This page is intended to serve as a glimpse, rather than a full accounting, of free Native (Native American/Indigenous) people who lived in this area during the 1600s and 1700s. The purpose of this page is to highlight records that were located during the course of our research into the lives of people of color (Native, Black, or mixed-ethnicity non-White people). Each record is one small look into a much larger, more complicated history. As is often the case with marginalized communities, some of the town records of Native people were recorded during the worst moments of their lives: social marginalization, illness, death, or crime. Fewer records survive of joyful or mundane events. Further research on some of the families and incidents noted here is highlighted in historical essays on the Historic Northampton website.
On Terms:
Algonquian: “Algonquian” is a linguistic term that refers to a large Indigenous language family, including the various dialects spoken by tribal nations in the American northeast (including present-day New England and southern Canada) and the Great Lakes region. The related term “Algonkian” identifies the large cultural group that includes these tribal nations.
Deeds: During the 1600s, a number of Native names appear on colonial “deeds,” documents that outlined specific tracts of land made available to English colonists. In some cases, small parcels of land were sold as quit-claims in payment for debts or other agreements. But in most cases, these documents should more appropriately be read as “joint use agreements” rather than “quit-claims,” since the Native signatories explicitly reserved continued rights to hunt, fish, harvest, and live in the territories they described in these deeds.
Native: The term “Native” is used here as a synonym for “Indigenous” (a technical term meaning native to or born in a particular place) or for the common colonial term “Indian.” Only some of the Native people listed in these records were born in Nonotuck territory (where the town of Northampton was settled); many came from other tribal nations. The terms “American Indian” and “Native American” came into common use during the mid-20th century, but both terms imply that Native people see themselves as “Americans,” which is not always the case. Wherever possible, and whenever known, we have listed Native people’s tribal identities in parentheses after their names.
Sachem: The term “sachem,” which derives from the Algonquian language, is used to indicate a Native leader who has been empowered to act for, and speak on behalf of, a family kinship group or tribal nation. Each tribal nation in the northeast had multiple sachems; no single leader could speak for the entire nation. Native women who served as sachems were identified by the word “sunksqua” in Algonquian, which roughly translates to “rock woman” or “powerful woman.” European colonists typically identified female sachems as “Squaw Sachems.”
Servant: During the 1600s and into the 1700s, the term “servant” was imprecise. In general, it identified someone who was working for, and often living in the same house with, a person or family of means. Some servants were enslaved people (Black or Native) who were purchased from slave traders, or captured during warfare, and considered to be the property of their owners. Some servants were bonded and indentured for a specific term of service, as a means of securing transport, learning a skill, or paying off a criminal sentence. Some servants were free people who were hired for their specific skillset. Wherever possible, we have tried to specify the status of people listed as servants.
Squaw: Some documents quoted on this page included the word “squaw” as a descriptor for Native women. This word, which derives from the Algonquian language, was commonly used in the colonial era to simply identify Native women, to specify a Native woman’s political or other status (Squaw Sachem), or to identify plants (squaw vine, squaw root, etc.) used for female illnesses. Today, however, this word is regarded as outdated and offensive.
Wampum: The word “wampum” derives from wampumpeag, an Algonquian term that describes white marine shell beads. During the colonial era, Native and non-Native people used the term to refer to both white beads (made from whelk shells) and dark purple beads (made from quahog shells). Native people used woven wampum belts to encode agreements and conduct diplomacy. Wampum was also used as personal adornment and political tribute. In 1640, Massachusetts Bay Colony adopted wampum as a form of legal tender, valuing 4 white beads as equivalent to one English penny. Wampum was measured in “hands” (a string of 24 beads, measuring 8-10 inches) and “fathoms” (a six-foot strand of 240 beads).
Algonquian: “Algonquian” is a linguistic term that refers to a large Indigenous language family, including the various dialects spoken by tribal nations in the American northeast (including present-day New England and southern Canada) and the Great Lakes region. The related term “Algonkian” identifies the large cultural group that includes these tribal nations.
Deeds: During the 1600s, a number of Native names appear on colonial “deeds,” documents that outlined specific tracts of land made available to English colonists. In some cases, small parcels of land were sold as quit-claims in payment for debts or other agreements. But in most cases, these documents should more appropriately be read as “joint use agreements” rather than “quit-claims,” since the Native signatories explicitly reserved continued rights to hunt, fish, harvest, and live in the territories they described in these deeds.
Native: The term “Native” is used here as a synonym for “Indigenous” (a technical term meaning native to or born in a particular place) or for the common colonial term “Indian.” Only some of the Native people listed in these records were born in Nonotuck territory (where the town of Northampton was settled); many came from other tribal nations. The terms “American Indian” and “Native American” came into common use during the mid-20th century, but both terms imply that Native people see themselves as “Americans,” which is not always the case. Wherever possible, and whenever known, we have listed Native people’s tribal identities in parentheses after their names.
Sachem: The term “sachem,” which derives from the Algonquian language, is used to indicate a Native leader who has been empowered to act for, and speak on behalf of, a family kinship group or tribal nation. Each tribal nation in the northeast had multiple sachems; no single leader could speak for the entire nation. Native women who served as sachems were identified by the word “sunksqua” in Algonquian, which roughly translates to “rock woman” or “powerful woman.” European colonists typically identified female sachems as “Squaw Sachems.”
Servant: During the 1600s and into the 1700s, the term “servant” was imprecise. In general, it identified someone who was working for, and often living in the same house with, a person or family of means. Some servants were enslaved people (Black or Native) who were purchased from slave traders, or captured during warfare, and considered to be the property of their owners. Some servants were bonded and indentured for a specific term of service, as a means of securing transport, learning a skill, or paying off a criminal sentence. Some servants were free people who were hired for their specific skillset. Wherever possible, we have tried to specify the status of people listed as servants.
Squaw: Some documents quoted on this page included the word “squaw” as a descriptor for Native women. This word, which derives from the Algonquian language, was commonly used in the colonial era to simply identify Native women, to specify a Native woman’s political or other status (Squaw Sachem), or to identify plants (squaw vine, squaw root, etc.) used for female illnesses. Today, however, this word is regarded as outdated and offensive.
Wampum: The word “wampum” derives from wampumpeag, an Algonquian term that describes white marine shell beads. During the colonial era, Native and non-Native people used the term to refer to both white beads (made from whelk shells) and dark purple beads (made from quahog shells). Native people used woven wampum belts to encode agreements and conduct diplomacy. Wampum was also used as personal adornment and political tribute. In 1640, Massachusetts Bay Colony adopted wampum as a form of legal tender, valuing 4 white beads as equivalent to one English penny. Wampum was measured in “hands” (a string of 24 beads, measuring 8-10 inches) and “fathoms” (a six-foot strand of 240 beads).
