More on Why Natives Sold Lands Including Today's Pelham First to the Dutch and then to Thomas Pell

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "The Haunted History of Pelham, New York"
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Local historians long have wondered why Natives sold lands including today's Pelham first to the Dutch and then to Thomas Pell.  Indeed, I have written about this very issue before (and about evidence of a number of so-called "Indian Deeds" that may have covered Pelham lands).  See:

Mon., Sep. 07, 2015:  Why Did Native Americans Sell Lands Including Today's Pelham First to the Dutch and then to the English?  

Thu., Aug. 02, 2018:  What We Know of Early So-Called "Indian Deeds" Transferring Pelham Lands.

In such articles I have noted previously that as Kieft's War in the mid-1640s became increasingly brutal, Wiechquaeskeck Natives fled the area, leaving sachems or representatives of the group to participate in treaties or to execute deeds to sell land that the group once controlled.  For example, on August 30, 1645, Dutch authorities and local Natives appeared at Fort Amsterdam to sign a peace treaty.  No Wiechquaeskeck sachem appeared at the ceremony.  Instead, a Native referenced as "Aepjen" appeared "personally, speaking for the Wappinox, Wiquaeskeckx, Sintsings and Kichtawanghs."  Aepjen was described in the Council Minutes recording the agreement and signing ceremony as "Aepjen, sachem of the Mahikans."  See Scott, Kenneth & Stryker-Rodda, Kenn, eds., New York Historical Manuscripts:  Dutch -- Translated and Annotated By Arnold J. V. Van Laer, Volume IV Council Minutes, 1638-1649, pp. 278-81 (Baltimore, MD:  Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1974).

Similarly, no evidence yet has been uncovered that any Wiechquaeskeck participated in the July 14, 1649, sale by Natives of lands including today's Pelham to Dutch authorities. See Mon., Sep. 07, 2015:  Why Did Native Americans Sell Lands Including Today's Pelham First to the Dutch and then to the English?  In that transaction, the Wiechquaeskecks purportedly were represented by a non-Wiechquaeskeck Native referenced in the deed as "Seyseychkimus" who was described as "chief" and signed the deed as a "witness."

In addressing the question regarding why Natives sold lands including today's Pelham first to the Dutch 1n 1649 and then to New Englander Thomas Pell in 1654, I previously have posited:

"[O]ne hypothesis, yet to be proved or disproven, is that the 1649 sale of lands including today's Pelham to the Dutch was made by Native Americans who did not have a true claim to those lands and had no consent from its Wiechquaesgeck owners to sell those lands. Only six years later, true Wiechquaesgecks sold the same lands to Thomas Pell."

There is additional evidence that the Wiechquaeskecks who sold the land to Pell never consented to any earlier sale of the lands by Seyseychkimus and the other sachems who executed the 1649 deed.  It turns out that Seyseychkimus was also present at Fort Amsterdam and signed the peace treaty four years earlier on August 30, 1645.  He is referenced in the Council Minutes reflecting the agreement as "Sesekemu" and "Sesekenins."  Perhaps significantly, during that ceremony and in the peace treaty, Seyseychkimus did NOT represent the Wiechquaeskecks.  He is listed with "Willem" as "chiefs of Tappaens and Rechgawawanck."  Instead, Aepjen (listed in the same material as "Aepjen, sachem of the Mahikans").

In short, in 1645 when the Wiechquaeskecks required representation for action by proxy on the peace treaty, Seyseychkimus did NOT represent them despite the fact that he was in attendance at, and participated in, the peace treaty signing ceremony.  It is, therefore, at least possible that four years later when Wiechquaeskeck lands including those that later became the Manor of Pelham were sold to the Dutch, Seyseychkimus and the other non-Wiechquaeskeck sachems were not true "representatives" of the Wiechquaeskecks.

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.

*          *          *          *           *

For more about Seyseychkimus, see:  Mon., Aug. 31, 2015:  Seyseychkimus, The Native American "Chief" and Signer of 1649 Indian Deed Encompassing Pelham.


August 30, 1645 Announcement of Terms of Peace Treaty with Natives Including Wiechquaeskecks

"[232] August 30, 1645

Whereas there is a fair promise of obtaining a firm and durable peace with the Indians, it is resolved and concluded in council in Fort Amsterdam to order Philip de Truy, the court messenger, to notify the burghers all around to come to the fort when the flag shall be hoisted and the bell rung and there to hear the terms which shall be agreed upon and, if any one should have any good advice to offer, freely to express his opinion.

Philip de Truy, court messenger, having been ordered to notify the burghers pursuant to the foregoing resolution, appears and reports that he served on all the burghers round about on the Manhatens, from the highest to the lowest, no one excepted, the order which he received from the director and council their good advice in the matter.  He, the court messenger, says that all the burghers gave them their kind attention and a favorable answer, except one Hendrick Kip, tailor.

