Wongunk – Digital Farmington

The Will of Timothy Indian, A Christian Man of Farmington

January 2, 2019 Dr. Katherine Hermes Comments 0 Comment

Author: Katherine A. Hermes, (with Sarajane Cedrone, who helped transcribe the will and inventory). In the mid-to-late eighteenth century, Farmington was home to a group of Christian Native people who lived in an indigenous community, but who often emulated the colonists both in religion and law. This new Christian community drew Native people from the Mohegan (New London County), Wangunk (Middlesex County), and Quinnipiac (New Haven County) tribes, in addition to the local Tunxis tribe that had long inhabited Farmington….

The Will of Amy Pewompskin, A Native Woman of New Hartford

December 28, 2018 Dr. Katherine Hermes Comments 0 Comment

Author: Sharon Clapp Amy Pewompskin, also known as Saquama, of New Hartford, Connecticut, died on March 19, 1752, having declared her will on March 10, 1752 (appearing in the Litchfield County Probate Records of the time). Her “beloved mother” Mary was designated as the sole executor of her estate. Amy identified two sisters and one brother, as well as an uncle “Cornelius Indian,” in her will. Her sisters were Christian, aka Mehannack, and Pationes [the “t” was not cross and appears…

“How to find Onepenny: Re-telling Connecticut’s Native History through Wongunk Genealogy”

May 26, 2018 Dr. Katherine Hermes Comments 0 Comment

On May 25, 2018 Prof. Katherine Hermes, J.D., Ph.D. and Prof. Alexandra Maravel, J.D. of Central Connecticut State University, New Britain sat down with Ronna Stuller on the public access television show, “Thinking Green,” to discuss their genealogical research on the Wongunk (Wangunk), the Native people who lived (and in some cases still do) along the Connecticut River from Hartford (Suckiog) in the South Meadows, Wethersfield (Pyquag), South Glastonbury (Nayaug), Middletown, Portland (Wongunk Meadows), Haddam and Thirty Mile Island, East Hampton, Killingly…