Custaloga, also known as Packanke, was a

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

of the Delaware (

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

) tribe in the mid-18th century. He was a member of the

Wolf Clan The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

through his mother.

Captain Pipe Captain Pipe (c. 1725? – c. 1818?) ( Lenape), called Konieschquanoheel and also known as Hopocan in Lenape, was an 18th-century Head Peace chief of the Algonquian-speaking Lenape (Delaware) and War Chief 1778+. He succeeded his maternal u ...

was his nephew and succeeded him as chief.

Life

Little is known of the early life of Custaloga. He was born as Packanke into the Wolf Clan of his mother. The Delaware had a

matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's Lineage (anthropology), lineage – and which can in ...

kinship In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...

system, in which descent and hereditary leadership were passed through the mother's line. Children were born into the mother's clan and gained their social status there. ''Custaloga,'' as he was documented by Indian agent

George Croghan George Croghan (c. 1718 – August 31, 1782) was an Irish-born fur trader in the Ohio Country of North America (current United States) who became a key early figure in the region. In 1746 he was appointed to the Onondaga Council, the governin ...

and other British colonists, settled in western Pennsylvania in the mid-18th century and built a sizeable village with his band at the confluence of French Creek and North Deer Creek in

Mercer County, Pennsylvania Mercer County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 110,652. Its county seat is Mercer, and its largest city is Hermitage. The county was created in 1800 and later organized in 1803. Merce ...

. This town, known as "Custaloga's Town," became his principal seat. He also started another village known as ''Cussewago,'' along French Creek, at the present site of Meadville in

Crawford County, Pennsylvania Crawford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,938. Its county seat is Meadville. The county was created on March 12, 1800, from part of Allegheny County and named for Colonel Wi ...

. Custaloga's name first appeared in western Pennsylvania's history in ''

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

's Journal of 1753.'' When the 21-year-old Washington arrived at

Fort Machault Fort Machault (, ) was a fort built by the French in 1754 near the confluence of French Creek with the Allegheny River, in northwest Pennsylvania. (Present-day Franklin developed here later.) The fort helped the French control these waterways, ...

in the village of Venango (present

Franklin, Pennsylvania Franklin is a city and the county seat of Venango County, Pennsylvania. The population was 6,097 in the 2020 census. Franklin is part of the Oil City, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. Franklin is known for its three-day autumn festival in O ...

), Custaloga was in charge of the

wampum Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western Nort ...

of his nation under Chief

Shingas Shingas ( fl. 17401763), was a Lenape chief and warrior who participated in military activities in Ohio Country during the French and Indian War. Allied with the French, Shingas led numerous raids on Anglo-American settlements during the war, for ...

. Since Custaloga had aided

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

in his rebellion, the white settlers were wary of his actions. They asked

Guyasuta Guyasuta (c. 1725–c. 1794; see, Kayahsotaˀ, either "he stands up to the cross" or "he sets up the cross") was an important Native American leader of the Seneca people in the second half of the eighteenth century, playing a central role i ...

of the

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

to live among his people at Custaloga's Town to maintain a watchful eye on Chief Custaloga. The Seneca, one of the Six Nations of the

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

, were powerful. By this time the Confederacy seemed to believe they had a kind of overlordship over the Delaware. By late 1773 at a conference of Indian nations at Fort Pitt, the tribe was discussing the succession of the aging principal chief, Netawatwees, who died in 1776.

, sub-agent to

Sir William Johnson Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet of New York ( – 11 July 1774), was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Ireland. As a young man, Johnson moved to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Royal Na ...

, the Superintendent of Indian Relations, and Seneca representatives reported to Johnson about the debate. They wrote that Chief Custaloga was too old to replace Netwawatwees when that should become necessary.Wellenreuther, Hermann. "The Succession of Head Chiefs and the Delaware Culture of Consent: The Delaware Nation, David Zeisberger, and Modern Ethnography"
In A. G. Roeber, ed., ''Ethnographies and Exchanges: Native Americans, Moravians, and Catholics in Early America.'' University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2008. 31–48. In January 1774, during a conference of the Six Indian Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy at

Johnson Hall Johnson Hall State Historic Site was the home of Sir William Johnson (1715–1774) an Irish pioneer who became the influential British Indian Department, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Province of New York, known for his strong relation ...

near present-day

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, Croghan announced that Custaloga was to be succeeded as chief by his nephew

, a noted war leader. On November 29, 1778, Colonel James Smith led an expedition from Fort Pitt to Custaloga's Town, but found it evacuated. After this date little is recorded about Custaloga. Some sources think he removed to Ohio, then perhaps returned to Kuskuskies' Indian Town, on the

Shenango River The Shenango River is a principal tributary of the Beaver River, approximately 100 mi (160 km) long,New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lawrence County. It is northwest of Pittsburgh, and near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, just southeast of Youngstown, Ohio. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, ...

). He may have died as early as 1775.

Legacy and honors

*Custaloga was a name given to a railroad station at the junction of the Lorain, Ashland & Southern Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad in Wayne County, Ohio (1897-1925). *A

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

camp, Custaloga Town Scout Reservation,Custaloga Town Scout Reservation
/ref> is named for him and located at the former site of Custaloga's village along French Creek in

French Creek Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania French Creek Township is a township in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 710 at the 2020 census, a decrease from the figure of 771 in 2010. History The Bridge in French Creek Township was listed on the National R ...

References

Wellenreuther, Hermann. "The Succession of Head Chiefs and the Delaware Culture of Consent: The Delaware Nation, David Zeisberger, and Modern Ethnography"
In A. G. Roeber, ed., ''Ethnographies and Exchanges: Native Americans, Moravians, and Catholics in Early America.'' University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2008. 31–48. *Zeisberger, David; Hermann Wellenreuther and Carola Wessel, ed. ''The Moravian Mission Diaries of David Zeisberger''. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005. {{s-end People of colonial Pennsylvania Lenape people Native American leaders Indigenous people of Pontiac's War Indigenous people of the French and Indian War Native American people from Pennsylvania