Articles of peace concluded in the presence of the Mohawks between the Dutch and the River Indians.

This day, being the 30th of August 1645, appeared before the director and council in Fort Amsterdam, in the presence of the entire community, the following sachems or chiefs of the Indians, as well for themselves as in the capacity of attorneys of the neighboring chiefs, to wit:  Oratany, chief of Achkinckeshacky; Sesekemu and Willem, chiefs of Tappaens and Rechgawawanck, Pacham [and] Pennekeck having been here yesterday and emp;owered them to act for them, and answering further for those of Onany and their neighbors; Mayauwetinnemin, for those of Marechkawieck, Nayeck and their neighbors; as also Aepjen personally, speaking for the Wappinox, Wiquaeskeckx, Sintsings and Kichtawanghs.  

1.  They agree to and conclude a firm and inviolable peace with us, which they promise, as we likewise do, to maintain and nevermore to break.

2.  If it happen, which God forbid, that any dispute should arise between us and them, no war shall be commenced on that account, but they shall come to our governor and we to their sachems to make complaint and if any one be killed or murdered the slayer shall be promptly brought to justice [233] and both sides shall henceforth live together in amity.

3.  They shall not be allowed to come with arms to the houses of the Christians on this island of Manhatans; neither shall we come to them with guns, without being accompanied by an Indian who can warn them.

4.  Whereas there is still an English girl among them [i.e., Susanna Hutchinson, a daughter of murdered settler Anne Hutchinson who was abducted and held captive after the attack], whom they promised to take to the English at Stamfort, they agree to do so and, if she is not taken there, they promise to bring her here and we shall pay them the ransom promised therefor by the English.

We promise that all that is above written shall be strictly observed throughout New Netherland.  Thus done in the fort, under the blue canopy of heaven, in the presence of the council of New Netherland and the entire community called together for the purpose, in the presence of the Maquas ambassadors, who were requested to assist as mediators in this peace negotiation, and of Cornelis Antonisen, their interpreter and co-mediator in this matter.  Dated as above.  The original was signed with the mark of Sisiadego, the mark of Claes Noorman, the mark of Oratamin, the mark of Auronge, the mark of Sesekenins, the mark of Willem of Tappaen, Willem Kieft, La Montangne, the mark of Jacob Stoffelsen, Jan Onderhil, Francis Douthey, Go:  Bacxter, Ritchert Smith, Gysbert Opdyc; the mark of Aepjen, sachem of the Mahikans, Jan Eversz Bout, Oloff Stevensz, Cornelio vander Hoykens; the mark of Cornelis Tonisz.  Below was written:  Acknowledged before me, and was signed, Cornelis van Tienhoven, secretary.

Proclamation ordering a day of themskgiving to be observed 

On August 31

It is resolved in council to issue a proclamation for a day of general thanksgiving, which thanksgiving shall take place on the sixth of September next in all the Dutch and English churches within the limits of New Netherland.  the proclamation reads as follows:

Whereas it has pleased Almighty God in his infinite grace and mercy, in addition to many previous blessings, to let us come to a long desired peace with the Indians, it is deemed necessary to send notice thereof to all the people of New Netherland, in order that [234] in all the places in the aforesaid country where Dutch and English churches are open to the public God Almighty may be especially thanked, lauded and praised on Wednesday next, being the 6th of September, in the forenoon, the text to be chosen accordingly and the sermon to be applicable thereto.  You will please announce the same to the congregations next Sunday, in order that they may be informed thereof; upon which we shall rely. . . ."

Source:  Scott, Kenneth & Stryker-Rodda, Kenn, eds., New York Historical Manuscripts:  Dutch -- Translated and Annotated By Arnold J. V. Van Laer, Volume IV Council Minutes, 1638-1649, pp. 278-81 (Baltimore, MD:  Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1974).

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "The Haunted History of Pelham, New York"
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Why Did Native Americans Sell Lands Including Today's Pelham First to the Dutch and then to the English?

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

I have puzzled profusely regarding why Native Americans would sell lands that included today's Pelham at least twice:  first to the Dutch in 1649 and then to English settler Thomas Pell in 1654.  The possibilities, of course, seem endless.  

Perhaps local Native Americans, feeling the pressure of Dutch encroachment from the southwest and English encroachment from the northeast schemed to prompt a land war between the Dutch and the English.  Perhaps different groups of Native Americans (or, perhaps, the same group) sold the land twice, each time purely for personal gain.  Perhaps two entirely unrelated groups of Native Americans sold the land on two occasions, each unaware of the other's sale.  Perhaps two competing groups of Native Americans, both claiming title to the lands, sold those lands in the good faith belief that each was the rightful owner.  Perhaps two such groups of Native Americans, neither believing it held title to the lands, sold them anyway.  Nearly infinite speculation can run rampant.  

