All About Cheshire Ct: To understand the "Last of the Quinnipiac's," .

The Long Water Land: A History of the Quinnipiac People

All About Cheshire Ct

Richard Reggie Smith Research/Editor Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0

For modern residents of Cheshire Connecticut, the word "Quinnipiac" is ubiquitous. It’s on our bridges, our university stationery, and our trail markers. Yet, for nearly two centuries, the people who gave this region its name were often relegated to a footnote in colonial history. To understand the "Last of the Quinnipiac's," one must look past the myth of a "disappeared" people and into a record of strategic alliances, legal treaties, and a forced migration that stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Great Lakes.

First Contact and the "Long Water"

Long before the English arrived, the Algonquian-speaking people of south-central Connecticut lived in a territory spanning roughly 300 square miles. They called themselves the Quinnipiac—a term meaning "Long Water Land"—referring to the river estuary and the shoreline stretching from present-day West Haven to Madison, and reaching 20 miles inland to include what we now know as Cheshire and Meriden.

The first European to document them was Dutch captain Adrian Block in 1614, but the relationship that defined their future began on April 24, 1638. Five hundred English Puritans, led by John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton, arrived at New Haven Harbor. They found a population devastated by European-borne epidemics (likely smallpox and influenza) that had thinned the tribe by as much as 90% between 1633 and 1635.

The Treaty of November 24, 1638

Facing threats from the Pequots and Mohawks, the Quinnipiac sought a military alliance. On November 24, 1638, the first formal land treaty was signed. The Quinnipiac were represented by their leaders:

Momauguin: Sachem of the New Haven band.
Shaumpishuh: Momauguin’s sister and Sachem of the Menunkatuck (Guilford) band.
Quosoquonsh: Their uncle and councilor.

The Price of Protection:

In exchange for the rights to the harbor and surrounding lands, the English provided a 1,200-acre reservation on the east side of the harbor (the first such reservation in North America) and the following payment:

Quantity	Item
12	English trading coats
12	Alchemy spoons (a pewter-like alloy)
12	Hatchets
12	Hoes
24	Knives
12	Porringers

A Shifting Landscape

Initially, the groups coexisted through trade. The Quinnipiac provided deer meat and taught the English "wilderness skills," including how to "tread" for clams and construct fish weirs. However, environmental changes soon made the traditional Quinnipiac lifestyle—migrating seasonally between shoreline summer camps and inland winter valleys—impossible.

By 1657, Momauguin attempted a rare diplomatic move: he petitioned the New Haven town meeting to buy back land at Oyster Point for planting. The English rejected the proposal, citing a refusal by the tribe to kill their dogs, which the settlers claimed were harassing livestock.

War and Dispersal

During King Philip’s War (1675), the Quinnipiac proved their loyalty to the alliance, contributing warriors to the Connecticut contingent that fought in the Great Swamp Massacre. Despite this, the English remained suspicious; the town of New Haven was fortified, and the Quinnipiac were barred from entering to inspect the defenses.

Throughout the 1700s, land pressure and economic disenfranchisement led to a slow dispersal:

1731: A movement began to relocate the Quinnipiac to a reserve in Waterbury (East Mountain).
1760s: Many migrated to Farmington to join the Tunxis tribe.
1770: The "last" sachem, Charles, died of exposure near East Haven.
1773: The final 30 acres of the original East Shore reservation were sold.

1790-1799 John Harris, “an [I]ndian and a transient of said Cheshire,” was prosecuted by the State for assaulting Samuel Tallmadge.

The Legacy of the "Last" Quinnipiac

While 19th-century historians like John DeForest often spoke of the tribe in the past tense, the record shows a more persistent presence. John Deliverance, a Quinnipiac man who lived in East Haven and Farmington, died at sea in 1773, leaving a documented lineage. Asa Freeman, an indigenous basket maker, lived in Branford until 1882.

The families who migrated to Farmington eventually moved further west to Oneida, New York, and finally to Green Bay, Wisconsin, as part of the Brothertown Indian Nation.

Today, the Quinnipiac Memorial Monument at Fort Wooster Park (dedicated in 2000) stands near one of the tribe's ancient burial sites. It depicts a family walking toward the harbor in 1638—a reminder that while the political entity of the tribe was dismantled by 1850, their names and history remain an indelible part of the Connecticut landscape.

