Tamaqua or Tamaque, also known as The Beaver and King Beaver ( – 1769 or 1771),Gille, Frank H., ed. (1999). "Tamaque", In Encyclopedia of Massachusetts Indians, Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores, MI.: Somerset Publishers, Inc. p. 230. was a leading man of the Unalachtigo (Turkey) phratry of the Lenape people. Although the Haudenosaunee in 1752 had appointed Shingas chief of the Lenape at the Treaty of Logstown, after the French and Indian War Tamaqua rose in prominence through his active role as peace negotiator, and was acknowledged by many Lenape as their "king" or chief spokesman.Sipe, Chester Hale. The Indian chiefs of Pennsylvania, or, A story of the part played by the American Indian in the history of Pennsylvania: based primarily on the Pennsylvania archives and colonial records, and built around the outstanding chiefs. Butler, PA: Zeigler Press, 1880. He was among the first to hand over English captives at the end of the French and Indian War and was active in peace negotiations at the conclusion of Pontiac's War. By 1758, he was recognized as one of three principal leaders of the Lenape, being the primary spokesman for the western Lenape in the Ohio Country. He founded the town of Tuscarawas, Ohio, in 1756 and died there in 1769 or 1771.
Birth and early life
Tamaqua was born and raised in the Tulpehocken Creek Valley, in Berks and Lebanon counties, on the upper Schuylkill River, with his uncle Sassoonan (Allumapees) and his brothers Shingas, Nenatcheehunt, and Pisquetomen.Michael McConnell, "Pisquetomen and Tamaqua: Mediating Peace in the Ohio Country," in Northeastern Indian Lives, 1632-1816, Robert S. Grumet ed., Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1996 One source reports that Tamaqua had six brothers (Pisquetoman, Nenatcheehunt, Shingas, Buffalo Horn, Munhuttakiswilluxissohpon, and Miuskillamize).Timothy Alden, "An Account of the Captivity of Hugh Gibson among the Delaware Indians of the Big Beaver and the Muskingum, from the latter part of July 1756, to the beginning of April, 1759," Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1837 He was probably a son of Sassoonan's sister, and a grandson of Tamanend.Charles Augustus Hanna, The Wilderness Trail: Or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path, Volume 1, Putnam's sons, 1911 After the Lenape were forced off the Tulpehocken lands in 1732, he lived for a time at the mouth of the Beaver River (near the present-day city of Beaver, Pennsylvania), then at Kittanning, Saucunk and Kuskusky, and later at Tuscarawas.
One source reports that Tamaqua had a son, who took Hugh Gibson captive in July, 1756, outside Robinson's FortD. A. Kline, Luke Baker, "Account of Fort Robinson," Historical Society of Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1924 near present-day Southwest Madison Township, Pennsylvania. Tamaqua was married at least twice. James Kenny reported that Tamaqua's first wife was killed by wolves.
Tamaqua's name, sometimes spelled "Tamakwa" or "Tamaque", derives from the Lenni-Lenape word for "beaver," tëmakwe.Lenape talking Dictionary
Rise to prominence as Lenape spokesman
Tamaqua first appears in colonial records during talks at Logstown on May 28, 1751, a preliminary to the Logstown Treaty Conference of 1752. Since the death of Sassoonan in 1747, the Lenape had been without a leader. Sassoonan had designated Pisquetomen as his successor, but the Pennsylvania authorities had rejected him. Pennsylvania had recommended Lappapitton, but Lappapitton had declined. George Croghan, speaking on behalf of the Six Nations and Governor Hamilton, asked the Lenape to "choose amongst Yourselves one of your wisest Counsellors and present to your Brethren the Six Nations and me [Hamilton] for a Chief, and he so chosen by you shall be looked upon by us as your King."Weslager, Clinton Alfred. The Delaware Indians: A History. Rutgers University Press, 1989. Tamaqua knew the importance of a leader who would represent all Lenape, east and west, and would negotiate their concerns with the Six Nations and Pennsylvania. He reminded Andrew Montour that "it would take some time to consider on a Man that was fit to undertake to rule a Nation of People" such as the Lenape, "but that as soon as possible they would make a selection." He also wanted a leader who was not opposed by the Pennsylvania-Six Nations alliance.
Under pressure from both the Six Nations and the colonial authorities, Tanacharison presented Shingas as his choice at the Logstown Treaty Conference in June, 1752, arguing "that is our right to give you a King" to represent the Lenape in "all publick Business" between the Lenape, the Six Nations, and the British."The Treaty of Logg's Town, 1752." Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 13, 1906; Pp 154–174. Tanacharison announced, "we have given our Cousins, the Delawars, a King, who lives there, we desire you will look upon him as a Chief of that Nation." Shingas was absent from the treaty conference, so Tamaqua "stood proxy for his brother and was presented with a lace hat and jacket and suit."