Perhaps, however, the historical context and 17th century colonial records can shed light on why there seems to have been two successive sales of the land.  Of course, we can only infer Native American intent based on available, incomplete, and admittedly ambiguous evidence.  Typically, in such circumstances, the end result is a hypothesis that may never be capable of being proved. But, evidence to support such a hypothesis should be documented.  

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog is an effort to hypothesize how the Pelham sale could have happened twice in fairly quick succession (and to begin the process of documenting such a hypothesis, hopefully to prompt debate).

On July 14, 1649, local Native Americans sold lands including today's Pelham to Dutch authorities.  To learn more, see Wed., Aug. 12, 2015:  Significant Research on the First "Indian Deed" Reflecting the Dutch Purchase of Lands that Included Today's Pelham.  Only six years later, on June 27, 1654, different local Native Americans sold lands that also included today's Pelham to an English settler named Thomas Pell.  For a copy of the Pell deed and a transcription of its text, see Bell, Blake A., THOMAS PELL AND THE LEGEND OF THE PELL TREATY OAK, Appendix A, pp. 59 et seq. (Lincoln, NE: iUniverse 2004).  For an online image of the Pell Deed and a transcription of its text, click here.  There was no overlap among the Native Americans who signed the 1649 deed and those who signed the Pell Deed in 1654.  

The land sold to the Dutch in 1649, which included the eastern half of today's Bronx and Westchester County, was designated as "Wiequaes Keck" in the deed.  The name for the region at the time was "Wiechquaeskeck," a term that came to be associated with the Native Americans who lived in that region.  See Grumet, Robert S., The Munsee Indians:  A History, p. 309 n.6 (Norman, OK:  University of Oklahoma Press, 2009) ("Like Manhattan, Wiechquaesgeck is an example of a local place name that became a general term for a larger community.").

Kieft's War, named after New Amsterdam Director-General Willem Kieft, was a conflict between the Dutch and Native Americans in the region surrounding Fort Amsterdam (today's New York metropolitan region).  Kieft's War raged between 1643 and 1645.  Shortly after the beginning of the War, local Native Americans slaughtered Anne Hutchinson and most of her family in an area that later became part of the Manor of Pelham.  

The Dutch response to Native American attacks and harassment of Dutch and English settlers throughout the region was brutal.  As a consequence, the Wiechquaesgecks fled the region.  This documented fact is important to any understanding of one possible theory for why Native Americans made two successive sales of lands including today's Pelham.

A treaty formally ending hostilities between the Dutch and many of the Native American communities in the region was not signed until July 19, 1649.  The "treaty," reflected in Dutch records and transcribed at the end of today's article, indicated that Wiechquaesgecks had fled the region and, according to one of the Native American signers, they "had no chief" in attendance at the treaty parley and, thus, had to be spoken for by a representative.  Specialists who have analyzed the treaty terms have noted that the Wiechquaesgecks had fled to an area inhabited by the Raritans and that they did not return to the Wiechquaesgeck lands until after the treaty was signed and the 1649 deed selling "Wiequaes Keck" to the Dutch had been executed (only five days before the treaty was reached).  See, e.g., Grumet, Robert S., THE MUNSEE INDIANS:  A HISTORY, p. 310 n.6:  Notes to Page 47 (Norman, OK:  University of Oklahoma Press, 2009) (hereinafter “Grumet, THE MUNSEE INDIANS”).

According to Grumet, it was not precisely correct that the Wiechquaesgecks "had no chief" at the time of the 1649 treaty ending Kieft's War and the 1649 deed coveying Wiechquaesgeck to the Dutch.  Rather:  

"[T}he Wiechquaesgecks did, in fact, still have chiefs at this time.  Most of these, however, turned out to be dispossessed Marechkawicks and other Long Islanders who had also moved to Raritan country after the war [i.e., Kieft's War that essentially ended in 1645].  One of these, the Nayack sachem Mattano, signed the July 14 deed as Megtegickhama and was noted as 'Meijterma, the Chief of Neyick' at the July 19, 1649, treaty; former Marechkawick sachem Seyseychkimus witnessed the latter agreement as a chief sachem.  Although neither man signed the July 19, 1649, treaty as a Wiechquaesgeck, Seyseychkimus in particular continued to represent their communities for many years thereafter."

Source:  Id.  

