Pelham and the Native American Story of Laaphawachking. Is It True?
Untangling the many legends that have arisen regarding Native American settlement in and around today's Town of Pelham, Pelham Bay Park and City Island is incredibly difficult. It also is a controversial task given the admitted (and appropriate) cultural sensitivities that surround such issues. I will never be the one to untangle it all, but I have worked for more than a decade to separate fact from fiction and to try to understand the origins of many of the stories regarding Native Americans in Pelham that have taken on lives of their own in the last 175 years.
One story that long has intrigued Pelhamites is the story that our entire region, including Pelham and surrounding areas, was known by local Native Americans as "Laaphawachking." Most seem to claim that the term means "the place of stringing beads," due to claims that local Native Americans used shells such as that of the quahaug clam to create sewant, or wampum. In addition to its ceremonial and spiritual uses, sewant was used as currency by Native Americans and European settlers post-contact during the 17th century. For those who wish to learn more about sewant, or wampum, see Beauchamp, William Martin, Wampum and Shell Articles Used by the New York Indians in Bulletin of the New York State Museum, Vol. 8, No. 41 (Feb. 1901) (Albany, NY: University of the State of New York, 1901).
Strung Beads in Variety of Forms. Source: Beauchamp, William Martin,
in Bulletin of the New York State Museum, Vol. 8, No. 41 (Feb. 1901)
(Albany, NY: University of the State of New York, 1901).
The local story of Laaphwachking is recounted in, among other publications, the 1881 edition of Robert Bolton, Jr.'s two-volume History of Westchester County. That account was published after Bolton's death and was edited by one of his brothers, Cornelius Winter Bolton. According to the account:
"The shores of the 'Great Bay of the Island of shells' Sewanhacky, shaded with their ancient forests of nut and oak, interspersed with grassy glades must have afforded favorite sites for the Indian villages. Here the Indians would obtain their supplies of fish, which they so much needed, especially in the winter season to eke out the scanty subsistence derived from the chase; and here, too, they found an abundant supply of their favorite Quckog [quahaug clam] from which they manufactured their Seawant or wampum; well, then, might they call the country 'LAAPHAWACHKING,' or the place of stringing beads, bordering on the 'Maminketesuck' or 'Broad Flowing River.'"
Source: Bolton, Jr., Robert, The History of the Several Towns, Manors, and Patents of the County of Westchester, From Its First Settlement to the Present Time Carefully Revised by its Author, Vol. II, p. 37 (NY, NY: Chas. F. Roper, 1881) (edited by Cornelius Winter Bolton).
Stephen Jenkins reproduced the account in 1912 in his history of The Bronx. He wrote:
"From time immemorial, all the waters surrounding these islands [City Island and nearby islands] have been famous for the quantity and diversity of the fish that have been caught in them. . . . That it was a favorite place with the aborigines is shown by the great number of shell beds, or mounds, that one finds along the shores of the Sound, or by the quantities of broken shells that are turned up by the plough in the fields. The quahaug, or hard clam, furnished most of these shells; as from them, the Indian made his sewant, or wampum, which was used as money, as well as figuring in many of his ceremonies, and, also, for recording history. In consequence, the whole country around about -- what was virtually Pell's purchase -- was called by the Indians Laaphawachking, or the 'place of stringing beads.'"
Source: Jenkins, Stephen, The Story of The Bronx from the Purchase Made by the Dutch from the Indians in 1639 to the Present Day, pp. 316-17 (New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, 1912).
Possible Origins of the Laaphwachking Story
It is fascinating that the earliest account of the story of Laaphwachking yet located seems to have potentially-reliable Native American origins. The story seems to have arisen from manuscripts prepared by Rev. John Heckewelder who served for many years as a Moravian missionary in Pennsylvania during the latter half of the eighteenth century. He studied the language and customs of northeastern Native Americans including Lenape. According to one tradition he recorded:
“The universal name the Monseys [Munsees] have for New-York, is Laaphawachking, which is interpreted, the place of stringing beads (wampum). They say this name was given in consequence of beads being here distributed among them by the Europeans; and that after the European vessel had returned, wherever one looked, one would see the Indians employed in stringing the beads or wampum the whites had given them.”
