Wecquaesgeek
Total population | |
---|---|
No longer a distinct tribe | |
Regions with significant populations | |
New York | |
Languages | |
Munsee language | |
Religion | |
Indigenous religion | |
Related ethnic groups | |
other Lenape tribes |
The Wecquaesgeek (also Manhattoe and Manhattan) were a Munsee-speaking band of Wappinger people who once lived along the east bank of the Hudson River in the southwest of today's Westchester County, New York,[1] and down into the Bronx.[2]
History
The Wecquaesgeek resided along the southeastern banks of the Hudson River and fished local streams and lakes with rods and nets.[3]
The Wecquaesgeek faced numerous conflicts with Dutch and English colonists. In 1609 two dugout canoes were sent from the Nipinichsen settlement to threaten Hendrik Hudson's ship in on his return trip down the river.[4][5]
In the 1640s, the Wecquaesgeek settled the
Like other Wappinger people, the Wecquaesgeek suffered losses in Kieft's War between Dutch colonists and Indigenous tribes.[7] Around half of the military-aged men remaining to the tribe died fighting on behalf of the American Revolutionary Army, though none was granted citizenship after victory.[7]
Wicker's Creek in what is now called Dobbs Ferry was the last known residence of the tribe, which they occupied through the 17th century.[8]
Settlements
The following settlements have been documented in historical accounts:[7]
- Alipkconk – Meaning 'a place of elms', now known as Tarrytown.[9][10][11] It was burned by the Dutch in 1644.[9]
- Nappeckamak – One of the main Weckquaesgeek settlements, which flanked the then Saeck Kill—today's Yonkers[4]
- Nipinichsen – a fortified settlement at the north bank of Spuyten Duyvil Creek[4][5]
- Rechouwakie – now known as Rockaway
- Rechtauck (Rechgawawank, Reckawawana) – in Lower East Side. In 1643, 40 Weckquaesgeek of all ages and genders were murdered here in the Massacre at Corlears Hook.
- Weckquasguck – a settlement[12] located in what is now known as Dobbs Ferry[13][14][15] and Hastings-on-Hudson[16] where numerous artifacts have been found.[17] The settlement ran along the Wysquaqua stream, now known as Wicker's Creek.[18]
The Weckquaesgeek territories were bordered by the
To the south their range included the western part of today's
The Dutch ended up with the island, and the Wecquaesgeek being called the "Manhattoe" or "Manhattan" Indians.
Today's
Naming confusion
As was common practice early in the days of European settlement of North America, a people came to be associated with a place, with its name displacing theirs among the settlers and those associated with them, such as explorers, mapmakers, trading company superiors who sponsored many of the early settlements, and officials in the settlers' mother country in Europe.
Numerous variants of are found on historical maps and in period documents. These include: Wiechquaeskeck, Wechquaesqueck, Weckquaesqueek, Weekquaesguk, Wickquasgeck, Wickquasgek, Wiequaeskeek, Wiequashook, and Wiquaeskec. The meaning of the name has variously been given as "the end of the marsh, swamp or wet meadow", "place of the bark kettle", and "birch bark country".[25][26][22][23]
Just as a name of one of their trails, the
See also
- Canarsee, the Native American band that sold Manhattan to the Dutch
References
- ^ a b Their presence on the east bank of the Hudson River in today's Westchester County is clearly labeled on the 1685 revision by Petrus Schenk Junior, Novi Belgii Novæque Angliæ, of a 1656 map by Nicolaes Visscher.
- ^ a b Sultzman, Lee (1997). "Wappinger History". Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- OL 22135974M.
- ^ a b c "Wappinger Indian Divisions | Access Genealogy". 9 July 2011. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ a b "How Manhattan Island of New York City was Named". Revolutionary War Journal. 2015-03-28. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ a b Wright, Kevin W. "Native Americans in Bergen County". Bergen County Historical Society. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ a b c "Wappinger". www.dickshovel.com. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ "Focus On—Dobbs Ferry". Bee Local—The Neighborhood Buzz. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
- ^ a b "A- New York Indian Villages, Towns and Settlements | Access Genealogy". 13 July 2011. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
- ^ "Explore-The Bridge Path-Tides of Tarrytown | Mario Cuomo Bridge". mariomcuomobridge.ny.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
- OCLC 1126217912.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - JSTOR 40596696.
- ^ "BUCKHOUT FAMILY BACKGROUND". 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ "Hudson River Historian Lectures in Wysquaqua, er, Dobbs Ferry". Rivertowns, NY Patch. 2010-07-22. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ "the weckquaesgeek - Ardsley Historical Society" (PDF).
- ^ "Hastings' Hidden Waterway". Hastings Historical Society. 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
- ^ Heltzel, Bill (2017-11-22). "Conservationists, condo group battle over access to Dobbs Ferry Indian site". Westfair Communications. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
- ^ "Dobbs Ferry Village Historian, Notable Quotations". www.villagehistorian.org. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
- ^ a b Moby Dick, Herman Melville, Chapter 1, reprinted in "Melville Depicted City of ‘Manhattoes’ Lured by the Sea,", New York Times, July 5, 1976, p. 13
- ^ "Brooks, ponds, swamps, and marshes characterized other portions of the island of the 'Manhattoes'", The Memorial History of the City of New York, James Grant Wilson, New York, 1892
- ^ a b c "The $24 Swindle", Nathaniel Benchley, American Heritage, 1959, Vol. 11, Issue 1
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
And what about a marker for the Wickquasgeck Trail, the Indian path that ran the length of the island, which the Dutch made into their main highway and the English renamed Broadway?
- ISBN 978-1-58218-751-8.
- ^ Cohen, Doris Darlington. "The Weckquaesgeek" (PDF). Ardsley Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
- ^ Trumbull, James Hammond (1881). Indian Names of Places, Etc., in and on the Borders of Connecticut: With Interpretations of Some of Them. Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company. p. 81.
- ^ Letter from Stephen Goodyear to Peter Stuyvesant, 19 July 1652, addressed to him at "The Manhattoes", Correspondence 1647-1653, Charles Gehring, The New Netherlands Institute, p. 189
- ^ The Standards of the Manhattoes, Pavonia, and Hell-Gate, David B. Martucci, 2011, p. 786
- ^ "Brooks, ponds, swamps, and marshes characterized other portions of the island of the 'Manhattoes'," The Memorial History of the City of New York, James Grant Wilson, New York, 1892