Teedyuscung
Teedyuscung | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lenapeleader | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1700 nearTrenton, New Jersey |
| Died | April 19, 1763 Wyoming Valley,Pennsylvania |
| Cause of death | murder by arson |
| Resting place | Wyoming, Pennsylvania |
| Children | Chief Bull,Sally Allan |
| Known for | Treaty of Easton,French and Indian Warin Pennsylvania |
| Nickname | Gideon |
Teedyuscung(c. 1700–1763) was known as "King of the Delawares". He worked to establish a permanentLenape(Delaware) home in eastern Pennsylvania in theLehigh,Susquehanna,andDelaware Rivervalleys. Teedyuscung participated in theTreaty of Easton,which resulted in the surrender of Lenape claims to all lands in Pennsylvania. Following the treaty, the Lenape were forced to live under the control of theIroquoisin theWyoming Valleynear modern-dayWilkes-Barre.Teedyuscung was murdered by arsonists in the night of April 19, 1763. This marked the beginning of the end of the Lenape presence in Pennsylvania. Teedyuscung's son Chief Bull conducted a raid on the Wyoming Valley that was part of a greater Indian uprising. As a result, the Lenape were forced to move west of theAppalachian Mountainsby theRoyal Proclamation of 1763.[1]
Early life[edit]
Teedyuscung, whose name means "as far as the wood's edge", was born circa 1700 near present-dayTrenton,New Jersey.[1][2]He was raised among a group ofLenapewho wereacculturatedto the ways of the colonists by the time he reached adulthood. Teedyuscung and his family wore European-style clothing and used other European goods in their daily lives. Many of them had converted toChristianityand spokeEnglish.[2]Liquorintroduced by traders deeply affected the rest of Teedyuscung's life.[2]The Lenape were driven out of the Trenton area by 1730 and Teedyuscung migrated with his wife and son to a piece of land located near theconfluenceof the Delaware andLehigh Riversin what is nowNorthampton County,Pennsylvania.[1]
Leadership[edit]
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After Teedyuscung moved from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, he came in contact with fellow Lenape who had not become accustomed to the ways of the colonial settlers. These Lenape still practiced many of the ceremonies and rituals of their ancestors. Teedyuscung became a spokesman for the Lenape who were forced to negotiate with thegovernment of Colonial Pennsylvania.[1]
The Lenape lost most of theLehigh Valleyfollowing theWalking Purchaseof 1737. Teedyuscung remained with his fellow Lenape until 1749 or 1750 when he joined theMoravian ChurchatLehighton.He did not remain with the Moravians for long. His biographer,Anthony F. C. Wallace,wrote,
Teedyuscung was of two minds, as far as white people were concerned, and what satisfied one offended the other. He was driven to identify himself with the Europeans by an acute sense of his insecurity and inferiority as a member of the broken Delaware society. But this same anxious sense of shame produced a belligerent, stubborn denial of the authority of the very people he admired.[1][3]: 52
Teedyuscung left the Moravian settlement in 1754 and settled farther north in theWyoming Valley.[2]It was while living among other displaced Indians that Teedyuscung would declare himself "King of the Delawares" and assume a vital role in the negotiations between the Natives of Pennsylvania and the colonial government inPhiladelphia.[4]
Conflict[edit]
Colonists continued to move onto Indian lands throughout eastern Pennsylvania and the Indians of the Wyoming Valley began to fight back. The Lenape in the Wyoming Valley felt pressure from three fronts. From the east came settlers fromConnecticutwhich claimed the Wyoming Valley and all of Northern Pennsylvania. From the west were theFrenchand their Indian allies who sought to prevent British expansion into the mountains of Pennsylvania.[1]And from the south came colonists with land grants from the colonial government in Philadelphia. The Lenape were also under pressure from a severe drought that affected their crops. Teedyuscung had turned to the Pennsylvania colonial government for aid. Pennsylvania referred him to theIroquoisSix Nations government. Neither the Iroquois or GovernorRobert Morriswere able to provide aid the Lenape, who were attacked by French-allied Native Americans. Ultimately Teedyuscung chose to align his warriors with the western Delaware and French.[1]
Teedyuscung and other leaders commenced periodic raids on colonial settlements in Eastern Pennsylvania. The Natives sought retribution for the series of "purchases" that resulted in massive loss of land to the colonists.[4]Finally Teedyuscung and other leaders met in conferences in Philadelphia andEaston.[2]
This very Ground that is under me (striking it with his Foot) was my Land and Inheritance, and is taken from me by Fraud.