Native People Listed By Name
Although colonial methods of record-keeping typically centered on the lives of European colonial settlers, a fair number of Native people were listed by name in primary records. In Northampton during the 1600s-1700s, Native names appear most frequently in deeds, court records, and military correspondence. They appear less frequently in personal correspondence, newspapers, and business records. Spelling in the colonial era was phonetic and inconsistent, especially when White colonists attempted to spell Native names. Since Native personal names were often written in different ways in different documents, here we have selected one version of a name as the primary spelling, and offered a few examples of variant spellings.
Although colonial methods of record-keeping typically centered on the lives of European colonial settlers, a fair number of Native people were listed by name in primary records. In Northampton during the 1600s-1700s, Native names appear most frequently in deeds, court records, and military correspondence. They appear less frequently in personal correspondence, newspapers, and business records. Spelling in the colonial era was phonetic and inconsistent, especially when White colonists attempted to spell Native names. Since Native personal names were often written in different ways in different documents, here we have selected one version of a name as the primary spelling, and offered a few examples of variant spellings.
Ashpelon
In September 1677, Ashpelon (Nonotuck/Pocumtuck) led a force of more than 20 Nonotuck men and women during attacks on Hatfield and Deerfield. They took 21 English captives, traveling by canoe upriver to Sokoki territory, where they joined with Nipmuc people from Wamesit and Wachusett before heading further north, to sell their captives to the French. Ashpelon was also among a group of 150 Pocumtuck people who tried to re-settle in their home territory in Deerfield in 1691, before being forced out again by John Pynchon (Brooks, Our Beloved Kin, 339; Spady, “As If In a Great Darkness,” 190-193).
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Assellaquompas
Assellaquompas (Nonotuck) appears in town records in September 1653, when fur trader and land broker John Pynchon negotiated a deed with them, as well as Chickwalloppe, Paquahalant, Kiunks, Nassicohee, and Awonunsk, conveying a parcel of Nonotuck land for settlement by Northampton’s town founders. The land included parts of present-day Easthampton and Westhampton (Wright, Indian Deeds of Hampden County, 26-30).
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Awonunsk
A Native woman named Awonunsk (Nonotuck) first appears in town records in September 1653, when fur trader and land broker John Pynchon negotiated a deed with her, as well as Chickwalloppe, Nassicohee, Kiunks, Paquahalant, and Assellaquompas, conveying a parcel of Nonotuck land for settlement by Northampton’s town founders. The land included parts of present-day Easthampton and Westhampton (Wright, Indian Deeds of Hampden County, 26-30).
Click here to read more about Awonunsk. |
Caleb
Caleb (tribal identity unknown) is identified in the record of his death on January 27, 1680. He is listed as an “Indian servant to Joshua Henshaw.” The term “servant” might have indicated that he was enslaved, but it is also possible that Caleb was indentured or employed by the person he was serving. Since we currently have no other information, his status cannot be confirmed (Massachusetts Vital Records 1620–1850).
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Chabattan
Chabattan (Nonotuck) was among a group of Nonotuck men who, in July of 1670, reported on the wrongdoings of Dr. John Westcarr of Hadley, who was accused of selling liquor to Native people in violation of colony laws. During Westcarr’s trial in Springfield, Chabattan backed up Tackquellawant’s claim of buying four quarts of liquor, testifying “I was with him and saw it, and saw him pay a beaver skin for it.” Westcarr was tried and convicted, not only for selling liquor, but for threatening the Native people who informed on him; he was found guilty of selling at least 10 quarts, and fined £40 (Judd, History of Hadley, 64).
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Chickwalloppe
From the 1630s to the 1680s, the sachem Chickwalloppe (Nonotuck) was well-known to the English colonists. He often acted as a spokesperson and statesman by negotiating with, and sometimes representing, other sachems. In this role, he posted bonds, signed land agreements, and conducted inter-tribal and inter-cultural diplomacy. The earliest record of his name appears in fur trader and land broker John Pynchon’s account book on July 1, 1649, when Chickwalloppe borrowed (and later paid for) “3 h [hands] of wampum” (Pynchon Day Book & Accounts 1648-1650).
Click here to read more about Chickwalloppe. |
Harry
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Kiunks
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Mahqualos
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Harry (tribal identity unknown) was listed as an “Indian servant” to Enos Kingsley in a 1674 probate record, where he is identified as "Harry the Indian." No tribal identity is indicated. Harry signed with a mark resembling an H, a signing practice distinct from the signing of a full name.
Harry made his will when he was sick, as was common at that time. He entrusted Eleazar Hawes to serve as the will's executor; it was witnessed by Enos Kingsley and Sarah King. Harry left his gun to Supply Clapp, his chest to Elizabeth Holmes, and "what is left in the Bay" (including clothes and household items) to Eleazar Hawes "to pay his charges here." The indication of property left in "the Bay" implies that Harry had property located outside of Massachusetts Bay Colony. His will indicated that anything else not listed would be given to Preserved Clapp. Click here to read more about Harry. |
Kiunks (Nonotuck) appears in town records in September 1653, when fur trader and land broker John Pynchon negotiated a deed with Chickwalloppe, Nassicohee, Paquahalant, Assellaquompas, and Awonunsk, conveying a parcel of Nonotuck land for settlement by Northampton’s town founders. The land included part of present-day Easthampton and Westhampton (Wright, Indian Deeds of Hampden County, 26-30).
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Mahqualos (also spelled Moquolas or Mahquolous) (Nonotuck) was also known to the English colonists as Strawberry's Son. Along with many other Native people from the region, he relocated to the Native refugee community in Schaghticoke, New York sometime after 1676. During the 1690s, he was part of a group of about 50 Nonotuck people who returned to the Valley and were living in Indian Hollow, in the part of Nonotuck territory that the English had re-named “Hatfield.”
Click here to read more about Mahqualos. |
Mahweness
Mahweness (also spelled Mowenas) (Nonotuck) was among the many Native people from the region who relocated to the Native refugee community in Schaghticoke, New York sometime after 1676. During the 1690s, he was part of a group of about 50 Nonotuck people who returned to the Valley and were living in Indian Hollow, in the part of Nonotuck territory that the English had re-named “Hatfield.”
On October 5, 1696, Mahweness was out hunting between Mount Warner and Mount Toby, in company with Mahqualos, Wenepuck, and Pemequansett. The four Native men were suspected of the murder of Richard Church, an English settler from Hadley who was killed by gunshot and arrow shot on that day. Mahweness was arrested and taken to Northampton, where he was tried and found guilty. On October 23, he was executed by gunshot in Northampton. The Native community in Hatfield was forced to attend the trial and execution (Judd, Massachusetts Series Vol. I, 348-358). For a full discussion of this event, see: The 1696 Encounter Between Nonotuck and English Hunters. |
Elizabeth Occum Maminash
Elizabeth Occum Maminash (also spelled Mammanash or Mamanash) (Wangunk/Mohegan) (c.1720-1779) came to Northampton in the mid-1700s from Mohegan territory in southeastern Connecticut. She is said to have been the sister of the famous Mohegan minister Rev. Samson Occum. She married Joseph Maminash Sr., and they had three children: Joseph Maminash Jr., Sally Maminash, and George Maninash.
