Masconomet, (died 1658) spelled many different ways in colonial deeds, was ''
sagamore'' of the
Agawam tribe among the
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups. Historically, the peoples were prominent along the Atlantic Coast and into the interior along the Saint Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes ...
during the time of the
English colonization of the Americas
The British colonization of the Americas was the history of establishment of control, settlement, and colonization of the continents of the Americas by England, Scotland and, after 1707, Great Britain. Colonization efforts began in the lat ...
. He is known for his
quitclaim deed ceding all the tribal land, which extended from
Cape Ann to the
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Mass ...
, as far inland as
North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915.
History
Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...
and
Middleton, Massachusetts
Middleton is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,779 at the 2020 census.
History
Middleton was first settled in 1659, and was officially incorporated in 1728. Prior to 1728 it was considered a part o ...
, and as far to the southwest as the Danvers River, to
John Winthrop the Younger, his heirs and all the settlers of eastern
Essex County for a sum of 20 pounds, about 100 dollars.
Although he could not read or write at the time of the deed, Masconomet understood that he was effecting a union of the remnant of the tribe after decimation by disease (probably
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ce ...
) with the English colonists. He testified to that effect before the
General Court of Massachusetts
The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...
, which was questioning the legality of the younger Winthrop's transactions. Winthrop and his heirs were seeking public reimbursement of the 20 pounds. The tribal members did not take up residence in distinct villages of "
praying Indians" as did the other tribes but remained distributed on individual farms adjoining those of the English and became integrated into the settlements. Giving up their native language and other marks and affiliations of native identity, they soon vanished into
Essex County. Masconomet, henceforward "John the Sagamore", gave his children English names. Memory of their ancestry persisted throughout the 17th century, a few generations after Masconomet's death in 1658. A memorial stone on Sagamore Hill in northeastern
Hamilton marks where Masconomet was buried with his gun and tomahawk. In 1667, nine years later, a man was prosecuted for digging up his bones and carrying his skull on a pole.
The Agawams avoided playing a native role in
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
, the first united effort by the Indians to dislodge the English from New England, obliterating the colony. They were not identified as "praying Indians." Masconomet's deed was at first kept in the Winthrop family. At about the time of King Philip's War eastern Essex County also endured a legal attack by the heirs of
Captain John Mason, who, based on
the Mason Grant of 1621, were claiming all of former Agawam. Masconomet's quitclaim was then registered and was duplicated in every village of eastern Essex County as the original deed of the rightful owner ceding the land to the English in perpetuity. The Mason claim failed, but the settlements had to pay a fee to be rid of it.
Masconomet Regional High School
Masconomet Regional High School, is co-located with Masconomet Regional Middle School in Boxford, Massachusetts, United States and serves the towns of Boxford, Middleton and Topsfield. Masconomet Regional Middle School serves grades 7 and 8 whi ...
, serving
Topsfield,
Boxford and
Middleton, Massachusetts, honors the sagamore by taking his name.
Biography
Masconomet first appears in written history in an entry in the journal of
John Winthrop
John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led ...
, the first governor of
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
. Winthrop was exploring the region, and had not yet started his colony on American shores. On June 13, 1630, while aboard his flagship, ''
Arbella'', at anchor off what would later become
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
, Winthrop wrote: "In the morning, the sagamore of Agawam and one of his men came aboard our ship and staid with us all day." Winthrop subsequently disembarked at the new settlement at
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
.
Notes
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masconomet
Year of birth unknown
1658 deaths
Burials in Massachusetts
Native American leaders
17th-century Native Americans
People from Hamilton, Massachusetts
Native American people from Massachusetts
Massachusett people
Native American history of Massachusetts