fri., Dec. 14, 2007: Additional 17th Century Shipping and Commercial Records Mentioning Thomas Pell.

Tue., Nov. 27, 2007: Thomas Pell Was Elected a Freeman of Connecticut on October 9, 1662, the Day the Crown's Connecticut Charter Was Read to the Public.

Wed., Oct. 24, 2007: July 3, 1666 Letter on Behalf of the Governor of the Province of New York To Thomas Pell.

Tue., Oct. 23, 2007: 1664 Petition of Inhabitants of Westchester to Commissioners for the Affairs of New England Mentioning 1654 Purchase by Thomas Pell.

Mon., Oct. 22, 2007: Dutch Authorities Demand That Thomas Pell Halt His 'Intrusion' at Westchester in 1656.

Fri., Oct. 19, 2007: Thomas Pell Was Feared Drowned or Lost at Sea in 1656.

Thu., Oct. 18, 2007: April 19, 1655 Dutch Protest Against Thomas Pell's Efforts To Settle Englishmen on Lands the Dutch Called VreedLandt.

Wed., Oct. 17, 2007: 1669 Map of Lands in Dispute Between Thomas Pell and John Richbell.

Tue., Oct. 16, 2007: Information About Thomas Pell's Treaty Oak Published in 1912.

Wed., Oct. 10, 2007: Thomas Pell Accompanies Delegation of Dutch from New Haven to Hartford in October, 1663.

Tue., Aug. 14, 2007: Biographical Data About Thomas Pell, His brother, John, and His Nephew, John Pell of the Manor of Pelham.

Tue., Jul. 24, 2007: Article About the Pell Treaty Oak Published in 1909.

Mon., Jul. 23, 2007: 1906 Article in The Sun Regarding Fire that Destroyed the Pell Treaty Oak.

Wed., May 2, 2007: Information About Thomas Pell's Treaty Oak Published in 1922.

Mon., Apr. 2, 2007: More Evidence That Thomas Pell Paid 500 Pounds Sterling for the Lands that Became the Manor of Pelham.

Wed., Mar. 07, 2007: Published Abstract of 1669 Will of Thomas Pell, Followed by Entire Text of Will of Thomas Pell.

Wed., Feb. 07, 2007: Information About Thomas Pell in the Catalogue of the Names of the First Puritan Settlers of the Colony of Connecticut Published in 1846.

Fri., Feb. 02, 2007: 1670 Letter from John Winthrop, Jr. to William Lord Brereton, Describing the Arrival of John Pell in America to Receive Thomas Pell's Estate.

Thu., Jan. 11, 2007: More 17th Century Commercial Records Involving Thomas Pell and Edmund Leach.

Wed., Jan. 10, 2007: 17th Century Commercial Records Involving Thomas Pell and Edmund Leach.

Tue., Jan. 9, 2007: 1648 Notarial Record by Boston Merchant Providing Power of Attorney to Collect Debt From Thomas Pell of New Haven.

Mon., Jan. 8, 2007: Dutch Authorities Decide To Station a Ship With Men Off Today's City Island on February 9, 1654 To Keep Watch on the Activities of the English.

Fri., Dec. 22, 2006: Brief Biographies of Thomas Pell, First Lord of the Manor of Pelham, and His Nephew, John, Published in 1912.

Tue., Dec. 12, 2006: Did Thomas Pell Avoid Taxes by Maintaining a Medical Practice?

Fri., Dec. 08, 2006: An Interesting Power of Attorney Executed in Favor of Thomas Pell on October 29, 1651 Plus Other Records.

Thu., Dec. 07, 2006: Additional Authorities Supporting Assertions that Thomas Pell Conducted Trade by Ship Along the East Coast.

Wed., Dec. 06, 2006: When Did Thomas Pell Arrive in America?

Wed., Nov. 22, 2006: Young Thomas Pell Unjustly Accused of "Extortion or Sinfull Unrightousness".

Mon., Nov. 06, 2006: The Source of Confusion Over the Date Thomas Pell Acquired the Lands That Became the Manor of Pelham.