An unnamed entry for July 19, 1783 in the First Church of Christ records describes a Native woman who was “lying in liquor lay in the sun till she died” This suggests that she may have died of exposure or heat stroke. It is quite possible that this entry refers to the death of Elizabeth, who is said, in local traditions, to have either “died in liquor,” or to have been “stoned to death” by a gang of Northampton boys. Elizabeth was buried beside her husband, in a family burial site above Pancake Plain, and her children took up residence among the white families in town (First Church Records; Bridgman, Daily Hampshire Gazette, 1936). For a more detailed discussion of the Maminash family, see “Sally Maminash: Last of the Indians Here.” |
George Maminash
George Maminash (Mohegan/Podunk/Nonotuck) (1767-1783), the son of Joseph Maminash Sr. and Elizabeth Occom, was born in Northampton. In 1783, shortly after his mother’s death, he died of tuberculosis. His death was noted in First Church of Christ records as follows: “An indian man of about 16 died July 19th 1783. It is especially poignant that his mother Elizabeth’s death is listed in the church record for that same day.
George was buried beside his parents, in a family burial site above Pancake Plain. He was survived by his sister Sally (First Church of Christ records; Dean, Daily Hampshire Gazette, 1958). For a more detailed discussion of the Maminash family, see “Sally Maminash: Last of the Indians Here.” |
Joseph Maminash Sr.
The family name of Joseph Maminash Sr. (Mohegan/Podunk/Nonotuck) (1727-1767) is variously spelled as Mammanash, Mammanache, Mamenash, etc.. He is identified in colonial records as living in Norwich and East Windsor, Connecticut, and in Southampton and Northampton, Massachusetts. His mother Betty Mammanash (c.1696-1786) lived in Windsor; his sister Hannah (1716-1801) married the Mohegan minister Rev. Samuel Ashbow.
Like many Native men in New England, Joseph mustered in alongside his white neighbors in local regiments for military service. When Native soldiers were recruited for the English campaign against the French at Louisbourg in 1745, Joseph joined Nathan Whiting’s 11th company, along with Mohegan men from the Uncas, Dick, Nanapau, Quaquequid and Wetowomp families (Whiting, “List of Soldiers,” 1745). Click here to read more about Joseph Maminash Sr. |
Joseph Maminash Jr.
Joseph Maminash Jr.(Mohegan/Podunk/Nonotuck) (1753-1778), the son of Joseph Maminash Sr. and Elizabeth Occom, was born in Northampton. Like his father, he enlisted in the American military, and served alongside his white and Native neighbors during the American Revolution.
In 1777, he mustered in to the 4th Hampshire regiment under Captain Samuel Cook, from the town of Hadley. He then joined Capt. Shays’ company, in Col. Putnam’s regiment, signing up for a three-year term. He only served for half of that time, from January 15, 1777 to August 31, 1778 (the date of his death). Along with several other Native men in Shays’ company, he was posted to join the Stockbridge Mohican Indian Company at the Battle of White Plains, where most of the company perished (Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors 1902, 161; War Department, Revolutionary War Records). For a more detailed discussion of the Maminash family, see “Sally Maminash: Last of the Indians Here.” |
Sally Maminash
Sally Maminash (Wangunk/Mohegan/Nonotuck) (1756-1883), daughter of Elizabeth Occum and Joseph Maminash Sr., was well-known as an itinerant spinner and weaver, working for various families in town. After her mother’s death, Sally was invited to live in the household of Sophia and Warham Clapp, in their home on South Street. Sophia’s grandson, Sidney E. Bridgman, later recalled that Sally “never attended school, but grew up with native wit and sharpness, and when taken into our family was a wild, passionate, willful, yet a kindly, loving Indian girl” (Bridgman, “Sally Mammanash is Recalled Here”).
Click here to read more about Sally Maminash. |
Abigail Meazon
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Marraba
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Mattawan
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Abigail Meazon (also spelled as "Meeson" and "Meson") (Pequot/Tunxis), lived in Farmington, Connecticut. She was visiting Northampton in the fall of 1772, when she became severely ill with typhoid fever. She was dropped off at the doorstep of Nathaniel and Ada Marshall Day’s home, and taken into their care for two months. Ada, along with Mrs. Coates and another unnamed nurse, cared for Abigail in September and October of 1772, treating her with rum and Native medicines for her fever and other symptoms. Abigail passed away on October 21, 1772. (Judd manuscript, Northampton Vol. 3, 76; “Abigail Meazon,” Native Northeast Portal)
Click here to read more about Abigail Meazon. |
A Native woman named Marraba (also spelled Miraba) (possibly Nonotuck) was a customer of the Breck and Hunt store on Main Street in Northampton in 1791. She is recorded on two occasion’s in the store’s account book, having bought sugar, coffee, rice, and calico cloth. Account books at this time often listed men by their full name, and white women by their married surname, but notations of Black and Native people vary. The entries for this woman are listed only as "Marraba Squaw" (Breck and Hunt Account Book, Northampton).
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Mattawan (Nonotuck) was among a group of Nonotuck men who, in July of 1670, reported on the wrongdoings of Dr. John Westcarr of Hadley, who was accused of selling liquor to Native people in violation of colony laws. During Westcarr’s trial in Springfield, Mattawan testified that Westcarr stole his gun as retribution for informing the Northampton Commissioners. Westcarr was tried and convicted, not only for selling liquor, but for threatening the Native people who informed on him; he was found guilty of selling at least 10 quarts, and fined £40 (Judd, History of Hadley, 64).
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Menowniett
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Nassicohee
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Nuxco
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In mid August of 1676, Menowniett (Mohegan/Narragansett), who was captured at Farmington, reported to John Allyn that he had participated in a number of fights during King Philip’s War – at Pocumtuck, at Northampton, and at the Falls Fight (Turners’ Falls). He reported that about 90 Native people from Agawam and Nonotuck “and others are gon to a place about Hudson’s River called Paquayag, and were encouraged to come there by a great man [the sachem Soquans] of those parts.” When asked where they got ammunition, he said “the Powquiag Indians bought it of ye Dutch. . .He sayth ye Indians hid a great many gunns about Pacompuck [Pocumtuck]” (Trumbull, Records of the Colony of Connecticut, 471-472).
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Nassicohee (Nonotuck) appears in town records in September 1653, when fur trader and land broker John Pynchon negotiated a deed with Chickwalloppe, Paquahalant, Kiunks, Assellaquompas, and Awonunsk, conveying a parcel of Nonotuck land for settlement by Northampton’s town founders. The land included part of present-day Easthampton and Westhampton (Wright, Indian Deeds of Hampden County, 26-30).
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Nuxco (Nonotuck) was among a group of Nonotuck men who, in July of 1670, reported on the wrongdoings of Dr. John Westcarr of Hadley, who was accused of selling liquor to Native people in violation of colony laws. During Westcarr’s trial in Springfield, before Capt. John Pynchon, Nuxco testified: "I fetched liquors from John Westcarr when the Indians were drunken, and my wigwam was broken and spoiled by the drunken Indians this summer. I was before the Northampton Commissioners about it.” He also testified that the cost of liquor was two fathoms of wampum per quart. Westcarr was tried and convicted, not only for selling liquor, but for threatening the Native people who informed on him; he was found guilty of selling at least 10 quarts, and fined £40 (Judd, History of Hadley, 64).
