Watson F. Hammond (May 24, 1837 – December 9, 1919) was the first Native American to sit in the

Great and General Court 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, ...

of Massachusetts.

Early life

Hammond was born in 1837 in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts to John Hammon of Sag Harbor,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

and Catherine F. Hammond. a Montauk Indian He had two siblings, Frances C. Hammond (Mingo) and John Hammond. John owned over 50 acres of land on Mashpee Neck on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

. John died when Watson was seven, and Watson was sent to live with an uncle in Mashpee at the Attaquin Hotel.

Professional career

At the age of 14, Hammond sailed to the north Pacific Ocean on board the Liverpool, a whaling ship out of

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

. The ship, under the command of Captain Weston Swift, hunted bowhead whales for 20 months. While in the bay of

Port Clarence Port Clarence is a small village now within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Tees, and hosts the northern end of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge. ...

, the ship struck a reef and began to sink. They were rescued by the ship Helen Augusta, a ship sailing from Holmes Hole, Martha's Vineyard. They were towed to a Russian port on

St. Lawrence Island St. Lawrence Island ( ess, Sivuqaq, russian: Остров Святого Лаврентия, Ostrov Svyatogo Lavrentiya) is located west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea, just south of the Bering Strait. The village of Gambell, located on t ...

, in the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ameri ...

, more than 167 miles away. The ship was not salvageable, so the cargo was loaded onto the Helen Augusta. The Liverpool was then set on fire and sank, while Watson sailed home on the Helen Augusta. Following his maiden voyage, he spent the next 15 years working as a seaman. Watson loved the outdoors and was a successful cranberry farmer on the Mashpee River. He was also an inventor, and patented a cranberry separator in 1883.

Personal life

In 1869 he married Rebecca C. Amos, the daughter of "Blind Joe" Amos, the famous Baptist preacher. Together they had seven children: Jeremiah Hammond, Nellie W. Hammond, Chief Lorenzo (Len) Tandy Hammond, Edith L. Hammond, Charles N. Hammond, Elizabeth Hammond, Charles H Hammond, Alice C Hammond, and Caroline (Carrie) F Pells. The oldest, Charles, became a teacher and Town Clerk in Mashpee. Watson's son Lorenzo, was known as Chief Little Bear of the Wampanoag nation and took over leadership of the tribe from his cousin Nelson D. Simons, a grand-nephew of Watson Hammond. Watson Hammond is buried near the Mashpee

Old Indian Meeting House The Old Indian Meeting House (also known as the Old Indian Church) is a historic meeting house at 410 Meetinghouse Road in Mashpee, Massachusetts. Built in 1758, the meetinghouse is the oldest Native American church in the eastern United States ...

Elected official

Watson held every office in Mashpee: town clerk, moderator, selectman, surveyor, and treasurer. He was also the leader of the

Mashpee people The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (formerly Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, Inc.) is one of two federally recognized tribes of Wampanoag people in Massachusetts. Recognized in 2007, they are headquartered in Mashpee on Cape Cod. The other Wa ...

in addition to being a deacon of his church and a manager of Attaquin Hotel. In 1885 he was elected to serve in the

of Massachusetts, representing both Barnstable and Mashpee. Like most of the voters of town of Mashpee, Hammond was a Republican, but there were far more voters in Barnstable. The incumbent, Capt. Zenas E. Crowell of Hyannis was retiring. Hammond beat "Cranberry King" A. D. Makepeace, the Democratic candidate, by a margin of 77 votes out of 432 cast. His victory party was hosted by the Republican boss, General John Reed at the Samuel Hooper House in

Cotuit Cotuit ( ) is one of the villages of the Town of Barnstable on Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on a peninsula on the south side of Barnstable about midway between Falmouth and Hyannis, Cotuit is bounded by t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Watson F. Members of the Massachusetts General Court Massachusetts Republicans Native American people from Massachusetts 1837 births 1919 deaths Indigenous sailors of the Americas