Wenepoykin


Wenepoykin also known as Winnepurkett, Sagamore George, George No Nose, and George Rumney Marsh was a Native American leader who was the Sachem of the Naumkeag people when English began to settle in the area.

Early life

Wenepoykin was born in 1616. He was the youngest son of Nanepashemet and the Squaw Sachem of Mistick. He was 13 years old when the English began settling in the area. By that time he was sachem of Naumkeag. His brothers, Montowampate and Wonohaquaham, died during the 1633 smallpox epidemic, and he became Sachem of Lynn, Massachusetts and Chelsea, Massachusetts. Although he survived the epidemic, Wenepoykin was disfigured from smallpox, which resulted in the nickname George No Nose. Following his mother's death, he became sachem of all of the area in Massachusetts north and east of the Charles River. On April 1, 1652 he sold Nahant to Nicholas Davison of Charlestown for "twenty pounds sterling dew many yeer".

King Philip's War and later years

Wenepoykin's relationship with the English was turbulent. In 1651 petitioned the Massachusetts General Court for return of his "just title" to the lands of his brother, Wonohaquaham. His petition was denied and his lawsuits over land claims were unsuccessful as well. He joined Metacomet in King Philip's War. He was the only member of his family to fight with the Native Americans, as his relatives were known to have sided with the English. He was taken prisoner in 1676 and sold into slavery in Barbados. In 1684, due to the intercession of John Eliot, Wenepoykin was reunited with family in Natick, Massachusetts. He died in September 1684.

Family

Wenepoykin married Ahawayet, the daughter of Ponquanum, a sub-sachem who lived on Nahant. They had one son and three daughters. His family lived in the Lynn area until the time of King Philip's War, when the settled near Pawtucket Falls in Wameset. Following Wenepoykin's death, the people of Marblehead, Salem, and Lynn were able to obtain deeds for their towns from his heirs. They also relinquished their claim to Deer Island to the city of Boston.