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Paquahalant
Paquahalant (Nonotuck) appears in town records in September 1653, when fur trader and land broker John Pynchon negotiated a deed with Chickwalloppe, Assellaquompas, Kiunks, Nassicohee, and Awonunsk, conveying a parcel of Nonotuck land for settlement by Northampton’s town founders. The land included part of present-day Easthampton and Westhampton (Wright, Indian Deeds of Hampden County, 26-30).
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Pemequansett
Pemequansett (also spelled Pemequenoxet or Pameconoset) (Nonotuck) may have been related to the Nonotuck Sachem Umpanchela, since he sometimes used the name Umpanchela as an alias. He was living among the Nonotuck people who left the valley after King Philip’s War, and may have been born in the Native refugee village at Schaghticoke, New York. In the 1690s, he was living near Hatfield, in the same lands where Umpanchela had worked to retain hunting, fishing, and other settlement rights.
Click here to read more about Pemequansett. |
Hannah Pequin
A young Native woman (likely a teenager) named Hannah Pequin (tribal identity unknown) was tried and executed in Northampton on July 21, 1785. The town records identify Hannah as “an Indian Girl – executed for the murder of her Bastard Child.” Elizabeth Porter Phelps, a Hadley resident, recalled the case in her diary, noting that Pequin was “hanged in Northampton for murdering her infant babe.” These sources do not identify the father of the child, and do not discuss Hannah’s circumstances; as a vulnerable young woman, she may have turned to desperate measures to unburden herself of this unwanted child (Northampton Vital Records to 1840; Miller, Entangled Lives, 92).
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Petomanch
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Pompey
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Quanquelatt
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Petomanch (likely Nonotuck) was accused of "divers thefts & robberies at Hadley, Northampton, & etc." in 1671 according to a local court record. There was an attempt to apprehend him, but he escaped to the Nipmuc community at Quabaug, near present-day Brookfield. After eluding capture again, he took refuge in the Nonotuck fort at Fort Hill. Again, authorities tried to apprehend him there, but he escaped.
Upon further investigation, multiple people testified that a Nonotuck man named Wuttaman had helped Petomanch escape. The court ordered that Wuttawan be arrested and put in the constable’s keeping, as an inducement for the Nonotuck to find and catch Petomanch themselves. After "consulting among themselves," nine Native people promised that they would "use all their endeavor to deliver up Petomanch." It is not clear whether they succeeded (Judd, Hampshire Matters, Part 1, 74). |
A man named Pompey, described as “an Indian,” is recorded in the Northampton death records as having died in August 1746 (Register of the Deaths in Northampton, August 1746, 24, 27).
The name Pompy (sounding the same, but spelled differently) also appears in Samuel Clark’s 1745 will, where he is described as “my Servant Pompy.” It is not clear whether this is the same man (1745 will of Samuel Clark, Hampshire County Probate Records). |
In 1667, Quanquelatt (Nonotuck) appears in the Northampton court records as an accomplice to a scheme hatched by three English boys – John Stebbins, Benoni Stebbins, and Godfey Nims. The boys stole silver and wampum while their elders were in church, and then hired Quanquelatt to help them run away to Native territory in Canada. When the group was captured, the court forced them to return the money and suffer a public whipping: 15 lashes for John, 11 each for Benoni and Godfrey, and 20 for Quanquelatt (Sheldon, History of Deerfield, Vol. II, 318).
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Quonquont
The sachem Quonquont (Nonotuck) first appears in local records in a notation in John Pynchon’s account book for February 1649, when he paid 5 hands of wampum to purchase a cap (Pynchon Day Book & Accounts 1648-1650, back iii).
In 1658, Quonquont (signing with the alias Wompshaw), in company with the sachems Chickwalloppe (alias Wawhillowa), and Umpanchela (alias Womscom), negotiated a deed with Pynchon for land including parts of present-day Hadley, Amherst, Belchertown, Pelham, and Shutesbury. This document (assigned in 1663) reserved land for a Native cornfield and promised continued Native rights to freely hunt, fish, etc. on these lands, and included this hopeful phrase: “The Indians desired they might set their Wiggwoms at sometimes wth in ye tract of ground they sold withoute offence & that the English would be kinde & neighborlie to ym” (Wright, Indian Deeds of Hampden County, 33-36). |
Sophos
Sophos was one of the legal guarantors when Wenawen was charged with breaking into Praisever Turner's Northampton mill. He and Chickwallop put up the £3 bond for Wenawen's appearance in court, which he lost when neither he, Chickwallop, nor Wenawen were in court on the day of the session. In addition, when the court ruled against Wenawen at a subsequent session, Sophos was responsible for paying the fine of either £40 or 20 fathoms of wampum (Judd, Hampshire Matters Part 1, 33).
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Squiskhegan
Squiskhegan (Nonotuck) was among a group of Nonotuck men who, in July of 1670, reported on the wrongdoings of Dr. John Westcarr of Hadley, who was accused of selling liquor to Native people in violation of colony laws. During Westcarr’s trial in Springfield, Squiskhegan said that Westcarr was angry with Mattawan (his son), for informing on him. He also backed up Mattawan’s statement that Westcarr has stolen his gun, further saying that Westcarr lied to the authorities. Westcarr was tried and convicted, not only for selling liquor, but for threatening the Native people who informed on him; he was found guilty of selling at least 10 quarts, and fined £40 (Judd, History of Hadley, 64).
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Squomp
In August 1662, Squomp (Nonotuck), in company with his father Wequagon and mother Awonunsk, negotiated a deed with John Pynchon for land in present-day South Hadley, Granby, and Belchertown. They reserved continued Native rights to freely hunt, fish, set up wigwams, harvest wood etc. on these lands (Wright, Indian Deeds of Hampden County, 51-54). Squomp’s name also appears in John Pynchon’s account book in May 1648, when he paid off his account for unnamed purchases (Pynchon Day Book & Accounts 1648-1650).
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Tackquellawant
Tackquellawant (Nonotuck) was among a group of Nonotuck men who, in July of 1670, reported on the wrongdoings of Dr. John Westcarr of Hadley, who was accused of selling liquor to Native people in violation of colony laws. During Westcarr’s trial in Springfield, Tackquellawant stated that he bought four quarts of liquor from Westcarr, paying with a beaver skin. Mattawan stated that Westcarr stole his gun. Nuxco testified: "I fetched liquors from John Westcarr when the Indians were drunken, and my wigwam was broken and spoiled by the drunken Indians this summer. I was before the Northampton Commissioners about it.” Westcarr was tried and convicted, not only for selling liquor, but for threatening the Native people who informed on him; he was found guilty of selling at least 10 quarts, and fined £40 (Judd, History of Hadley, 64).