Source: “NOTE” and “Indian Tradition, &c.” in III. – Indian Tradition of the First Arrival of the Dutch, at Manhattan Island, Now New-York, Collections of the New-York Historical Society, Second Series, Vol. I, pp. , 71, 73 & n.* (NY, NY: Printed for the Society by H. Ludwig, 1841).
The published account of the above-quoted assertion further states that the account that includes the quote above "is verbatim as it was related to me by aged and respected Delawares, Momeys and Mahicanni, (otherwise called Mohigans, Mahicanders,) nearly forty years ago. It is copied from notes and manuscripts taken on the spot.” See id., p. 71.
This Heckewelder account, though hearsay, is the closest thing we have to any form of explanation by Native Americans regarding what the term "Laaphawachking" means and why the name was given to the region. Two important issues, however, immediately come to mind. First, the account mentions nothing about the label "place of stringing beads" as applying to a region where Native Americans manufactured sewant. Rather, the account
purports to be based on Native American statements that Laaphawachking or “place of stringing beads” refers to trade beads brought by Europeans and given to Native Americans. Second, although it is not possible to know how wide a region Native Americans meant when referring to the "place" of stringing beads, the account references early contact with Native Americans and such contact likely did not occur anywhere near today's Pelham.
The Laaphwachking Story Has Changed Since the Supposed "Origins" Noted Above
Somehow over the last 170 years, the Laaphwachking story contained in Rev. John Heckewelder's account seems to have evolved into a story that is somewhat different, as noted below. Might it be possible to determine how the Laaphwachking story evolved? Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog will try. . . .
Rev. John Heckewelder's account was published by the New-York Historical Society in 1841. (See above.) Seven years later, Robert Bolton, Jr. referenced the account accurately in the 1848 first edition of his two-volume history of Westchester County. Indeed, Bolton simply quoted a portion of the Heckewelder account. Bolton wrote, in part:
"'The universal name the Monseys have for New York, (says Mr. Heckewelder) is LAAPHAWACHKING, or the place of stringing beads.'"
Source: Bolton, Jr., Robert, A History of the County of Westchester, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. I, p. ix (NY, NY: Alexander S. Gould, 1848).
The second edition of Bolton's two-volume history of Westchester County was published thirty-three years later in 1881, shortly after Bolton's death. Bolton was revising the history at the time of his death. One of his brothers, Cornelius Winter Bolton, completed the editing process and arranged publication of the two-volume history. In this second edition, however, the Laaphawachking story is slightly different. Though it will never be known with certainty, it may be that Robert Bolton or his brother, Cornelius, never returned to the original Heckewelder account published in 1841 when revising the second edition and, instead, revised the language ever so slightly in a way that seems to have changed its meaning and may have led to subsequent confusion regarding the Laaphawachking story. As noted above, the 1881 edition states, in part: "here, too, they found an abundant supply of their favorite Quckog [quahaug clam] from which they manufactured their Seawant or wampum; well, then, might they call the country 'LAAPHAWACHKING,' or the place of stringing beads, bordering on the 'Maminketesuck' or 'Broad Flowing River.'" Source: Bolton, Jr., Robert, The History of the Several Towns, Manors, and Patents of the County of Westchester, From Its First Settlement to the Present Time Carefully Revised by its Author, Vol. II, p. 37 (NY, NY: Chas. F. Roper, 1881) (edited by Cornelius Winter Bolton).
Does Laaphawachking Really Mean "The Place of Stringing Beads?"
Another issue that seems to have arisen since Rev. Heckewelder's account was published in 1841 is whether the term "Laaphawachking" really means "the place of stringing beads." This author is certainly no specialist in Munsee, nor a linguist, nor an ethnographer. Thus, in this case, it is only possible to point out differences in opinions regarding the meaning of the term and await the verdict of experts.
Reginald Pelham Bolton disputed Heckewelder's assertion regarding the meaning of "Laaphawachking." He wrote that the term denotes "a plowed or cultivated tract" and believed that the term was actually used as the Native American name for "a quite important native site,, close to the Shore road or Pelham Bridge road, within the Bartow property" on which the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum now stands in the Bronx. See Bolton, Reginald Pelham, Indian Paths in the Great Metropolis in Indian Notes and Monographs - A Series of Publications Relating to the American Aborigines, pp. 124 & 236 (NY, NY: Museum of the American Indian Heye Foundation, 1922).