Tue., Oct. 24, 2006: Thomas Pell's and John Pell's Land Dispute with John Richbell in the Late 1660s and Early 1670s.

Mon., Oct. 23, 2006: More Early Evidence That Thomas Pell Had a House Later Used by His Nephew, John Pell, on Rodman's Neck.

Fri., Oct. 06, 2006: Additional Evidence That Thomas Pell Acquired His Lands At the Behest of English Authorities.

Thu. Oct. 5, 2006: Additional Evidence That Thomas Pell Paid 500 Pounds Sterling for the Lands That Became the Manor of Pelham.

Wed., Oct. 04, 2006: Did Thomas Pell, First Lord of the Manor of Pelham, Act as an Attorney?

Fri., Aug. 25, 2006: Thomas Pell, First Lord of the Manor of Pelham, Traded Tobacco Along the East Coast by Barque.

Mon., July 24, 2006: A Statute Enacted in 1666 Seems to Have Prompted Thomas Pell To Seek a Royal Grant Confirming His June 27, 1654 Land Acquisition.

Fri., July 7, 2006: The Involvement of Thomas Pell's Family in the Witchcraft Persecution of Goody Knapp.

Mon., July 3, 2006: Where Is Thomas Pell's Handwritten Copy of the Treaty Signed With Local Native Americans on June 27, 1654?

Wed., Jun. 28, 2006: A Biography of Mathematician John Pell, Brother of Thomas Pell (First Lord of the Manor of Pelham).

Tue., Jun. 27, 2006: Land Owned by Thomas Pell and His Wife in New Haven, Connecticut in the Mid-17th Century.

Thu., Apr. 13, 2006: Rumors in 1657 That Thomas Pell Manipulated Local Native Americans To Protect His Land Acquisition From Incursions by the Dutch.

Fri., Mar. 03, 2006: 1666 Letter from Thomas Pell to John Winthrop, Jr. Regarding Pell's 1654 Purchase of the Lands That Became Pelham.

Thu., Feb. 16, 2006: Evidence of the Use of Thomas Pell's Insignia To Seal a Letter from Lion Gardiner in 1636.

Fri., Jul. 29, 2005: Has Another Piece of the Treaty Oak Surfaced?

Bell, Blake A., Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak (Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, Inc., 2004).

Bell, Blake A., How Much Did Thomas Pell Pay for the Manor of Pelham?, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XV, Issue 43, Nov. 3, 2006, p. 10, col. 1.

Bell, Blake A., Thomas Pell's Feud With the New Haven Courts, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 14, Apr. 2, 2004, p. 10, col. 2.

Bell, Blake A., Thomas Pell: The Historical Context, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 12, Mar. 19, 2004, p. 10, col. 1.

Bell, Blake A., Pelham History: The Involvement of Thomas Pell's Family in the Witchcraft Persecution of Goody Knapp, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 4, Jan. 23, 2004, p. 11, col. 1 through p. 12, col. 2.

Bell, Blake A., Pelham History: Why Did Thomas Pell Buy the Lands That Became Pelham?, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 2, Jan. 9, 2004, p. 11, col. 1 through p. 12, col. 3.

Bell, Blake A., Thomas Pell's Treaty Oak, The Westchester Historian, Vol. 28, Issue 3, pp. 73-81 (The Westchester County Historical Society, Summer 2002).

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

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Labels: 1637, chirugeon, John Underhill, Native Americans, Pequot War, Thomas Pell

Monday, August 31, 2015

Seyseychkimus, The Native American "Chief" and Signer of 1649 Indian Deed Encompassing Pelham

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Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
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The earliest so-called "Indian Deed" yet discovered conveying lands that later became Pelham was a deed signed on July 14, 1649. See Wed., Aug. 12, 2015: Significant Research on the First "Indian Deed" Reflecting the Dutch Purchase of Lands that Included Today's Pelham. That deed conveyed to the Director General and Council of New Netherland lands identified as "Wiequaes Keck" on the east bank of the Hudson River between the Byram and Mianus Rivers along Long Island Sound. These lands encompassed all of today's Town of Pelham. The deed was signed by several Native Americans including one named Seyseychkimus who was designated as "the chief" and who signed the deed as "witness."

