The Tunxis were a group of
Quiripi
Quiripi (pronounced , also known as Mattabesic, Quiripi-Unquachog, Quiripi-Naugatuck, and Wampano) was an Algonquian language formerly spoken by the indigenous people of southwestern Connecticut and central Long Island,Rudes (1997:1)Goddard ( ...
speaking
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
Native Americans
Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States.
Related terms and peoples include:
Ethnic groups
* Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...
that is known to history mainly through their interactions with English settlers in New England. Broadly speaking, their location makes them one of the
Eastern Algonquian-speaking peoples of Northeastern North America, whose languages shared a common root. More locally they were one of a number of Native communities in the lower
Connecticut River Valley
The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
who shared common cultural traits.
In 1634, shortly after English colonists migrating from the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...
moved into the region, a smallpox epidemic swept through the region, killing many of the natives; the Tunxis people would have been as affected as the other groups.
At the time the English colonization began, the main settlement of the Tunxis was on the
Farmington River
The Farmington River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river located in northwest Connecticut, with major tributaries extending into southwest Massach ...
, some distance upstream from its confluence with the Connecticut River. In 1640, the Tunxis sold their agricultural fields to the governor of the
Connecticut Colony
The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritans, Puritan congregation o ...
, who was acting on behalf of a group of colonists from nearby
Hartford
Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
, who called their new settlement
Farmington. The Tunxis retained an area beside the Farmington River that came to be called “Indian Neck.” This deed was confirmed by another deed in 1650.
In the 1640s, the Tunxis community may have had between 100 and 150 members. Relations with the colonists were often uneasy, and the Tunxis were also involved in multiple meetings and skirmishes with other tribes. Because of this, in 1658 the General Court ordered the group to move its settlement from the east side of the Farmington River, very close to the center of the white settlement, to a site on the west side, on high ground soon known as "Fort Hill". In 1673 the Tunxis' disagreement with the Farmington settlers about the limits of the earlier sale led to the execution of a new confirmatory deed, with 200 acres of upland reserved to the Indians; their continuing ownership of the land at Indian Neck was confirmed in a postscript to the deed. Perhaps as a result of this recent amicable agreement, the Tunxis did not flee their homes or join with the Indians during
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 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands ...
(1675-1676), and some served as scouts for the colonists’ forces. In 1688, the Tunxis demonstrated their friendliness by allowing a local Englishmen to suggest who he felt their
sachem
Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Alg ...
(leader) should be, and accepted his choice.
Encroachment on the Tunxis landholdings by English colonists caused them to make at least two complaints to the
Connecticut General Assembly
The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. The ...
during the 18th century. In 1738, a petition claimed that most of Indian Neck had been taken over by non-Indian neighbors, but no action was taken. In 1768, one James Wauwus (with others) presented another petition, which stated that the English had taken over all of Indian Neck. A committee appointed by the legislature found that only four of a multitude of deeds had been properly validated by the legislature, but then recommended recognizing many of the others anyway. Wauwus and others protested, and the General Assembly rejected the report, but exactly what happened after that is not clear.
Over time, the Tunxis had become largely Christianized and sold parts of their remaining land to settle debts. As more and more European settlers crowded into Farmington, the idea of moving away to secure more land and the company of more people like themselves held more appeal. In 1774, the Tunxis decided to sell their remaining lands and use the proceeds to move to the
Brothertown settlement in the
Oneida
Oneida may refer to:
Native American/First Nations
* Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy
* Oneida language
* Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York
* Oneida N ...
territory in New York. A few remained behind;
Samson Occom
Samson Occom (1723 – July 14, 1792; also misspelled as Occum and Alcom) was a member of the Mohegan nation, from near New London, Connecticut, who became a Presbyterian cleric. Occom was the second Native American to publish his writings in Eng ...
counted eight in 1785. Some members of these families lingered in town until the late 19th century.
[Bickford, C. P. and Farmington Historical Society. ''Farmington in Connecticut''. Canaan, NH: Phoenix Pub., 1982.]
See also
*
Massaco
Massaco was a native settlement in Connecticut, United States, near the present-day towns of Simsbury and Canton along the banks of the Farmington River. The small, local Algonquian-speaking Indians who lived there in the 17th and early 18th ...
, a Tunxis settlement
References
External links
Connecticut State Library
{{authority control
Algonquian ethnonyms
Extinct Native American tribes
Native American tribes in Connecticut