William Wallace Tooker reached the same conclusion as Reginald Pelham Bolton. He wrote that "None of the components [of the term Laaphawachking] warrant a translation 'as a place of stringing beads.'" Thus, he concluded "We would suggest rather 'a plowed field or plantation.' Lapechwahacking, 'land again broken up' for cultivation." Tooker, William Wallace, Amerindian Names in Westchester County in Shonnard, Frederic & Spooner, W.W., History of Westchester County New York From Its Earliest Settlement to the Year 1900, pp. 45, 47 (NY, NY: The New York History Company, 1900).
What Does All This Mean?
It seems that those like Stephen Jenkins, who asserted in 1912 that "Laaphawachking" describes "the whole country around about -- what was virtually Pell's purchase" because the area was used by Native Americans to manufacture sewant, or wampum, are wrong. The story of Laaphawachking seems to have originated from Heckewelder's account stating in the context of "first contact" stories that the name was given by Native Americans as a:
"consequence of beads being here distributed among them by the Europeans; and that after the European vessel had returned, wherever one looked, one would see the Indians employed in stringing the beads or wampum the whites had given them.”
Assuming that the term "Laaphawachking" means "the place of stringing beads," there is, as yet, no evidence that the phrase was applied because the area (i.e., "the place") was where Native Americans manufactured sewant.
As for whether the phrase "the place of stringing beads" applied to a region large enough to encompass today's Town of Pelham, the jury is still out. Some have argued that the term "Laaphawachking" applies to the entirety of New York but has special application to the County of Westchester, New York. See Beauchamp, William, Indian Names In New-York With A Selection From Other States, And Some Onondaga Names of Plants, Etc., pp. 87, 91 (Fayetteville, NY: Printed by H. C. Beauchamp, 1893) ("La-ap-ha-wach-king, Place of stringing beads. Though this has been applied to New York, it is claimed especially for this county [i.e., Westchester]."). Others claim that the name applies to the island of Manhattan which, to this author, seems more likely. See, e.g., Shillinglaw, John J., A Narrative of Arctic Discovery from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, with the Details of the Measures Adopted by Her Majesty's Government for the Expedition Under Sir John Franklin, pp. 86, 87 (London: William Shoberl, Publisher, 1850) (the "Monseys," meaning Munsees, "ascribe a different origin to the name . . . from the circumstance of the Indians stringing the beads the whites had given them, the term signifying in the language of the Monseys, 'the place of stringing beads.'").
If, as Heckewelder's account strongly suggests when considered in context, the name was first used to describe the area where Native Americans could be seen stringing beads after Europeans made first contact and provided Native Americans with trade beads it is unlikely the "place" would encompass today's Pelham. Today's Pelham certainly was distant from that "first contact." Of course, it cannot now be known with certainty how geographically widespread was "the place" referred to as "the place of stringing beads." It is at least possible that the reference was intended to encompass a geographic region in New York that was large enough to encompass Pelham which lies about eighteen miles northeast of lower Manhattan.
Finally, there is the question of whether the supposedly Munsee term "Laaphawachking" actually means "the place of stringing beads." Heckewelder claims that elderly Native Americans attributed this meaning to the term. Tooker disagrees, saying the components of the closest Munsee term ("Lapechwahacking") mean "land again broken up" for cultivation. Given this author's lack of knowledge in the linguistic aspects of this issue, it must be left for the experts to sort out. That said, until further analysis by such experts, it would seem that Heckewelder's account is the closest thing we have to a Munsee account of the meaning of the term.
In short, many have asserted with purported authority that Pelham and surrounding areas were known by local Native Americans as "Laaphawachking," or "the place of stringing beads" because sewant was manufactured here by Native Americans. It would seem that the story may be a lovely one that is interesting to recount. It is, however, not particularly accurate. . . .
Labels: 1654, 1841, Laaphawachking, Native Americans, Place of Stringing Beads
posted by Blake A. Bell @ 5:00 AM
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