Who was Seyseychkimus?

Seyseychkimus was a Munsee who, specialists believe, first appeared in colonial records in 1637 with his name spelled as "Heyseys." He appeared as "one of two Mareychkewikingh (Marechkawieck) sachems in the July 16, 1637 sale of two islands in the Hell Gate between Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx (Book GG:28-29). The Marechkawieck inhabited the downtown Brooklyn area." Grumet, Robert Steven, "ON THE IDENTITY OF THE RECHGAWAWANCK" in The Bulletin and Journal of Archaeology for New York State, No. 83, p. 4 (Spring 1982).

Seyseychkimus was considered a "lower River Indian leader" who spoke the Munsee dialect, not the Mahican language. Grumet, Robert S., The Munsee Indians: A History, p. 296 - Notes to Page 14, n.16 (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2009). According to Grumet, the Marechkawieck sachem who resided on Long Island in the Brooklyn area in about the mid-1630s sold all of his remaining Brooklyn lands to the Dutch in two separate deeds dated September 10, 1645 (a deed that later was canceled) and November 1, 1650. See supra, Grumet, ON THE IDENTITY OF THE RECHGAWAWANCK, p. 4.

Clearly Seyseychkimus was an important Munsee leader in the lower Hudson River area. He appears to have departed Brooklyn at about the time of the sale of his Brooklyn lands and next was located, apparently, in the Wiechquaeskeck region on the mainland northeast of Manhattan -- an area that included today's Town of Pelham. On July 14, 1649, he witnessed the Indian Deed that conveyed lands including today's Pelham and Northeast Bronx to the Dutch. (For a full transcription of a translation of that deed, see below.)

As further evidence of the prominence of Seyseychkimus as a Munsee leader in the region, only five days after witnessing the July 14, 1649 Indian Deed, Seyseychkimus "participated as Seysegeckkimus in the treaty that ended hostilities between the Dutch and unreconciled elements of the Wiechquaeskeck and Raritan groups who did not sign the August 30, 1645 treaty ending the Governor Kieft War." See supra, Grumet, ON THE IDENTITY OF THE RECHGAWAWANCK, p. 4 (citing "NYHM(4):607-609)"). Seyseychkimus was among the only representatives not assigned to a specific group at the time the treaty was executed. Although we will never know why, we can speculate that his recent move from the Marechkawieck section in Brooklyn to the Wiechquaeskeck region on the mainland northeast of Manhattan left his designation -- but not regional prominence -- somewhat in question.

By 1651 (three years before English settler Thomas Pell acquired much of the same lands conveyed to the Dutch on July 14, 1649), Seyseychkimus seems to have moved northward to, or to have asserted his influence as far north as, northwestern Connecticut. He "signed a deed to land in northwestern Connecticut as Sasskum on February 15, 1651 (Bolton 1848(1):392) and was mentioned as Sasse in an incomplete manuscript dated March 25, 1652 (NYCM(5):32)." See supra, Grumet, ON THE IDENTITY OF THE RECHGAWAWANCK, p. 4.

After analyzing the various deeds, the treaty, and the incomplete manuscript mentioning Seyseychkimus, Robert S. Grumet summarizes as follows:

"The collective weight of this documentation supports the identification of this man as a Marechkawieeck chief from Brooklyn who moved to the mainland east of the Hudson River following the sale of his land holdings on Long Island. These data would thus place both Sesekimu and Seyseychkimus in Westchester and Fairfield Counties." See supra, Grumet, ON THE IDENTITY OF THE RECHGAWAWANCK, p. 4.

