Four Kings and a Queen: Part III— Onigoheriago

By: Loretta Tucker

Onigoheriago- portrait by John Verelst 1710

This article is a continuation in our series exploring the stories of the “Four Indian Kings” who visited Queen Anne in London in 1710. This time we will be examining the life of Johannes Onigoheriago.

Of the four “Kings”, the least is known about Onigoheriago. He was not as prominent as the others, and there is therefore little documentation about his life. We do know that he was a Mohawk, and belonged to the Wolf clan. This meant that he shared a clan affiliation with Hendrick Tejonihokarawa, the most influential of the four, though it’s unclear how closely related they may have been.

Ongioheriago’s  wife, Louisa, of the Mohawk Turtle clan, had been baptized some time prior to 1700. Based on the name she was given, it is likely she was baptized by a French Jesuit priest. However, Native American Christians did not always remain with the denomination they had originally converted under, and Louisa appears frequently in the Protestant church records in the early 18^th century. She brought two of their young children to be baptized by Rev. Bernardus Freeman of the First Reformed Dutch Church in Schenectady in 1700. A year later, her husband followed suit, receiving the baptismal name Johannes (which would occasionally be anglicized & shortened to John). The couple became members of Freeman’s church, and by 1712, they had brought another four of their children to be baptized. [1, pp. 64–68]

Johannes was from Canajoharie, the Upper Castle of the Mohawks at that time. For the purposes of their trip to London, each of the four Indigenous delegates went by exaggerated titles, intended to increase their negotiating power by implying a greater status than they actually held. Johannes was thus called “Oh Nee Yeath Ton No Prow, King of Ganajahhore (Canajoharie)”, though he was not actually a king nor a sachem of that community. [2, pp. 72–73, 86]

Onigoheriago- detail of his facial tattoos from Krutak 2013

A few details of Johannes’ life may be gleaned from the portraits made of him while he was in London. His tattoos, done in the Haudenosaunee tradition of the period, demonstrate that he was a seasoned warrior, with a “sunbird” manitou and tallies of numerous kills made and wounds received in battle decorating his face [3]. We can speculate that he was likely one of the 450 Haudenosaunee & Mohican warriors who volunteered to be part of Vetch & Nicholson’s attempted 1709 campaign against Canada, and he was likely involved in any number of similar skirmishes in the preceding decades. Unlike Brant Sagayenkwaraton and Nicholas Etowaucum, Johannes is not known to have acted as a war chief. However, it is possible he acted in that capacity and simply was not named in any surviving records.

The portrait of Johannes by John Verelst shows him holding a bow, with a quiver of arrows at his feet. Perhaps he chose the bow because he had a particular skill with it. Yet the bow shown in his portrait is not his personal weapon, which he likely did not bring with him for their diplomatic trip. Rather, it appears to be a prop, borrowed from the painter’s studio for the occasion.

As a warrior and a hunter, Johannes was likely a practiced marksman with a bow, a long gun, or both. The background of his portrait includes a hunting scene, further alluding to those skills, and we do know the “Kings” had an affinity for hunting;  Before they and their companions left for London, they had spent the winter of 1709-1710 at Boston, where they “passe[d] some time in Hunting” while waiting to begin their journey. [4, pp. 40–41] One writer, while they were in London, suggests the men even bragged about their hunting skills, with or without weapons: “It is reported, that these four Princes have been so inur’d to Hunting, and other Sports, that they run as swift as a Deer and hold it a long time; so that they propose to run down a Buck or a Stag before the Queen, when she pleases to see them, in any of her Parks or Chaces. They are to tire down the Deer and catch him without Gun, Speare, Launce, or any other Weapon.” [4, p. 97], [5]

Whether or not they had a chance to give such a demonstration, the four “Kings” left London in early May and returned home. Little is known of Johannes’ life afterwards. He was reunited with his wife Louisa and their children Joseph, Louisa, Gideon, Rebecca, Jacob, & Martha, and the family continued to be active members of their church. Their eldest son, Joseph Sayoenwese, would become a sachem of Tiononderoge, the Lower Castle. [1, pp. 52, 64–68, apps. A&B]

Sources:

[1]         B. J. Siversten, Turtles, Wolves, and Bears: A Mohawk Family History. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1996.

[2]         E. Hinderaker, The Two Hendricks: Unraveling a Mohawk Mystery. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2010.

[3]         L. Krutak, “Tattoos, Totem Marks, and War Clubs: Projecting Power through Visual Symbolism in Northern Woodlands Culture,” in Drawing with Great Needles: Ancient Tattoo Traditions of North America, 2013.

[4]         R. P. Bond, Queen Anne’s American Kings. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1952.

[5]         J. Baker, The Four Kings of Canada. Pater-Noster-Row, London: J. Baker, 1710.