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Umpanchela
In July 1657, the sachem Umpanchela (also identified here as Lampancho) (Nonotuck), sold a small parcel of land called Pewonganuck or Capawonke to the town of Northampton for 36 shillings. In September of 1658, he insisted upon being paid an additional 14 shillings to make up the agreed sum of 50 shillings (Wright, Indian Deeds of Hampden County, 31-32).
In 1658, Umpanchela (here identified as alias Womscom), in company with the sachems Chickwalloppe (alias Wawhillowa), and Quonquont (alias Wompshaw), negotiated a deed with John Pynchon for land including parts of present-day Hadley, Amherst, Belchertown, Pelham, and Shutesbury. This document (assigned in 1663) reserved land for a Native cornfield and promised co ntinued Native rights to freely hunt, fish, etc. on these lands, and included this hopeful phrase: “The Indians desired they might set their Wiggwoms at sometimes wth in ye tract of ground they sold withoute offence & that the English would be kinde & neighborlie to ym” (Wright, Indian Deeds of Hampden County, 33-36). Click here to read more about Umpanchela. |
Walerimo
A Native woman named Walerimo (likely Nonotuck) appears in John Pynchon’s account book on July 3, 1649, when she paid 12 hands of wampum for several yards of “John Pynchon’s red cotton.” On September 14, 1649, she purchased an additional 1 ¼ yards of red cotton and a blue cap. On May 1, 1649, and again in December, she purchased several coats on credit, paying off the total costs of more than 7 fathoms of wampum in installments (Pynchon Day Book & Accounts 1648-1650, back v, vi).
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Wamequam
Wamequam (Nonotuck) was among a group of Nonotuck men who, in July of 1670, reported on the wrongdoings of Dr. John Westcarr of Hadley, who was accused of selling liquor to Native people in violation of colony laws. During Westcarr’s trial in Springfield, Wamequam backed up the statements made by others, testifying that Westcarr threatened these Native informants. Westcarr was tried and convicted, not only for selling liquor, but for threatening the Native people who informed on him; he was found guilty of selling at least 10 quarts, and fined £40 (Judd, History of Hadley, 64).
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Wenawen
Wenawen (Nonotuck) was charged with breaking into Praisever Turner's mill in 1665. Although he was ordered to appear at court in Springfield, he did not appear. The £3 bond for his appearance, which had been paid by the sachem Chickwallope and Sophos as guarantors, was forfeited. Chickwallope had been designated, by English authorities, as the primary sachem when it came to Nonotuck dealings with both Massachusetts and Connecticut colonies.
In January of 1666, Wenawen was called to another court session. He did not appear, but Chickwallope and Sophos did. Praisever Turner testified that “he had lost from his mill by stealth divers tools & meal to the value of 30 pounds.” The court ruled that Wenawen, Chickwallope, and Sophos were responsible for paying either £40 or 20 fathoms of wampum to Turner “for his loss from his mill & for charges about this suit” (Judd, Hampshire Matters Part 1, 33). |
Wenepuck
Wenepuck (Nonotuck) was one of the many Native people from the region who had moved to the Native refugee community in Schaghticoke, New York. During the 1690s, he was part of a group of about 50 Nonotuck people who returned to the Valley and were living in Indian Hollow, in the part of Nonotuck territory that the English had re-named “Hatfield.”
On October 5, 1696, Wenepuck was out hunting between Mount Warner and Mount Toby, in company with Mahqualos, Mahweness, and Pemequansett. The four Native men were suspected of the murder of Richard Church, an English settler from Hadley who was killed by gunshot and arrow shot on that day. Wenepuck was arrested, tried, and found guilty of being an accomplice to the murder. On October 23, Mahqualos and Mahweness were executed by gunshot in Northampton. The Native community in Hatfield was forced to attend the trial and execution. Wenepuck and Pemaquansett were confined by the Sheriff until 1697, when they were freed and returned to Schaghticoke (Judd, Massachusetts Series Vol. I, 348-358). For a full discussion of this event, see: The 1696 Encounter Between Nonotuck and English Hunters. |
Wequagon
In August 1662, Wequagon (formerly Wulluthearne) (Nonotuck), in company with his wife Awonunsk and son Squomp, negotiated a deed with Pynchon for land in present-day South Hadley, Granby, and Belchertown. They reserved continued Native rights to freely hunt, fish, set up wigwams, harvest wood etc. on these lands (Wright, Indian Deeds of Hampden County, 51-54).
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Wequanunco
In 1669, Wequanunco (also spelled Wequanunko) (Nonotuck) testified in the Northampton court against Benjamin Waite of Hatfield, who was on trial for selling liquor to Native people in violation of colony laws. When Waite denied the charges, Wequanunco said “Why should I an old man lie? That [which] I say is true, and says my wife knows it.” His wife agreed, and acknowledged that she had also purchased several quarts of liquor from Waite (Bridenbaugh, Pynchon Papers, 18).
In July of 1670, Wequanunco was among a group of Nonotuck men who reported on the wrongdoings of Dr. John Westcarr of Hadley, who was also accused of selling liquor to Native people. During Westcarr’s trial in Springfield, Wequanunco testified that Westcarr sold him two quarts of liquor in the spring. Waite, who attended the trial, derided this statement, but Wequanunko insisted: “what I say is true; Homs (this is, an old man) will not lie.” Again, his wife backed up this statement. Westcarr was tried and convicted, not only for selling liquor, but for threatening the Native people who informed on him; he was found guilty of selling at least 10 quarts, and fined £40 (Judd, History of Hadley, 64). |
Wuttawan
In 1671, Wuttawan (Nonotuck) was imprisoned by Northampton authorities for aiding in the escape of another Native man, named Petomanch. Petomanch had been accused of "divers thefts & robberies at Hadley, Northampton, & etc." according to a court record.
Petomanch had made it to the Nonotuck fortified settlement at Fort Hill, but he escaped, and was unable to be located again. Upon further investigation, multiple people testified that Wuttawan had helped Petomanch escape. The court ordered that Wuttawan be arrested and put in the constable’s keeping, as an inducement for the Nonotuck to find and catch Petomanch themselves. After "consulting among themselves," nine Native people promised that they would "use all their endeavor to deliver up Petomanch" It is not clear whether they succeeded (Judd, Hampshire Matters, Part 1, 74). |
People Listed Without Their Names
Some of the methods of record-keeping that dehumanized people of color while they were alive continue to obscure their identities after their death. Sometimes this resulted from routine methods of record-keeping in English patriarchal society: tax and census records often listed only the name of the male head of household. However, the erasure of people of color and enslaved persons was more extreme: since they were listed as property in tax records, their existence was recorded as a tally mark, with no indication as to gender or age. We have been able to match some of the unnamed records with individuals, but we have not yet been able to uncover the names of the people in the records below.
Man (name not listed)
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Man (name not listed)
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Man (name not listed)
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An unnamed Nonotuck man, with family living in Northampton, was the subject of an August 19, 1675 letter from John Pynchon to John Winthrop Jr. during King Philip’s War. The conflict was so widespread, and so confusing, that English soldiers often had difficulty determining Native friends from foes.