The colonial documentation seems to provide a partial glimpse of the life of the Munsee leader of the lower Hudson River region known as Seyseychkimus. Seyseychkimus, a Marechkawieck sachem who resided on Long Island in the Brooklyn area in about the mid-1630s, apparently exercised influence over or served as a Munsee sachem representative in connection with lands extending from Brooklyn through today's Westchester and Fairfield Counties. For about a sixteen-year period from 1637 until 1652, Seyseychkimus participated in successive sales of lands located successively northeastward as local Native Americans slowly deeded their lands to Dutch and, later, English settlers. In at least one such instance he was designated as "chief" and also participated in an important treaty with the Dutch by which "unreconciled elements of the Wiechquaeskeck and Raritan groups who did not sign the August 30, 1645 treaty ending the Governor Kieft War" ended their hostilities with the Dutch.

View of Fort Amsterdam in New Netherland, 1651. Note

The Native Americans in a Variety of Canoes. Source:

Hartger, Joost, Befchrijvinghe Van Virginia, Nieuw Nederlandt,

En d’Eylanden Bermudes, Berbados, en S. Christossel

(Amsterdam, 1651) (Original in The Lenox Library, The

New York Historical Society, The Andrews Collection).

NOTE: Click on Image To Enlarge.

Below are transcriptions of a wide variety of research items relating to the identity of, and the life of, Seyseychkimus. Each is followed by a citation to its source. Given that some materials are available only in print format, links are provided only when available. Research so far has revealed a variety of spellings of the name "Seyseychkimus." Those are listed immediately below, followed by some of the research on which this brief article is based.

ALTERNATIVE NAMES / SPELLINGS

Heyseys
Sasham
Sasse
Sassian
Sasskummu
Seiseis
Ses-Segh-Hout
Seseke
Seysegeckkimus
Seyseychkimus
Segseychkimus
Seysey
Seyseys

* * * * *

Seyseychkimus was considered a "lower River Indian leader" who spoke the Munsee dialect, not the Mahican language. Grumet, Robert S., The Munsee Indians: A History, p. 296 - Notes to Page 14, n.16 (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2009).

"Originally from Long Island, Seyseychkimus moved to Wiecquaesgeck and later farther upriver to Wappinger country after selling his lands in Brooklyn." Id.

"This brings us to the primary Haverstraw sachem and the problem of the identification of the Rechgawawanck sachem Sesekemu. A man named Sessikout was identified as the sachem of Haverstroo and the brother of an Esopus leader in a document dated March 15, 1664 (NYCD (13):363-364). If saccis was Sessikout, then he signed the January 30, 1658 sale of the Bayonne Peninsula as Saghkaw (Liber 1:34) and the May 19, 1671 conveyance of the Palisades to the south of Haverstraw, New York as Saghtow (Liber 1:115-116). He was far more recognizable as Sessikout when he appeared as the signatory Seskiguoy in the June 8, 1677 sale of land to the west of the Palisades (Liber 1:254(85-253)86). Next listed as Sakaghkemeck, 'Sachem of Averstraw' in the July 13, ,1683 conveyance of land directly south of the Hudson Highlands and the Catskill Mountains as Sackewagzein, 'Sachem of Heardstroo' (Liber N: folio 86-88:23). These documents strongly support the assertion that Sessikout was the most important Haverstraw sachem of the period. They themselves do not, however, establish that Sesekemu was Sessikout.

