THE HISTORY OF STRATFORD

Golden Hill Indians
The Housatonic
The Wepawaug
Cupheags and Pequannock
Weantinock
Goodyear's Island
Indian Slaves
Indian Remnants
Indian Troubles
New Indian Papers

THE HISTORY OF STRATFORD

Wm.Howard Wilcoxson

Stratford Indians

Trouble with the Indians

Establishing Title to the Land

Indian Deeds and Relics

White Hills Purchase

FORREST MORGAN

Lifestyles, Government, Religion and War

Indian Titles and Mohegan Land Troubles

Sowheag, Uncas, and Miantonomo

Owenoco, the Son of Uncas

THE HOUSATONIC

CHARD POWERS SMITH

The Promised Land
Heathen in the Land
The Lord's Scouts

The Land and The Lord

The Next Seven Tribes

ALEXANDER JOHNSTON

Connecticut Indian History

The Pequot War

Samuel Orcutt- The History of Stratford

Cupheags and Pequannocks

New Indian Papers

The date of this Norwalk Indian council shows it to have been about fifteen days before the new Haven company landed at Quinnipiac.

The next testimony is that of Thomas Stanton, who was for many years the Indian interpreter at Hartford, which informs is that the Connecticut Colony conquered the Pequots and Pequannocks at the same time–1637–took hostages of the Pequannock Indians and sold some of their women into servitude into Massachusetts. He also says the Pequots had conquered the tribes along the Sound west of Quinnipiac, and made then tributary before the English came, and states that the Pequannocks engaged with the Pequots, as their allies, in the fight at Cupheag, and also at the swamp on the western boundary of Fairfield. The fight said to be at Cupheag was probably at Pequannock river where after wards a gun was found as shown by the following record.

“General Court, April, 1639. Thomas bull informed the court that a musket with two letters, J.W., was taken up at Pequannocke in pursuit of the Pequatts, which was conceived to be John Woods who was killed at the River’s mouth. It was ordered for the present {that} the musket should be delivered to john Woods friends until other appear.

It has been generally maintained that at the time the English came here these Indians were tributary to the Mohawks, which has been an error according to this paper.

Mr. Stanton also says “only one house or the karkise of one we found in Milford without inhabitants.” This was the last week in March, 1637, two weeks before the New Haven and the Milford companies arrived in what is now Connecticut territory. The question arises, who built this frame of a house at Milford in, or before 1638, before any of the Milford people came there?

Another paper was given by Lieut. Thomas wheeler, one of the first settlers at Fairfield, with his father as he himself informs, and as the records show, from which place he removed about 1657 to Derby, where the Indians gave him land, as heretofore stated. Mr. Wheeler says, the Pequannock sachem, whose name was Queriheag, being chief sagamore, when the English first came, had his residence on the west side of Uncaway river, and that it was the home and inheritance of his predecessors from generation to generation, giving us some idea of the importance and antiquity of the tribe. Hence it appears that the Pequannock Indians possessed the territory from what is now the Pequannock river to Sasqua swamp.

These Indians were numerous as appears from the many names attached to deeds, and as we are informed by Squire Isaac Sherman, that twenty years later, when some of them had removed farther north, there were one hundred wigwams occupied by them at Golden Hill. This on a medium estimate would give from five to eight hundred persons when the English first came here, and they were all Pequannock Indians, as shown by the names attached to Fairfield Indian deeds.

Another testimony is that of john Minor, one of the early settlers and prominent men of Stratford, for many years an interpreter between the English and Indians and he was also town clerk of Stratford. His statement was taken for the particular purpose of disproving the claims of one Captain Beebe, in 1662, but it also shows that the Indians declared, at the time, that the land was given to Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Haynes twenty-four years previous, as stated by Rev. John Higginson. In this paper, also, Mr. Minor states incidentally, that there was then a “contagion” among the Indians, in consequence of which they were not permitted to go into the church at Fairfield, where the Court held its proceedings, and he also reveals the efforts made by unprincipled men to turn the Indians from truth and right for selfish purposes.

The decision of the Court was rendered in 1659, and Golden Hill reservation was then laid out.

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