— Teedyuscung to Colonial Officials, 1756[5]
At the 1758 negotiations for theTreaty of Easton,Teedyuscung claimed to represent the French allied Delaware Indians and the Six Nations of the Iroquois, theShawnee,theMahican,and theChristian Munsee.[6]He sought a promise from the Pennsylvania government that the lands of the Wyoming Valley would be reserved for the displaced Indians of the area.[4]Teedyuscung encountered opposition in the talks at Easton and in later talks with theWilliam Penn's family, and the Iroquois Confederacy that he claimed to "represent" in the negotiations.[4]The powerful Iroquois Confederacy claimed the Wyoming Valley and that the Lenape simply lived there with its permission. A combination of competing interests led to the eventual demise of Teedyuscung and his settlement at Wyolutimunk.[1]
Demise and death[edit]
The Iroquois were not pleased that Teedyuscung claimed to negotiate on their behalf and they refused to recognize the Lenape claim to any lands in the Wyoming Valley. TheQuakerfounders of Pennsylvania were losing control of their colony. Aspacifiststhey did not fight against those who were willing to fight for the colony and settle on lands that the Quakers had promised to the Indians. TheColonies of VirginiaandConnecticutsettled lands in Pennsylvania that were part of their charters.[1]The competing interests of the Iroquois, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Virginia did not allow Teedyuscung and his people to live in the peace that was promised.[1]
Teedyuscung was a casualty of the peace that brought about the end of theFrench and Indian Warin Pennsylvania. The colonists agreed to pull back from settlements in the Ohio country in exchange for peace east of the Appalachians. The Iroquois refused to grant a permanent home for Teedyuscung and his people in the Wyoming Valley.[1]The promised investigation into theWalking Purchasewas passed from the colonial government in Philadelphia to the British government inLondon,where it was eventually dropped. Teedyuscung was left unsupported and unprotected.[1]
On April 19, 1763 his cabin and the village of Wyolutimunk was burned to the ground byarsonists.Teedyuscung was asleep in his cabin at the time and perished in the blaze. The residents of Wyolutimunk fled and settlers from theSusquehanna Company of Connecticutsoon took their place. Teedyuscung's dream of a Lenape home in the Wyoming Valley ended with his death.[1]
Wyolutimunk[edit]
Wyolutimunk | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Coordinates:41°25′46″N75°50′43″W/ 41.42944°N 75.84528°W |
Wyolutimunk—also called Kuilutamen, Quilutimunk, and Quelootama[7][8]— was a village established by Teedyuscung in what is nowWyoming County, Pennsylvaniain thePoconosregion.[5]The name meant "place of surprise", where a group of Native Americans were once surprised.[8]
The village was burned down on the night of April 19, 1763 by arsonists, who also burned down Teedyuscung's cabin, after which the Lenape left the area.[9]The site was next settled in July 1773, by Benjamin Jones, and became the southern part ofFalls Townshipof Wyoming County.[10]
A historical marker, located onPennsylvania Route 92,across theSusquehanna Riverfrom the site, is the place where Teedyuscung met withChristian Frederick Poston May 17, 1760. He was on his way toTioga, Pennsylvaniaand the "great concourse in the West.[5][7]
Legacy[edit]
A statue at theWissahickon Valley Parkmemorializes Teedyuscung's role as a Native American leader.John Massey Rhind,a Scottish-American sculptor, created the statue for the park. It is located in the northern part of the park.[11]
References[edit]
- ^abcdefghijklmLinda Matys O'Connell; David Venditta (2006-11-27)."How peace was made".The Morning Call.Retrieved2009-01-13.
- ^abcde"Wyolutimunk".Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.Retrieved2014-01-11.
- ^Wallace, Anthony F.C. (1949).King of the Delawares: Teedyuscung (1700–1763).Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.OCLC1428901.Retrieved4 January2023– via Internet Archive.
- ^abcd"The Indians of Pennsylvania".Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.Retrieved2009-01-14.
- ^abc"Wyolutimunk Historical Marker".explorepahistory.com.Retrieved2022-02-24.
- ^Mark Turdo (2006-11-27)."How Indians, colonists found common ground".Morning Call.Retrieved2009-01-15.
- ^abPost, Christian Frederick; Hays, John (1999).Journey on the Forbidden Path: Chronicles of a Diplomatic Mission to the Allegheny Country, March-September, 1760.American Philosophical Society. p. 45.ISBN978-0-87169-892-6.
- ^abWallace, Paul A. (1958-11-15).The Travels of John Heckewelder in Frontier America.University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 369, 461.ISBN978-0-8229-7429-1.
- ^Wonning, Paul R. (2018-12-18).Colonial American History Journal - Book 2: A Year of American History Stories.Mossy Feet Books. pp. 147–148.
- ^Egle, William H. (1876). "Wyoming County".An Illustrated History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.p. 1166.
- ^"Henry Houston Statue".Friends of Wissahickon.Retrieved2022-02-23.
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