The most likely candidate for that role is a man name[d] Seyseychkimus. He first appeared as Heyseys, one of two Mareychkewikingh (Marechkawieck) sachems in the July 16, 1637 sale of two islands in the Hell Gate between Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx (Book GG:28-29). The Marechkawieck inhabited the downtown Brooklyn area. He was next mentioned as Sassian in a document dated September 11, 1642 (NYHM(3):325-326). He subsequently sold his remaining land holdings in Brooklyn as the chief Seysey on September 10, 1645 (Book GG:60) and as Sasham on November 1, 1650 (MacLeod 1941). He evidently moved to the mainland to the east of the Hudson River sometime before 1649. On July 14th of that year he appeared as Seyseychkimus, a chief who witnessed the sale of land identified as Wiequaes Keck on the east bank of the Hudson River between the Byram and Mianus Rivers along Long Island Sound (Book GG:323-324). Five days later, on July 19, 1649, he participated as Seysegeckkimus in the treaty that ended hostilities between the Dutch and unreconciled elements of the Wiechquaeskeck and Raritan groups who did not sign the August 30, 1645 treaty ending the Governor Kieft War (NYHM(4):607-609). Although not listed as such, it can be inferred that he represented the Remahenonck at these proceedings, as both he and the latter group were the only individuals or groups not assigned leaders or corporate identities in the document. He subsequently signed a deed to land in northwestern Connecticut as Sasskum on February 15, 1651 (Bolton 1848(1):392) and was mentioned as Sasse in an incomplete manuscript dated March 25, 1652 (NYCM(5):32). The collective weight of this documentation supports the identification of this man as a Marechkawieeck chief from Brooklyn who moved to the mainland east of the Hudson River following the sale of his land holdings on Long Island. These data would thus place both Sesekimu and Seyseychkimus in Westchester and Fairfield Counties. They would also support the possible location of the Remahenonck in the same area. Together by themselves they would seem to validate Ruttenber's assertion that the Rechgawawanck lived along the east banks of the Hudson River. Data contained within the May 15, 1664 treaty ending the Esopus Wars seriously challenges this assertion."

Source: Grumet, Robert Steven, "ON THE IDENTITY OF THE RECHGAWAWANCK" in The Bulletin and Journal of Archaeology for New York State, No. 83, p. 4 (Spring 1982).

Seyseychkimus was consanguineal or blood kin of Mamanuchqua, the prominent female Esopus leader who appeared among sachems representing the Mahicans, Catskills, and Esopus in July 1682 in Albany to hear complaints against them, to renew the famed "Covenant Chain bonds," and to present a beaver pelt "in token of a promise to travel farther westward beyond Maryland and Virginia when again 'going out a hunting beaver.'"

Source: Grumet, Robert S., First Manhattans: A History of the Indians of Greater New York, pp. 128-30 & p. 130 Figure 4 (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2011).

"Mattano tried to manipulate suspicions that divided rival Dutch and English claimants to Indian lands in Brooklyn. His first efforts to exploit this rivalry in Brooklyn met with limited success. The Dutch claimed what amounted to nearly all his people's lands on Long Island under the terms of both Tackapousha's broad conveyance of November 13, 1643, and Seyseychkimus's later cancelled September 10, 1645, deed to the most westerly portion of lands within the bounds covered by the 1643 deed. A small patch in this latter area was also claimed by yet another group of New England exiles led by Lady Deborarh Moody, who settled at Gravesend with Dutch permission during Kieft's War. After the war, English settlers there secured their claim in a sale, again arranged with Dutch approval, concluded with Seyseychkimus and Mattano's father, Emerus, on November 1, 1650. 31 [Footnote "31" states in part as follows: "Emerus signed the first state of the November 1, 1650, deed in the GTR Patent Book 1:15 as Arremathanus, perhaps the fullest transcription of his name; later states of the same deed (in GTR Patent Book 1:43, 45, and 47) spell the name as Arremackanus; Seyseychkimus's name is the last in the list of sachems, appearing in the form of Sasham, a variant of Sassian, Seiseis, and other forms documented in transactions concluded on Long Island."].

Source: Grumet, Robert S., The Munsee Indians: A History, p. 100 & p. 338 n.31 (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2009).

"Two deeds came out of these get-togethers. The first, bearing a date of April 13, 1671, gave Bedloe and De Harte title to all land between the Hudson River and Overpeck Creek 'on the north side of the Sir Governor Philip Carteret's' from Hespatingh in present-day Jersey City to Tappan. The second, finalized on May 19, 1671, gave De Harte a still larger tract taking in all lands north of the April purchase line from Tappan to Haverstraw between the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers. Together, these deeds turned the whole of the Palisades into the property of buyers from New York, who promptly registered their new purchases, written in Dutch, in Manhattan. [Footnote omitted]