The Historian and the Mariner: Preservation and the Last Quinnipiac's

The written history of the Quinnipiac people owes much of its detail to the efforts of local researchers who sought to document a community facing rapid displacement. Central to this effort was Capt. Charles Hervey Townshend, whose 1900 work, The Quinnipiack Indians and Their Reservation, remains a foundational text for understanding the tribe’s transition from sovereign landholders to a dispersed population.

The Work of Capt. Charles Hervey Townshend (1833–1904)

A descendant of the Townshend family that had lived on New Haven’s East Shore for generations, Charles Hervey Townshend was uniquely positioned to document the tribe's history. His family’s land, "Raynham," was located in close proximity to the 1,200-acre reservation designated in 1638.

Townshend was a master mariner by trade, but his retirement was dedicated to the meticulous examination of colonial records, land deeds, and town meeting minutes. His research preserved critical details that might otherwise have been lost:

The Location of Forts: He documented the "Indian Fort" at East Haven and provided maps that scholars still use to locate historic village sites.
The Record of Names: Townshend transcribed the signatory marks of Quinnipiac leaders on deeds, ensuring the names of individuals like Momauguin, Shaumpishuh, and Montowese remained in the public record.
The 1900 History: His book was one of the first to argue that the Quinnipiac were not simply "gone," but had been systematically pushed out by "land fever" and legal maneuvering.

The Life of John Deliverance (1743–1773)

While Townshend provided the historical framework, the life of John Deliverance offers a window into the lived experience of the Quinnipiac during the mid-18th century. Born around 1743 in East Haven, he was the son of Deliverance and Mary, Quinnipiac's living on the remnants of the tribal reservation.

His life exemplifies the mobility required for survival in colonial Connecticut:

Cultural Ties: In 1771, he married Sarah Adams (daughter of Thomas Adams), connecting two prominent Native families during a period of extreme population decline.
The Farmington Migration: By 1772, John and Sarah moved to Farmington to join the Tunxis people. This was a strategic cultural merger; as the Quinnipiac population in New Haven fell to fewer than 70 individuals, many chose to join larger Algonquian communities to preserve their indigenous ways of life.
Economic Reality: Like many Native men of the era, John Deliverance turned to the maritime economy. He died at sea on December 30, 1773, a fact recorded in the History of East Haven by Sarah Hughes.(John Record) His death occurred just as the last significant tracts of Quinnipiac land were being sold.

The Deeds of 1638: Foundations of Dispossession

The legal framework that governed the lives of John Deliverance and his ancestors was established by two primary deeds in 1638.

The Momauguin Deed (November 24, 1638): This deed covered the land around New Haven Harbor. In exchange for military protection and a collection of tools and cloth, the Quinnipiac were restricted to a 1,200-acre reserve. By the time John Deliverance was born a century later, this reserve was already being carved up by colonial proprietors.
The Montowese Deed (December 11, 1638): Signed by Montowese (son of a Mattabesic sachem and nephew to Sequin) and Sausounck, this agreement sold a massive 10-by-13-mile tract north of New Haven. This territory encompassed modern-day North Haven, Wallingford, and Cheshire. Unlike the harbor band, Montowese’s group did not receive a formal reservation in this deed, leading to an even more rapid dispersal of the northern Quinnipiac.

The Path to Brothertown and Wisconsin

The migration of families like the Deliverances to Farmington was only the first step in a much longer journey. Under the leadership of the Mohegan minister Samson Occom, several New England tribes began the Brothertown Movement in the 1770s.

The New York Settlement: Between 1775 and 1785, families from the Quinnipiac, Tunxis, and Mohegan tribes moved to land granted by the Oneida Nation in New York, naming their settlement Eeyawquittoowauconnuck (Brothertown).
The Wisconsin Migration: By the 1830s, under pressure from New York state authorities, the Brothertown Indians relocated again. Between 1831 and 1836, groups arrived at Green Bay, Wisconsin, settling along the shores of Lake Winnebago.

Today, the Brothertown Indian Nation in Wisconsin serves as the contemporary home for many descendants of the Quinnipiac. While the tribe "disintegrated" in Connecticut as a political entity by 1850, the genealogical and cultural lines tracked by Capt. Townshend and modern researchers prove that the "People of the Long Water Land" remained a cohesive community, adapting to each new landscape they inhabited.