The text reads, in part: “He is one of the Northampton Indians, only Hadley and Northampton people suspect he is one that drew off to the enemy and came with bags to get provision for them. . .Ephraim Curtis, [a Nipmuc scout] who is at Hadley, saying that he saw him with the Quabaug Indians when he was with Captain Hutchison and Captain Wheeler, which I account very questionable, the Indian most strongly denying it. I have sent the Indian to Major Willard at Brookfield. Sir, people cry out that he is not dispatched; I wonder at such a spirit in people for our most faithful Indians tell me they cannot think but that he was coming in from his hunting wigwam to the English out of dislike of the enemy, he having a father, mother, wife, and children at Northampton” (Bridenbaugh, Pynchon Papers, 146). |
First Church of Christ Records listed “An Indian fellow drowned at Old Rainbow” on July 13, 1782, but did not give a name for this Native man. Old Rainbow was a location in the Northampton Meadows next to the Connecticut River (First Church of Christ records).
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A March 1690 Northampton record notes that the "Indian in prison in N. H. [Northampton] is 'in durance.'" This may refer to someone who was held in a prison over a longer period of time than was originally intended. The record states that "P. Tilton, Esq. & Wm. Clark, & Capt. Cooke Senior & Capt. Aaron Cooke, Junior are to have 'the disposing & ordering of him.'" This probably refers to Northampton men who would be in charge of overseeing his imprisonment, and would be able to "order" him, or assign him work to do without pay (Judd, Hampshire Matters Part 2, 171).
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Sources
This list includes the sources cited for the profiles included in this project, plus a few other useful sources for learning more about regional Native peoples and histories. Please note that many primary colonial records and 19th century town histories, having been influenced by racial and cultural bias, may contain errors, stereotypes, and misinterpretations. The secondary sources included here offer more accurate and appropriate insights into Native experiences and perspectives.
Primary Source Records, Transcribed
Bridenbaugh, Carl. 1982. The Pynchon Papers, Volume I, Letters of John Pynchon, 1654-1700. Boston, MA: Colonial Society of Massachusetts. On-line at: https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/1273
Bridenbaugh, Carl and Juliette Tomlinson. 1985. The Pynchon Papers, Volume II, Selections from the Account Books of John Pynchon, 1651-1697. Boston, MA: Colonial Society of Massachusetts. On-line at: https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/801
Burt, Henry M. 1898-1899. The First Century of the History of Springfield; the Official Records from 1636 to1736, with an Historical Review and Biographical Mention of the Founders. Two Volumes. Springfield, Massachusetts: H.M. Burt. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/firstcenturyofhi011898spri
Clark, Rev. Solomon. 1891. Historical Catalogue of the Northampton First Church 1661-1891. Northampton, MA: Gazette Printing Company.
Fernow, Berthold. 1881. “Documents Relative to the History and Settlements of the Towns along the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers.” In Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York. Vol. XIII. Albany: Weed, Parsons and Company.
First Church Records, Book 1 and 2. [c. 1750-1850]. First Churches Archives. First Churches, Northampton, MA.
Judd, Sylvester. 1850s. Records of the Hampshire County Court, in Sylvester Judd Manuscript, Massachusetts Series. Forbes Library, Northampton, Massachusetts.
King, Titus. 1938. Narrative of Titus King of Northampton, Mass.: a prisoner of the Indians in Canada, 1755-1758. Hartford, CT: Connecticut Historical Society. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/narrativeoftitus00king
Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth. 1902. Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, a Compilation from the Archives. Boston, MA: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Native Northeast Research Collaborative. 2019. Native Northeast Portal. On-line at: https://nativenortheastportal.com/about
Native Northeast Research Collaborative. [no date]. Yale Indian Papers Project, Yale University. On-line at: https://findit.library.yale.edu/yipp/
Pynchon, John. c. 1652-1701. Account Books. Six volumes. Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Connecticut Valley Historical Museum.
Pynchon, John. 1648-1650. Day Book & Accounts. Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Forbes Library, Northampton, Massachusetts.
Pynchon, William. c. 1645-1650. Account Book (transcribed by John Pynchon). Forbes Library, Northampton, Massachusetts.
Smith, Joseph H., ed. 1961. Colonial Justice in Western Massachusetts (1639-1702): The Pynchon Court Record: An Original Judge’s Diary of the Administration of Justice in the Springfield Courts in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. On-line at: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001143776
Trumbull, John Hammond. 1903. Natick Dictionary. Bulletin 25, Smithsonian Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/natickdictionar02trumgoog/page/n181/mode/2up
_______. 1850-1890. Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut 1636-1776. Hartford, CT: F. A. Brown Co.
War Department. “Mamenash, Joseph – Massachusetts – Fifth Regiment.” File #140452734, in Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, National Archives. On-line at: https://catalog.archives.gov/search?q=mamenash
Whiting, Nathan. 1745. “List of Soldiers.” In Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society Vol. XIII, p. 76-80.
Wright, Harry Andrew, ed. 1905. Indian Deeds of Hampden County. Springfield, MA: Harry Andrew Wright. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/indiandeedshamp00wriggoog
Town Histories & Local Newspapers
anonymous. 1838. Northampton Courier, Northampton, MA. 9 (25). June 6, 1838.
Bridgman, Sidney E. 1936. “Sally Mammanash is Recalled Here: Daughter of Indian Woman Who Was Stoned to Death Lived With the Bridgmans.” Daily Hampshire Gazette, August 25, 1936.
City of Northampton. 1904. The Meadow City’s Quarter Millennial Book: A Memorial of the Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Settlement of the Town of Northampton, Massachusetts. Northampton, MA: City of Northampton.
Everts, Louis H. 1879. History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts. Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincot & Co.
Dean, Charles J. 1958. “Hospital Hill and its Riddles of Yesterday,” Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, MA, November 15, 1958.
Everts, Louis H., ed. 1879. History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts. Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincot & Company.
Holland, Josiah Gilbert. 1855. History of Western Massachusetts. Springfield, MA: Samuel Bowles and Co. On-line at: https://www.huntingtonma.us/historical-society/documents/History%20of%20Western%20MA-Holland.pdf
Judd, Sylvester. 1905. History of Hadley: including the early history of Hatfield, South Hadley, Amherst, and Granby, Massachusetts. Springfield, MA: H.R. Hunting & Co. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/historyofhadleyi00judd
_______. [no date]. “Northampton with Westfield.” In History of Hadley: Selected Papers from the Sylvester Judd Manuscript. Volume 2.
Nobles, Gregory H. and Herbert L. Zarov, eds. 1976. Selected Papers from the Sylvester Judd Manuscript. Northampton, MA: Forbes Library.
Temple, Josiah H. 1887. History of North Brookfield, Massachusetts. Boston, MA: Town of North Brookfield.
