Peter Jethro
Peter Jethro (also known as Jethro or Animatohu[1] or Hantomush[2]) (c. 1614 – c. 1688) was an early Native American (Nipmuc) scribe, translator, minister, land proprietor, and Praying Indian affiliated for a period with John Eliot in the praying town of Natick, Massachusetts.
Early life
Peter Jethro was born in approximately 1614
King Philip's War
In August 1675 Peter's father, Tantamous, and ten other Indians were falsely accused of committing a murder in the first Lancaster attack after allegedly falling under suspicion due to their "singing, dancing, and having much powder and many bullets and slugs hid in their baskets," but they were acquitted when the true murderer, Monoco, a Nashaway, was discovered. King Philip purportedly captured Peter Jethro at the outbreak of King Philip's War, and Jethro accompanied the Indians against the English during their expedition on the Connecticut River and was present at Battle on Beer's Plain in Northfield in September 1675 where he freed an English captive.[9][10] Peter Jethro later communicated with the captors of Mary Rowlandson, a captive taken during the February 1676 Lancaster raid, to obtain her release.[11][12] Peter eventually escaped and turned himself in to the English authorities in response to an offer of a pardon for any Indian who did so.[13] Pardoning Jethro in return for his service was criticized strongly by Rev. Edmund Brown of Sudbury.[14]
During King Philip's War, the government ordered Peter's father, Tantamous, and his family to
In 1677 Rev. Thomas Cobbett wrote an account of the War stating that "Capt. John Jerthoag a Nipmk Sagamor came in and some with him, and presently after fetched in old Matonas and his son, 120 more."[21] It is unclear if "Jerthoag" is in reference to Peter or possibly another Jethro relative, but it has been interpreted as meaning a member of the "Jethro" family.[22] Similarly, William Hubbard wrote about Peter Jethro's assistance to the colony stating that "young Jethro brought in 40 at one time."[23]
Later life advocating for Native American rights
Between 1681 and 1685 Jethro (sometimes referring to himself as "Old Jethro") signed documents with other Nipmucs protesting the sale of tribal lands including near what is now
References
- ^ a b c d e Barry, William, A History of Framingham, Massachusetts (Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1847), 19-20
- ^ a b c d Gutteridge, William H. (1921). A Brief History of the Town of Maynard, Massachusetts. Maynard, MA: Town of Maynard, p. 13-16
- ^ He gives his age as about 70 years old in 1684 per: Barry, William, A History of Framingham, Massachusetts (Boston: James Munroe and Company, 1847), 19-20
- ^ Harwood, Herbert Joseph, An Historical Sketch of the Town of Littleton, p. 2
- ^ a b Shattuck, Lemuel, History of the Town of Concord, Mass. (Boston, 1835)
- ^ John Eliot’s Brief Narrative (1670) https://www.bartleby.com/43/12.html
- ^ Gookin, Daniel, Historical Collections of the Indians in New England (1792), p. 193
- ^ Cogley, Richard W., John Eliot's Mission to the Indians Before King Philip's War (Harvard University Press, 1999), p. 160
- ^ Temple, J.H., and G. Sheldon, History of the Town of Northfield, Massachusetts, for 150 Years: With Family Genealogies, (1875), pg. 78
- ^ a b Temple, Josiah Howard, History of Framingham, Massachusetts: Early Known as Danforth's ... (1887) Framingham, Mass., p. 53-55
- ^ a b Butterworth, Hezekiah, Young Folks' History of Boston (1881) pg. 28-33
- ^ a b Brooks, Lisa, Our Beloved Kin (Yale University Press, 2018), "Peter Jethro and the Capture of Monoco"
- ^ Pulsipher, J.H., "'Our Sages are Sageles': A Letter on Massachusetts Indian". The William and Mary Quarterly Vol. 58, No. 2 (Apr., 2001), pp. 431-448, accessed on JSTOR
- ^ Pulsipher, J.H., "'Our Sages are Sageles': A Letter on Massachusetts Indian". The William and Mary Quarterly Vol. 58, No. 2 (Apr., 2001), pp. 431-448, accessed on JSTOR
- ^ Records of the Court of Assistants of the Colony of the ... (1901) pg. 54
- ^ Provincial and State Papers Volume 1 New Hampshire (Colony) Probate Court (1867) p/ 360
- ISBN 9780665348549. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
Old Jethro.
- ^ Barber, S., Boston Common: A Diary of Notable Events, Incidents, and Neighboring Occurrences (Christopher Publishing House, 1916), p. 32
- ^ Kittredge, George Lyman, The Old Farmer and His Almanack: Being Some Observations on Life and ... (1920), pg. 370
- ^ George Madison Bodge, Soldiers in King Philip's War: Being a Critical Account of ... (1896), p. 309 (Letter dated Sept. 2, 1676 Massachusetts Archives) (accessible on google books)
- ^ Rev. Thomas Cobbett, of Ipswich, "A Narrative of New England's Deliverances," (written in 1677 to Increase Mather) New England Historical Genealogical Register, (Volume 7, 1853), p. 209 https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/New_England_Historical_Genealogical_Register_Online
- ^ Samuel Gardner Drake, Indian Biography, p. 137 accessible on google books
- ^ William Hubbard, A Narrative of the Indian Wars in New-England, (1814) p. 290 (accessible on google books)
- ^ Mass. General Court Records at State Archives, https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ArchivesSearch/RevolutionaryDetail.aspx?rec=VyiORR2scTyc3Vm6zeEOy55NhOJ1YqEItmfmZWKHVJE%3d
- ^ Mass. General Court Records at State Archives, https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ArchivesSearch/RevolutionaryDetail.aspx?rec=VyiORR2scTyc3Vm6zeEOyyalsZChmfYHGug475AYjpQ%3d
- ^ Mass. General Court Records at State Archives, https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ArchivesSearch/RevolutionaryDetail.aspx?rec=VyiORR2scTyc3Vm6zeEOy8TAaJHbpGpWA3pYjFTZlyE%3d
- ^ Company for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the Parts Adjacent in America, Some correspondence between the governors and treasurers of the New England Company, 74-75 (accessible on google books).
- ^ Daniel R. Mandell, King Philip's War: The Conflict Over New England, pg. 55
- ^ Land Sales in Nipmuc Country 1643-1724 BYU https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=14&article=1010&context=data&type=additional
- ^ Parsons, Herbert C., A Puritan Outpost: A History of the Town and People of Northfield, ... (2018)
- ^ "Examination of Magsigpin by Stephanus van Cortland," https://findit.library.yale.edu/yipp/catalog/digcoll:1017922
- ^ "Native Archives".