As they had in Staten Island a year earlier, New Yorkers had purchased land coyly referred to in both deeds as 'under the jurisdiction of the province of New Jersey,' but not necessarily within its charter borders. With patience and perhaps some well-placed payoffs, De Harte and Bedloe might use these deeds to help Lovelace extend New York's sovereignty over the desired land. They certainly seemed to have the support of the Indians. The list of sachems who signed the deeds for the New Yorkers included leaders from every major Indian community between the lower Hudson and upper Delaware rivers below the Highlands. The primary signatory was Aroohikan, who identified himself in both documents as a Tappan sachem. Like Seyseychkimus, whose interest in land at Haverstraw was represented in the May 19, 1671, deed, Aroorhikan was another expatriate from Brooklyn. New York's faithful ally Pierwim also signed both deeds. Tomachkapay put his mark on the April 13 conveyance as sachem of Minisink. Among other signatories were Memshe, Waerhinnis Couwee, and a man new to colonial records, who had a talent for languages named Towakhachi (Munsee for 'Mudpuppy'). [Footnote omitted]"

Source: Grumet, Robert S., The Munsee Indians: A History, p. 126 (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2009).

"GG 222 INDIAN DEED TO THE DIRECTORS OF THE WEST INDIA COMPANY FOR LAND IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY

On this day, the date underwritten, appeared before us, the Honorable Lords, the Director-General and Council, Megtegichkama, Oteyochque, and Wegtakochken, the rightful owners of the land located on the east bank of the North River of New Netherland called Wiequaes Keck; extending in breadth through the woods until a stream called Seweyruc [Byram River], with a boundary line running north and south from Greenwich on the East River to a stream called Kechkawes [Mianus River]. This same land is located between the two streams, dissecting the woods between the North and East River, so that the western half remains with the aforesaid owners; while the other eastern half, which is divided by a north-south line through the woods, the aforesaid owners acknowledge in the presence of the chief Seyseykimus and all the remaining friends and blood relatives to have sold the aforesaid parcel of land to the honorable Petrus Stuyvesant, Director-General of New Netherland, for a certain amount of merchandise, which they acknowledge to have received and accepted before approval of this document, namely 6 fathoms of duffels, 6 fathoms of seawant; 6 kettles, 6 axes; 6 adzes, 10 knives, 10 awls, 10 corals, 10 bells, 1 gun, 2 staves of lead, 2 lbs. of powder; 2 cloth coats.

Therefore, the aforesaid owners transfer, cede and convey the aforesaid land to the Lord-General or his successors in true and lawful ownership, renouncing for themselves and their descendants now and forever all claims thereon, and resigning herewith all rights and jurisdiction, transferring it to the aforesaid Lord-General and his successors, to do with as they please, without being molested by them, the conveyors, or anyone of them, whether it be person or property. It is further agreed that the western most half may be purchased for the same amount as above whenever the Director-General desires to pay for it; and they, the grantors, promise to sell the part still in their possession on the North River for that price and not to sell it to anyone without informing the Director-General. They further promise to maintain and uphold this conveyance firmly and inviolably under the penalty prescribed by law. Thus was this signed in the presence of the witnesses below on 14 July 1649 at New Amsterdam in New Netherland.

This is the mark

[Signed]

of Pomipahan, made himself.

This is the mark

[Signed]

of Meytehickhama.
This is the mark

[Signed]

of Wegtakachkey.

This is the mark made by

[Signed]

the chief, Seyseychkimus, as witness."

Source: Gehring, Charles T., ed. & trans., New York Historical Manuscripts: Dutch Volumes GG, HH & II Land Papers, pp. 62-63 (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1980) (Published under the direction of The Holland Society of New York).

For another earlier translation of the same record, see:

O'Callaghan, E. B., ed., History of New Netherland; Or, New York Under the Dutch, Vol. II, pp. 96-97, n. 1 (NY, NY: D. Appleton and Company, 1848) (citing "Book of Patents, G. G. 507.").

"What with its hills and dales, once covered with dense woodlands, time was when Ward's Island, on the hither side of Hell Gate, was one of the loveliest spots in America, and it is yet so beautiful as to compel the praise of all visitors. It was called Tenkenas when Wouter Van Twiller bought it from the Indian chiefs Heyseys and Numers, and giving it the name of Great Barent's Island, convereted its two hundred and forty acres into a pasturage for his cattle."

