This is a conceptual intent to bring together some of the family
heritage of the very early New England people--or at least those that can reasonably be
inferred. It is the barest beginning. Sources are fragile and lack depth.
Names are as found in but a few volumes with more to follow. We not only welcome additional
tradition, facts, corrections and sources,
but solicit it. You can email
us with nearly any kind of document, however, we ask that any offering is documented
to the best that you can provide.
Because the English tried to translate Native people names
phonetically, there are and will be inaccuracies for the designations of these early
ancestors. Theirs was an oral, visual and auditory tradition unlike that of the English.
Furthermore, on certain occasions they changed their names, more than once -- it
seems -- perhaps because of a death or event in their lives. All too often what little is
known is found in scattered records, conflicting accounts, and a very few dedicated
volumes, nearly all recorded by the English. Our intent is not here to debate the
rights or wrongs of these early days, but rather to seek those early families such as can
be illuminated For instance, the accepted ancestry of Philip has been
questioned. Was he the son of Massasoit or of his Son Mooanam (spelled
variously)?. Is Mooanam one and the same with Alexander, alias Wamsutta? These
and other questions continue to plague Native people genealogy for the New England area.
The mark above is from Philip, the famed Wampanoag warrior, Sachem, and,
by name, the leader of King Philip's War who met such an untimely end in the swamps of
Mount Hope fighting for the survival of his people. You can find stories relating to
Philip by browsing here, The Mayflower Site
and The Colonial Gazette
Because the English tried to translate Native people names
phonetically, there are and will be inaccuracies for the designations of these early
ancestors. Theirs was an oral, visual and auditory tradition unlike that of the English.
Furthermore, on certain occasions they changed their names, more than once -- it
seems -- perhaps because of a death or event in their lives. All too often what little is
known is found in scattered records, conflicting accounts, and a very few dedicated
volumes, nearly all recorded by the English. Our intent is not here to debate the
rights or wrongs of these early days, but rather to seek those early families such as can
be illuminated For instance, the accepted ancestry of Philip has been
questioned. Was he the son of Massasoit or of his Son Mooanam (spelled
variously)?. Is Mooanam one and the same with Alexander, alias Wamsutta? These
and other questions continue to plague Native people genealogy for the New England area.
