The Tockwogh were an Algonquian tribe living in the region of the

Sassafras River The Sassafras River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula in the United States. It is approximately longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April ...

in what are now

Cecil Cecil may refer to: People with the name * Cecil (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) * Cecil (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Canada * Cecil, Alberta ...

and

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

counties in Maryland. The name Tockwogh is a variation of tuckahoe, a water plant with bulbous roots used for food. The Tockwogh are extinct as a people. According to John Smith, they spoke " the language of Powhatan".

History

Captain John Smith's party first encountered the Tockwogh people in 1608 after being informed about them by the Massawomecks (

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

). At their first meeting, Smith noticed they wore copper hatchets and beads which were traded with their allies, the

Susquehannock The Susquehannock, also known as the Conestoga, Minquas, and Andaste, were an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian people who lived in the lower Susquehanna River watershed in what is now Pennsylvania. Their name means “people of the muddy river.” T ...

, mortal enemies of the Massawomecks. The Indigenous people held a feast for Smith's party. Smith noted that the Tockwogh

wigwam A wigwam, wikiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wikiup'' ...

s were very different from those of other

Algonquian peoples The Algonquians are one of the most populous and widespread North American indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous American groups, consisting of the peoples who speak Algonquian languages. They historically were prominent along the East ...

: longer, larger, covered with bark, and shaped like ovals. About 20 made a village and villages were surrounded by fields of corn, squash, beans, and tobacco. Before leaving the Tockwoghs, Smith traded blue beads, bells and hatchets for corn, pearls, meat, weapons and hides.

References

Sources

Rivers of the Eastern Shore - Seventeen Maryland Rivers by Hulbert Footner

External links

Sassafras Natural Resources Management AreaTockwogh
Native Land Digital Eastern Algonquian peoples Extinct Native American tribes Native American tribes in Maryland {{NorthAm-native-stub