Source: Wilson, Rufus Rockwell, New York: Old & New - Its Story, Streets, and Landmarks, Vol. II, pp. 354-55 (2d Edition - Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1903).

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Labels: 1637, 1649, 1650, 1651, 1652, Dutch, Dutch Purchase of Lands Including Pelham, Indian Deed, Seyseychkimus

Friday, January 16, 2015

Possible Service of Pelham Founder, Thomas Pell, with English Forces in the Siege and Capture of Bois-le-Duc in the Netherlands in 1629

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Historians believe that Pelham founder, Thomas Pell, served with English forces during the siege and capture of Bois-le-Duc in the southern Netherlands in 1629. “Bois-le-Duc” is the French name for a city and municipality known, formally, by the Dutch as ‘s-Hertogenbosch (meaning “The Duke’s Forest”). It is the capital of the province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands. See “’s-Hertogenbosch” in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia (visited Jan. 11, 2015).

"Thomas Pell" by Thom Lafferty from an Original

by an Unknown Artist Who Imagined Pell as He

Would Look. There Are No Known Images of Thomas Pell.

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

In 1629, during the so-called Thirty Years War, about 4,000 English troops in a Corps led by Sir Horace Vere were assigned to support Frederik Hendrik of Orange to lay siege to Bois-le-Duc. At the time, it was thought that a conventional siege against the town would be impossible because the town was surrounded by marshes. The attacking troops, however, diverted the rivers Dommel and Aa, built dykes to create a polder (essentially a giant holding tank surrounded by dykes), and then used mills to pump out the water of the marshes into the polder. After emptying the marshes that protected the town, they began a three-month siege at the conclusion of which the town surrendered in a blow to the House of Habsburg.

There is strong circumstantial evidence that Thomas Pell volunteered to serve with Horace Vere’s Corps in the lowlands of the Netherlands and that he may have participated in the siege and capture of Bois-le-Duc. The evidence comes from references to Pell in the so-called “Buccleuch papers” at the Scottish Record Office. The papers are named after the third Duke of Buccleuch, Henry Scott. According to one Pell biographer:

“At this writing we have no record of Thomas Pell’s role in the siege and capture of Bois-le-Duc. We know from the Buccleuch Papers that he left London in the early spring of 1629/30 with a letter from Lord Holland introducing is ‘cozen’ to Sir Ralph Winwood, the English Ambassador to The Hague. We know that he was commissioned an Ensign in Sir Horace Vere’s Corps at that time. We know that all the English volunteers arriving in Holland were rushed immediately to the front at Bois-le-Duc. Looking ahead, we know that Thomas Pell signed a deed in The Hague two year later as Adelborst, or Ensign, and that some time in the third year after the siege of Maastricht he was promoted to Lieutenant. Finally, we know that in 1634/35 he enlisted for service in America at Fort Saybrooke [in today’s Connecticut] as Lieutenant and Surgeon. These are hard facts. The rest is surmise.”

Source: Pell, Robert T., PELLIANA: PELL OF PELHAM - THOMAS PELL First Lord of the Manor of Pelham Westchester Co., New York, p. 15 (Privately Printed by Robert T. Pell, 1962) (digital copy available for check out via Internet Archive).

Horace Vere, Baron Vere of Tilbury,

a Painting by Michiel Jansz. van Miereveldt (died 1641).

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

NOTE: Click to Enlarge Image.

Thomas Pell’s service in Horace Vere’s Corps of English troops in the lowlands of the Netherlands is significant because there he likely met two important men who shaped his future in America: the future Captain John Underhill, and the Engineer Captain David Lion Gardiner. Underhill and Gardiner emigrated to America where, together with Thomas Pell, they served at Fort Saybrook in the Saybrook Colony (now part of today’s Connecticut). While there, all three were involved in the force that destroyed the fortified Pequot village at Mystic in May 1637.