The foregoing suggests at least the following possibility.  As the response of Director General Kieft and the Dutch to Native American hostilities grew increasingly brutal during Kieft's War, the Wiechquaesgecks fled the region.  In 1649, as relations between the Dutch and local Native Americans warmed sufficiently to permit both a treaty parley and a sale of the lands on the eastern shore of the mainland adjacent to Manhattan known as "Wiequaes Keck," the Wiechquaesgecks "had no chief" to participate in either the treaty parley or the sale of the ancestral homelands.  Instead, "dispossessed Marechkawicks and other Long Islanders" including Seyseychkimus and Megtegickhama purported to represent the Wiechquaesgecks in both instances; this purported "representation" included not only the treaty ending hostilities, but also the sale of the ancestral homelands of the Wiechquaesgecks to the Dutch with no evidence (at present) that any Wiechquaesgeck signed the 1649 deed or even consented in any way to the sale.  

It is only a short leap of logic to suggest that six years later, when English settler Thomas Pell sought to acquire lands from local Native Americans, actual Wiechquaesgecks were willing to ignore any previous sale by non-Wiechquaesgecks who purported to represent them and, instead, sold the lands "on their own" so to speak.  

What is the evidence that those who sold the lands to Thomas Pell were Wiechquaesgecks?  For some of the evidence, see Wed., Apr. 02, 2014:  17th Century Record Identifies One of the Native Americans Who Signed Pell's 1654 Deed as a Wiechquaeskeck, NOT a Siwanoy.  See also  Wed., January 29, 2014:  There Were No Native Americans Known as Siwanoys.  

In other words, one hypothesis, yet to be proved or disproven, is that the 1649 sale of lands including today's Pelham to the Dutch was made by Native Americans who did not have a true claim to those lands and had no consent from its Wiechquaesgeck owners to sell those lands.  Only six years later, true Wiechquaesgecks sold the same lands to Thomas Pell.  

Munsee Family Like Wiechquaesgecks Who Once

Inhabited the Region Including Today's Pelham.

*          *          *          *          *

"PROPOSITIONS MADE BY THE CHIEFS OF THE SAVAGES LIVING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE MANHATTANS, NAMELY SEYSEGECHKIMUS, ORATAMIN, WILLEM OF TAPPAKEN AND PENNEKES FROM 'BEHIND THE COL' IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER AT FORT AMSTERDAM IN PRESENCE OF Do. JOHANNES MEGAPOLENSIS, MINISTER OF RENSSELAERSWYCK, ARENT VAN CURLER AND JOHANNES VAN TWILLER.

1.

Pennekeck, the chief 'behind the Col' made a speech in the Indian tongue, which was translated and said, the Southern Miquas had asked them to live in friendship with the Dutch, which they were willing to do and for that purpose they had brought a present to the Hon ble Director.

2.  An Indian of Mechgachkamic had involuntarily or unknowingly lately done mischief at Paulus Hook, which they requested us to excuse.

3.  Pennekeck said the tribe called Raritanoos, formerly living at Wiquaeskeck had no chief, therefore he spoke for them, who would also like to be our friends and sent through him their greetings to the Hon ble General.  Throws 3 beavers to the ground as a present.

4.  Meijterma, the Chief of Neyick, was included with his people into this agreement and would be, like them, our friends.  They throw 3 beavers down.

5.  He speaks for the tribe of Remahenonc as for the above with a like present.

6.  Pennekeck threw down 2 beavers declaring in the name of all, that their heart was sincere and that they desire to live in friendship with us, forgetting on either side, what was past.

7.  Pennekeck said:  'I wish you could see my heart, then you would be sure, that my words are sincere and true.'  He threw down two beavers, saying That is my confirmation.

8.  The Hon ble Director had in former times desired to speak with them; it was done now and they had shown their good intentions; they are now waiting to see, what he would do, laying down two beavers.

9.  Pennekeck said, although the Hon ble General could not understand them, they did not doubt his good intentions.

10.  In conclusion Pennekeck said:  It is the wish of the Minquas, that we and you should be and remain friends, we are ready for it.

The Hon ble Director-General first expressed his thanks to the chiefs, that they had come to visit him with offers of neighborly friendship, and he then told them that he was pleased to hear such a request.  He promised, that nothing whatever should be wanting on our part and that he was willing to live with them in mutual friendship and intercourse.  No cause for complaints should be given and if somebody injured them, they should themselves report it to the Director, in order that they should receive justice in accordance with the case.  In token of his good will he accepted their presents on the foregoing propositions with thanks and in due time he would return the compliment.

A small present worth about 20 guilders was then given to the common savages and some tobacco and a gun to the chief Oratamin, and so the savages departed well please.

(July 19th 1649.)"

Source:  Fernow, B., "Documents Relating to the History and Settlements of the Towns Along the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers (With the Exception of Albany), From 1630 to 1684 and Also Illustrating the Relations of the Settlers with the Indians" in DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE COLONIAL HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Vol. XIII, p. 25 (Albany, NY:  Weed, Parsons and Company, 1881).

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."