Four Kings and a Queen: Part IV - Etowaucum
This article is the final installment in our series
exploring the lives of the “Four Indian Kings” who visited Queen Anne in London
in 1710. This time we will be examining the life of Nicholas Etowaucum.
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| Etowaucum- 1710 portrait by John Verelst |
Etowaucum was a member of the Mohican Turtle Clan. The
Mohicans are one of several groups who were known to the European settlers at
that time as the River Indians. It is unknown when, where, and by whom Etowaucum
was baptized with the name Nicholas (also Nicus, or Nickus), but he had this
name prior to 1710. [2, p. 66] At that time, he was probably
living at Schaghticoke with his first wife, a Mohican woman, and their two
daughters. By 1712, he had taken another wife, a Mohawk woman named Margaret,
also called Griete. It
is unclear if his first wife had died, or if the couple had simply parted ways,
as local Native American cultural traditions allowed divorce to be a relatively
informal process at this time. Etowaucum
& Margaret’s daughter Catherine was baptized in 1712 at Schenectady, and
the family probably lived at Schoharie. [2, pp. 66–67]
In the mid-17th century, the Mohawks and Mohicans frequently
clashed, as the Haudenosaunee sought to expand their territory and secure
access to European trade goods. This was part of a series of conflicts known as
the Beaver Wars. As a result of these conflicts, the Mohawks managed to gain
control of the Mohicans’ territory at the North part of the Hudson River,
securing their access to the Dutch (and later, English) traders at Albany. By
the 1670’s, the groups reached a peace agreement and alliance, in which the
Mohicans, much reduced, were effectively under the control of Mohawks. In
kinship terms, the Mohicans referred to the Mohawks as their “uncles”, and they
could not independently make decisions about matters such as warfare. Thus, in
the decades to come, the Mohicans often fought side-by-side with the Mohawks.[1, Ch. 1]
In the late 17th and early 18th
centuries, the borders of France’s and England’s North American colonies were
contested territories. Native American groups across the region were asked to
pick sides, and the Mohawks and Mohicans often aligned themselves with the
English.
Etowaucum became involved in the conflict as a young Mohican
warrior. In 1691, he was one of four Mohican war chiefs to join Col. Peter Schuyler
in a raid on the Canadian settlement at La Prairie. Their force included 66
Mohicans, 80 Mohawks, and 120 colonial soldiers. The raiding party killed as
many as 200 people, and further widened the divide between English- and
French-allied Native groups. [2, p. 31], [3, pp. 800–805], [4, pp.
166–167]
In the years to come, Etowaucum would remain loyal to the English cause, and continue
to be involved in similar conflicts. [2, pp. 64–66]
Decades passed, but tensions between the English and French
colonies remained high. Col. Schuyler organized a group of diplomats to
petition Queen Anne for increased military support to her colony’s cause. He
chose these representatives from among his most trusted Native American allies,
and Etowaucum was chosen to represent the Mohicans. He agreed to the plan and traveled
with three Mohawk men to London in April of 1710. There they took the
opportunity to draw the Queen’s attention to the needs of her North American
allies, the result of which was the establishment of Fort Hunter and Queen
Anne’s Chapel at Tiononderoge.
Following the momentous trip, Etowaucum does not appear much
in the written record. It is likely that he spent the rest of his days with his
wife and their daughter Catherine among the Mohawk community at Schoharie.
Catherine would later marry Seth Tehodoghwenziageghthe, the head Turtle Clan
sachem at Schoharie. [2, p. 67]
Hanna, one of Etowaucum’s daughters by his first wife, stayed
in her Mohican community and did not forget her father’s legacy. She married
Aaron Umpachenee, a leader of the Mohican community at Stockbridge, and one of
their sons was named Jonas Etowaukum in honor of his grandfather. The family
were baptized by Rev. John Sergeant in 1735. The young Jonas, age 8, was chosen
along with another Mohican boy to accompany Sergeant to Yale to assist him in
learning their language. In exchange, the boys were taught to speak, read, and
write in English, as well as receive religious education. Jonas would later
return to the Stockbridge community, and served as a scout at Ticonderoga
during the French & Indian Wars. [2, pp. 67–68, 145], [5], [6, pp.
28–32]
Sources:
[1] P. Frazier, The Mohicans of Stockbridge. Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, 1992.
[2] B. J. Siversten, Turtles, Wolves, and Bears: A Mohawk Family History. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1996.
[3] John Romeyn Brodhead, Esq., Ed., Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, Vol. III, London Documents 1614-1692
[4] D. K. Richter, The Ordeal of the Longhouse: The Peoples of the Iroquois League in the Era of European Colonization. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992.
[5] Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, “Footprints of our Ancestors: Mohican History Walking Tour of Stockbridge.” 2020.
[6] Rev. Samuel Hopkins, “Historical Memoirs Relating ot the Housatonic Indians,” The Magazine of History, Extra No. 17, New York, 1911.
[1] P. Frazier, The Mohicans of Stockbridge. Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, 1992.
[2] B. J. Siversten, Turtles, Wolves, and Bears: A Mohawk Family History. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1996.
[3] John Romeyn Brodhead, Esq., Ed., Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, Vol. III, London Documents 1614-1692
[4] D. K. Richter, The Ordeal of the Longhouse: The Peoples of the Iroquois League in the Era of European Colonization. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992.
[5] Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, “Footprints of our Ancestors: Mohican History Walking Tour of Stockbridge.” 2020.
[6] Rev. Samuel Hopkins, “Historical Memoirs Relating ot the Housatonic Indians,” The Magazine of History, Extra No. 17, New York, 1911.
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