Daniel Takawambait
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Daniel Takawambait (c. 1652-1716) (also spelled Takawombait or Tokonwonpat or Takawambpas or Tookumwombait or Tokkohwompait or Takawombpait and sometimes Daniel of Natick) was likely the first ordained Native American Christian pastor in North America, and served the church in the
praying town Praying towns were a settlements established by British colonization of the Americas, English colonial governments in New England from 1646 to 1675 in an effort to convert local Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans to Christiani ...
of
Natick, Massachusetts Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...
from 1683 to 1716. Takawambait also advocated for indigenous land rights in colonial Massachusetts, and authored at least one publication.


Early life and ministry

Takawambait was born around 1652 to a family of
Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language. Their historic territory Nippenet, "the freshwater pond place," is in central Massachusetts and nearby part ...
origin. He became associated with missionary John Eliot at a young age and may have attended Harvard's
Indian College The Indian College was an institution established in the 1640s in order to educate Native American students at Harvard College in the town of Cambridge, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Indian College's building, located in Harvard Yard, wa ...
. In 1674
Daniel Gookin Major-General Danyell “Daniel” Gookin (1612 – 19 March 1687) was a Munster colonist, settler of Virginia and Massachusetts, and a writer on the subject of American Indians. Early life He was born, perhaps in County Cork, Ireland, in the ...
wrote that " r [
Quantisset_(in_eastern_Connecticut)">Quantisset.html"_;"title="Quantisset">Quantisset_(in_eastern_Connecticut)we_appointed_a_sober_and_pious_young_man_of_Natick,_called_Daniel,_to_be_minister,_whom_they_accepted_in_the_Lord."_In_1676__Takawambait_signed_a_petition_with_several_other_Indians_in_Natick_and_Punkapoag_"requesting_the_release_of_an_Indian_youth_named_Peter"_who_"was_a_servant_of_John_Kingsley_before_he_was_imprisoned."_ After_the_War_Takawambait_was_ordained_around_1681._Around_the_same_time,_Rev._ Quantisset_(in_eastern_Connecticut)">Quantisset.html"_;"title="Quantisset">Quantisset_(in_eastern_Connecticut)we_appointed_a_sober_and_pious_young_man_of_Natick,_called_Daniel,_to_be_minister,_whom_they_accepted_in_the_Lord."_In_1676__Takawambait_signed_a_petition_with_several_other_Indians_in_Natick_and_Punkapoag_"requesting_the_release_of_an_Indian_youth_named_Peter"_who_"was_a_servant_of_John_Kingsley_before_he_was_imprisoned."_ After_the_War_Takawambait_was_ordained_around_1681._Around_the_same_time,_Rev._Daniel_Gookin_(pastor)">Daniel_Gookin_ Major-General_Danyell_“Daniel”_Gookin_(1612_–_19_March_1687)_was_a_Munster_colonist,_settler_of_Virginia_and_Massachusetts,_and_a_writer_on_the_subject_of__American_Indians. _Early_life He_was_born,_perhaps_in_County_Cork,_Ireland,_in_the__...
,_Jr._of_Sherborn,_Massachusetts.html" ;"title="Daniel_Gookin_(pastor).html" "title="uantisset_(in_eastern_Connecticut).html" ;"title="Quantisset.html" ;"title="Quantisset">Quantisset (in eastern Connecticut)">Quantisset.html" ;"title="Quantisset">Quantisset (in eastern Connecticut)we appointed a sober and pious young man of Natick, called Daniel, to be minister, whom they accepted in the Lord." In 1676 Takawambait signed a petition with several other Indians in Natick and Punkapoag "requesting the release of an Indian youth named Peter" who "was a servant of John Kingsley before he was imprisoned." After the War Takawambait was ordained around 1681. Around the same time, Rev. Daniel Gookin (pastor)">Daniel Gookin Major-General Danyell “Daniel” Gookin (1612 – 19 March 1687) was a Munster colonist, settler of Virginia and Massachusetts, and a writer on the subject of American Indians. Early life He was born, perhaps in County Cork, Ireland, in the ...
, Jr. of Sherborn, Massachusetts">Sherborn began preaching once a month in the Natick Indian church solely in English which proved unfruitful without a Nipmuc translator, but the congregation enjoyed worshipping with Gookin's Sherborn congregants who often joined him in the Native American church. In 1683 the Indigenous congregation, including Takawambait, appealed to the John Eliot using a theological argument from Paul the Apostle's letter in and requested that services continue in the Nipmuc language by either Gookin learning the language or using their local interpreter. Eventually, "[i]n 1683, the [Natick Praying] town appointed their second minister, Daniel Takawambait, an Indigenous man, to replace John Eliot." In 1685 at the request of Gookin, Takawambait wrote down the final words of several deceased Natives Americans church members (
Waban Waban (16041685) was a Native American of the Nipmuc group and was thought to be the first Native American convert to Christianity in Massachusetts. Life Waban was born about 1604 at Musketaquid, near the present town of Concord. While there i ...
, Piambohou, Old Jacob, Antony, Nehemiah, John Owussumug, Sr., John Speen, and
Black James Black James (before 1640-circa 1686) (also known as Wullumahchein) was a Nipmuc constable and spiritual leader of the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck at the Chaubunagungamaug Reservation in colonial Massachusetts and Connecticut. Daniel Gookin appointed ...
) in their native language, and their speeches were translated by Eliot and published in English in a pamphlet entitled "Dying Speeches and Counsels Of such Indians as dyed in the Lord."