Temple, Josiah H. and George Sheldon. 1875. A History of the Town of Northfield, for 150 Years, with an account of the prior occupation of the territory of the Squakheags. Albany, NY: J. Munsell. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofn00temp
Thompson, Francis N. 1904. History of Greenfield: Shire Town of Franklin County, Massachusetts. Two volumes. Greenfield, MA: T. Morey & Son.
Trumbull, James Russell. 1898. History of Northampton. Volume I. Northampton, MA: Gazette Printing Company. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/historyofnortham00trum/page/434/mode/2up
Wells, Daniel White and Reuben Field Wells. 1910. A History of Hatfield, Massachusetts. Springfield, MA: F.C.H. Gibbons.
Wright, Harry Andrew, ed. 1949. The Story of Western Massachusetts. New York, NY: Lewis Historical Publishing Co. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/storyofwesternma01wrig
Secondary Sources
Baron, Donna, J. Edward Hood, and Holly V. Izard. 1996. “They Were Here All Along: The Native American Presence in Lower-Central New England in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.” William and Mary Quarterly (July 1996) 53: 561-586.
Brooks, Lisa. 2019. Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip’s War. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
_______. 2008. The Common Pot: The Recovery of Native Space in the Northeast. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Bruchac, Margaret M. 2022. “From Nonotuck to Northampton: Recovering Indigenous Histories.” Historic Highlights. Northampton, MA: Historic Northampton. On-line: --------------------
_______. 2022. “The 1696 Encounter Between Nonotuck and English Hunters.” Historic Highlights. Northampton, MA: Historic Northampton. On-line: ---------------
_______. 2018. “Sally Maminash: Last of the Indians Here.” Historic Highlights. Northampton, MA: Historic Northampton. On-line: https://www.historicnorthampton.org/history-sally-maminash.html
_______. 2011. “Revisiting Pocumtuck History in Deerfield: George Sheldon’s Vanishing Indian Act.” Historical Journal of Massachusetts, 75th Commemorative Issue 39 (1/2): 30-77.
_______. 2010. “Lost and Found: NAGPRA, Scattered Relics, Restorative Methodologies.” Museum Anthropology 33 (2): 137–156.
Buckley, Kerry. 2004. A Place Called Paradise: Culture and Community in Northampton, Massachusetts, 1654-2004. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
Delabarre, E. B. and Harris H. Wilder. 1920. “Indian Corn Hills in Massachusetts.” American Anthropologist 22 (3): 203-255.
Huden, John C. 1962. Indian Place Names of New England. New York, NY: Museum of the American Indian. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/indianplacenames00hude
Miller, Marla R. 2019. Entangled Lives: Labor, Livelihood, and Landscapes of Change in Rural Massachusetts. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
_______. 2009. Cultivating a Past: Essays on the History of Hadley, Massachusetts. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
Nash, Alice. 2009. “Quanquan’s Mortgage of 1663.” In Cultivating a Past: Essays on the History of Hadley, Massachusetts. Edited by Marla R. Miller, 25-42. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
Newell, Margaret Ellen. 2003. “The Changing Nature of Indian Slavery in New England, 1670–1720.” In Decolonizing New England Indian History. Edited by Colin G. Calloway and Neal Salisbury, 106-135. Boston, MA: Colonial Society of Massachusetts. On-line at: https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/1397#ch07
O’Brien, Jean M. 2010. Firsting and Lasting: Writing Indians Out of Existence in New England. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Romer, Robert H. 2009. Slavery in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts. Florence, MA: Levellers Press.
Spady, James. 1995. “As If In a Great Darkness: Native American Refugees of the Middle Connecticut River Valley in the Aftermath of King Philip’s War.” Historical Journal of Massachusetts 23 (2): 183-197. On-line at: https://www.westfield.ma.edu/historical-journal/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/spady-summer95.pdf
Thomas, Peter A. 1990. In the Maelstrom of Change: The Indian Trade and Cultural Process in the Middle Connecticut River Valley, 1635-1665. New York and London: Garland Publishing, Inc.
_______. 1984. “Bridging the Cultural Gap: Indian/White Relations.” In Early Settlement in the Connecticut Valley. Edited by Stephen C. Innes, Richard I. Melvoin and Peter A. Thomas, 4-21. Westfield, MA: Historic Deerfield, Inc., Institute for Massachusetts Studies, and Westfield State College, 1984.
_______. 1981. “The Fur Trade and the Need to Define Adequate ‘Environmental Parameters.” Ethnohistory 24 (4) (Fall 1981): 359-379.
Wright, Harry Andrew. 1939. “Some Vagaries in Connecticut Valley Indian Place-Names.” The New England Quarterly 12 (3) (September 1939): 535-544.
Young, William R. 1969. “A Survey of the Available Knowledge on the Middle Connecticut Valley Indians – Prehistoric and Historic.” In The Connecticut Valley Indian: An Introduction to Their Archaeology and History. Edited by William Young, 33-61. New Series, 1:1 Springfield, MA: Museum of Science.
Zimmerman, Sarah, et al. 1984. Historic and Archaeological Resources of the Connecticut Valley. Boston, MA: Massachusetts Historical Commission. On-line at: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/regionalreports/ctvalley.pdf
Bridenbaugh, Carl. 1982. The Pynchon Papers, Volume I, Letters of John Pynchon, 1654-1700. Boston, MA: Colonial Society of Massachusetts. On-line at: https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/1273
Bridenbaugh, Carl and Juliette Tomlinson. 1985. The Pynchon Papers, Volume II, Selections from the Account Books of John Pynchon, 1651-1697. Boston, MA: Colonial Society of Massachusetts. On-line at: https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/801
Burt, Henry M. 1898-1899. The First Century of the History of Springfield; the Official Records from 1636 to1736, with an Historical Review and Biographical Mention of the Founders. Two Volumes. Springfield, Massachusetts: H.M. Burt. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/firstcenturyofhi011898spri
Clark, Rev. Solomon. 1891. Historical Catalogue of the Northampton First Church 1661-1891. Northampton, MA: Gazette Printing Company.
Fernow, Berthold. 1881. “Documents Relative to the History and Settlements of the Towns along the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers.” In Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York. Vol. XIII. Albany: Weed, Parsons and Company.
First Church Records, Book 1 and 2. [c. 1750-1850]. First Churches Archives. First Churches, Northampton, MA.
Judd, Sylvester. 1850s. Records of the Hampshire County Court, in Sylvester Judd Manuscript, Massachusetts Series. Forbes Library, Northampton, Massachusetts.
King, Titus. 1938. Narrative of Titus King of Northampton, Mass.: a prisoner of the Indians in Canada, 1755-1758. Hartford, CT: Connecticut Historical Society. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/narrativeoftitus00king
Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth. 1902. Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, a Compilation from the Archives. Boston, MA: Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Native Northeast Research Collaborative. 2019. Native Northeast Portal. On-line at: https://nativenortheastportal.com/about
Native Northeast Research Collaborative. [no date]. Yale Indian Papers Project, Yale University. On-line at: https://findit.library.yale.edu/yipp/
Pynchon, John. c. 1652-1701. Account Books. Six volumes. Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Connecticut Valley Historical Museum.