Meeting at Aughwick, 1754
In July, 1754, the Haudenosaunee at the Albany Congress ceded large areas of western Pennsylvania, where many Lenape were living, to the Pennsylvania colonial government, without consulting the Lenape. In August 1754, over two hundred Ohio natives met at George Croghan's home at Aughwick, to complain about this act, which would force the Lenape to move westward into French territory.Grimes, Richard S., "The emergence and decline of the Delaware Indian nation in western Pennsylvania and the Ohio country, 1730--1795," Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports, 2005. 4150
Tamaqua addressed both Conrad Weiser, who was acting in the capacity of a representative of Pennsylvania governor Robert Hunter Morris, and the Six Nations, reminding them of their obligations and that the Lenape looked to the Haudenosaunee for protection. He also noted that it was the Six Nations who had forbidden them to "mettle with Warrs." Tamaqua pleaded that because of the French presence in the Ohio country, "we desire you therefore Uncle to have your Eyes open, and be Watchful over us your Cousins, as you have always been heretofore." Tamaqua insisted that if the Haudenosaunee could not protect the Lenape from the French, then they should permit the Lenape to pick up a hatchet and defend themselves. Tamaqua then reminded Weiser of Pennsylvania's fair treatment of his people from the time "William Penn first appeared in his Ship on our Lands" and was accepted by the Lenape and Five Nations into a union of "lasting Friendship." He asked Weiser to tell Governor Morris that "we desire that you will look upon us in the same Light, and let that Treaty of Friendship made by our Forefathers on both sides subsist."
Tamaqua knew that western Lenape would not tolerate colonial settlements in the Ohio country. He hoped to prevent conflict by appealing to Pennsylvania to remember its traditions and history of fair treatment towards the Lenape. To avoid war with Pennsylvania, he was willing to acknowledge subservience to the Six Nations in hopes that they would intervene with Pennsylvania on behalf of the Lenape. Weiser's response to Tamaqua was to dismiss the Ohio natives, saying that they "had no business at the Treaty, and the Six Nations always declared them Hunters, and no owners of Land," meaning that the Ohio country was only a hunting domain of the natives, not a homeland. The meeting concluded with the western Lenape deeply dissatisfied and ready to form an alliance with the French.
Role during the French and Indian war After Shingas was declared leader of the western Lenape, relations with the Pennsylvania Provincial Council began to deteriorate. In 1755, General Edward Braddock told Shingas that only "the English Should Inhabit & Inherit the Land," adding that "No Savage Should Inherit the Land," and that he did not need the help of the Lenape to drive the French out.Colin Gordon Calloway, The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of the Nation, Oxford University Press, 2018 In response, many Lenape joined the war against Pennsylvania and the English after Braddock's defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela on 9 July 1755. In September, 1755, Tamaqua joined Shingas, Captain Jacob, and 150 Shawnees and Canadians in an attack on Fort Cumberland in Maryland.Steele, Ian K. Setting All the Captives Free: Capture, Adjustment, and Recollection in Allegheny Country. Canada: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2013. He may also have joined Captain Jacobs and Shingas for the Great Cove massacre on 1 November 1755.Uriah James Jones, History of the Early Settlement of the Juniata Valley, Harrisburg Publishing Company, 1889 He is known to have led a band of Lenape warriors in the assault and capture of Fort Bigham on June 11–12, 1756, in which 19 civilians were killed and five captured.Ellis, Franklin, and Hungerford, Austin, History Of That Part Of The Susquehanna And Juniata Valleys Embraced In The Counties of Mifflin, Juniata Perry, Union And Snyder In The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania, Volume I. Philadelphia: Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886 After this, however, he withdrew from the war parties and remained at Kittanning in an administrative role. His nonparticipation in the war lent him greater credibility in later years during peace negotiations, whereas Shingas and Pisquetomen were both remembered for their raids on Pennsylvania settlements.McConnell, Michael N., "The search for security: Indian-English relations in the Trans-Appalachian region, 1758-1763" (1983). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623738.
Role as a negotiator Tamaqua was living at Kittanning when it was destroyed in September, 1756.William Albert Hunter, "Victory at Kittanning," Pennsylvania History, vol. 23, no. 3, July 1956; pp 376-407Malcolm B. Brown, "Is It Not Our Land?" An Ethnohistory of the Susquehanna-Ohio Indian Alliance, 1701-1754," Doctoral thesis, Oklahoma State University, December, 1996 He then moved to Ohio and established the town of Tuscarawas, which was initially known as "Beaver's Town," and later, "King Beaver's Town."Misencik, Paul R.., Misencik, Sally E. American Indians of the Ohio Country in the 18th Century. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2020. Shingas feared for his life when the Pennsylvania government placed a £200 bounty on his head in 1756,Heckewelder, John Gottlieb Ernestus. History, Manners, and Customs of the Indian Nations: Who Once Inhabited Pennsylvania and the Neighboring States. Philadelphia: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Lippincott Press, 1876 and relinquished his position to Tamaqua. Soon after, the Lenape began negotiating with the Pennsylvania authorities. From 1756 through 1758, the leaders of the western Lenape, Netawatwees and Tamaqua, cooperated in seeking a resolution to the frontier conflict. By 1758 Tamaqua was being referred to as "King Beaver" and his name tended to head the list of Ohio Lenape leaders. From the summer of 1758 through 1762, Tamaqua appears most frequently as chief spokesman for the Ohio natives, and the prime movers behind peace initiatives were the Lenape associated with Tamaqua. Communications between Philadelphia and the Lenape began to go directly to Tamaqua, in spite of Teedyuscung's self-proclaimed status as official negotiator. In 1758, Christian Frederick Post spent most of his time at Tamaqua's home in Kuskusky, and both Tamaqua and Pisquetomen served as his hosts and protectors.