Land transaction involvement

In addition to serving as a bilingual pastor, Takawambait was a community leader and signed and witnessed deeds for various Native American land transactions. Between 1681 and 1685 Takawambait signed documents with other Nipmucs protesting the sale of tribal lands including near what is now
Marlborough, Massachusetts Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 41,793 at the 2020 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the ...
and elsewhere in "Nipmuc country" by various Native American parties who acted without authority including
Waban Waban (16041685) was a Native American of the Nipmuc group and was thought to be the first Native American convert to Christianity in Massachusetts. Life Waban was born about 1604 at Musketaquid, near the present town of Concord. While there i ...
, Great James, and
John Wompas John Wompas ( 1637-1642 – 1679) was a Nipmuc Indian man born around 1637 in Nipmuc Country, in what would become the state of Massachusetts. She spent the first half of her childhood among his Native kin and the second half living with an E ...
in transferring land titles to settlers. Also, Takawambait witnessed a confirmatory deed by
Peter Jethro Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
and others in 1684 of lands in Sudbury and what is now
Maynard, Massachusetts Maynard is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located 22 miles west of Boston, in the MetroWest and Greater Boston region of Massachusetts and borders Acton, Concord, Stow and Sudbury. The town's population ...
. After King Philip's War several Indians returned to Natick from slavery in the Caribbean including Sagamore George (
Wenepoykin Wenepoykin (1616–1684) also known as Winnepurkett, Sagamore George, George No Nose, and George Rumney Marsh was a Native American leader who was the Sachem of the Naumkeag people when English began to settle in the area. Early life Wenepoykin w ...
), who had been enslaved in
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
, and in 1686 after George's death, Takawombait gave evidence in deposition regarding George's land at Naumkeag (Salem) and his background stating that "Sagamore George when he came from Barbados he lived Sometime and dyed at the house of James Rumley Marsh," and "he left all this land belonging to him unto his kinsman James Rumley Marsh." In 1692 Takawambait also deeded Natick land to the Sawin family.


Later ministry and death

By 1699 many worshippers in at Takawambait's church in Natick had died or left Natick because they were impoverished and needed to live among the English to support themselves, and the original meeting house, built in 1651, was falling down, so the congregation petitioned the government to allow Natick to sell two hundred acres of indigenous land in order to hire a carpenter to rebuild the meeting house. Two white pastors, Grindal Rawson and Samuel Danforth, of Mendon and Taunton, visited Takawambait's church in 1698 and noted that only a small church remained with ten official members, but Takawambait was "a person of great knowledge." Despite Takawambait's language skills and knowledge of Christian theology, some Puritan church leaders were concerned that Takawambait had some unknown theological errors or “errata” which may have included incorporating indigenous traditions into the worship services. By the 1712 colonial religious leaders, such as
Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a New England Puritan clergyman and a prolific writer. Educated at Harvard College, in 1685 he joined his father Increase as minister of the Congregationalist Old North Meeting H ...
, were concerned the church had diminished so much, that they discussed the possibility of removing Takawambait and blamed him and the lax membership procedures for the diminution in the church. Despite their concerns, Takawambait served as Natick's pastor until his death in 1716 and was one of the few Native Americans buried in the English fashion with a headstone and foot stone, and today his headstone is still viewable adjacent to the Eliot church in Natick where it was moved several feet from its original location near the intersection of Eliot and Pleasant streets, and his foot stone was moved and embedded into the Bacon Free Library building.


Legacy

After Takawambait's death, the
New England Company The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England (also known as the New England Company or Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America) is a British charitable organization created to promote ...
chose another Native American pastor, John Neesnumin of Sandwich, as a replacement in 1717, but he died two years later, and the church largely dissolved shortly after. Today Takawambait's pulpit desk is on exhibit in the Natick Historical Society Museum and was built by members of his congregation as one of the earliest surviving examples of Native American-made furniture. In the 1800s an I.O.O.F lodge in Natick was named in Takawambait's honor.''The Golden Rule and Odd-fellows Family Companion'' (1847), p. 92.


References

{{reflist 17th-century Native Americans Native American leaders Pre-statehood history of Massachusetts People of colonial Massachusetts Native American people from Massachusetts Native American history of Massachusetts 17th-century New England Puritan ministers Religious figures of the indigenous peoples of North America