Pynchon, John. 1648-1650. Day Book & Accounts. Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Forbes Library, Northampton, Massachusetts.
Pynchon, William. c. 1645-1650. Account Book (transcribed by John Pynchon). Forbes Library, Northampton, Massachusetts.
Smith, Joseph H., ed. 1961. Colonial Justice in Western Massachusetts (1639-1702): The Pynchon Court Record: An Original Judge’s Diary of the Administration of Justice in the Springfield Courts in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. On-line at: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001143776
Trumbull, John Hammond. 1903. Natick Dictionary. Bulletin 25, Smithsonian Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/natickdictionar02trumgoog/page/n181/mode/2up
_______. 1850-1890. Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut 1636-1776. Hartford, CT: F. A. Brown Co.
War Department. “Mamenash, Joseph – Massachusetts – Fifth Regiment.” File #140452734, in Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, National Archives. On-line at: https://catalog.archives.gov/search?q=mamenash
Whiting, Nathan. 1745. “List of Soldiers.” In Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society Vol. XIII, p. 76-80.
Wright, Harry Andrew, ed. 1905. Indian Deeds of Hampden County. Springfield, MA: Harry Andrew Wright. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/indiandeedshamp00wriggoog
Town Histories & Local Newspapers
anonymous. 1838. Northampton Courier, Northampton, MA. 9 (25). June 6, 1838.
Bridgman, Sidney E. 1936. “Sally Mammanash is Recalled Here: Daughter of Indian Woman Who Was Stoned to Death Lived With the Bridgmans.” Daily Hampshire Gazette, August 25, 1936.
City of Northampton. 1904. The Meadow City’s Quarter Millennial Book: A Memorial of the Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Settlement of the Town of Northampton, Massachusetts. Northampton, MA: City of Northampton.
Everts, Louis H. 1879. History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts. Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincot & Co.
Dean, Charles J. 1958. “Hospital Hill and its Riddles of Yesterday,” Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, MA, November 15, 1958.
Everts, Louis H., ed. 1879. History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts. Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincot & Company.
Holland, Josiah Gilbert. 1855. History of Western Massachusetts. Springfield, MA: Samuel Bowles and Co. On-line at: https://www.huntingtonma.us/historical-society/documents/History%20of%20Western%20MA-Holland.pdf
Judd, Sylvester. 1905. History of Hadley: including the early history of Hatfield, South Hadley, Amherst, and Granby, Massachusetts. Springfield, MA: H.R. Hunting & Co. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/historyofhadleyi00judd
_______. [no date]. “Northampton with Westfield.” In History of Hadley: Selected Papers from the Sylvester Judd Manuscript. Volume 2.
Nobles, Gregory H. and Herbert L. Zarov, eds. 1976. Selected Papers from the Sylvester Judd Manuscript. Northampton, MA: Forbes Library.
Temple, Josiah H. 1887. History of North Brookfield, Massachusetts. Boston, MA: Town of North Brookfield.
Temple, Josiah H. and George Sheldon. 1875. A History of the Town of Northfield, for 150 Years, with an account of the prior occupation of the territory of the Squakheags. Albany, NY: J. Munsell. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofn00temp
Thompson, Francis N. 1904. History of Greenfield: Shire Town of Franklin County, Massachusetts. Two volumes. Greenfield, MA: T. Morey & Son.
Trumbull, James Russell. 1898. History of Northampton. Volume I. Northampton, MA: Gazette Printing Company. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/historyofnortham00trum/page/434/mode/2up
Wells, Daniel White and Reuben Field Wells. 1910. A History of Hatfield, Massachusetts. Springfield, MA: F.C.H. Gibbons.
Wright, Harry Andrew, ed. 1949. The Story of Western Massachusetts. New York, NY: Lewis Historical Publishing Co. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/storyofwesternma01wrig
Secondary Sources
Baron, Donna, J. Edward Hood, and Holly V. Izard. 1996. “They Were Here All Along: The Native American Presence in Lower-Central New England in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.” William and Mary Quarterly (July 1996) 53: 561-586.
Brooks, Lisa. 2019. Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip’s War. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
_______. 2008. The Common Pot: The Recovery of Native Space in the Northeast. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Bruchac, Margaret M. 2022. “From Nonotuck to Northampton: Recovering Indigenous Histories.” Historic Highlights. Northampton, MA: Historic Northampton. On-line: --------------------
_______. 2022. “The 1696 Encounter Between Nonotuck and English Hunters.” Historic Highlights. Northampton, MA: Historic Northampton. On-line: ---------------
_______. 2018. “Sally Maminash: Last of the Indians Here.” Historic Highlights. Northampton, MA: Historic Northampton. On-line: https://www.historicnorthampton.org/history-sally-maminash.html
_______. 2011. “Revisiting Pocumtuck History in Deerfield: George Sheldon’s Vanishing Indian Act.” Historical Journal of Massachusetts, 75th Commemorative Issue 39 (1/2): 30-77.
_______. 2010. “Lost and Found: NAGPRA, Scattered Relics, Restorative Methodologies.” Museum Anthropology 33 (2): 137–156.
Buckley, Kerry. 2004. A Place Called Paradise: Culture and Community in Northampton, Massachusetts, 1654-2004. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
Delabarre, E. B. and Harris H. Wilder. 1920. “Indian Corn Hills in Massachusetts.” American Anthropologist 22 (3): 203-255.
Huden, John C. 1962. Indian Place Names of New England. New York, NY: Museum of the American Indian. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/indianplacenames00hude
Miller, Marla R. 2019. Entangled Lives: Labor, Livelihood, and Landscapes of Change in Rural Massachusetts. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
_______. 2009. Cultivating a Past: Essays on the History of Hadley, Massachusetts. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
Nash, Alice. 2009. “Quanquan’s Mortgage of 1663.” In Cultivating a Past: Essays on the History of Hadley, Massachusetts. Edited by Marla R. Miller, 25-42. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
Newell, Margaret Ellen. 2003. “The Changing Nature of Indian Slavery in New England, 1670–1720.” In Decolonizing New England Indian History. Edited by Colin G. Calloway and Neal Salisbury, 106-135. Boston, MA: Colonial Society of Massachusetts. On-line at: https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/1397#ch07
O’Brien, Jean M. 2010. Firsting and Lasting: Writing Indians Out of Existence in New England. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Romer, Robert H. 2009. Slavery in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts. Florence, MA: Levellers Press.
Spady, James. 1995. “As If In a Great Darkness: Native American Refugees of the Middle Connecticut River Valley in the Aftermath of King Philip’s War.” Historical Journal of Massachusetts 23 (2): 183-197. On-line at: https://www.westfield.ma.edu/historical-journal/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/spady-summer95.pdf
Thomas, Peter A. 1990. In the Maelstrom of Change: The Indian Trade and Cultural Process in the Middle Connecticut River Valley, 1635-1665. New York and London: Garland Publishing, Inc.
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