Mocomanto – Shinnecock Sachem 1640
Introduction
Mocomanto, a Shinnecock Sachem during the 17th century was present during the founding of the Town of Southampton in 1640 and placed his mark on the deed of the founding.
History
1640
Mocomanto was among several other Shinnecock; Pomatuck, Mandush, Pathemanto, Wybbenett, Wainmenowog, Heden, Watemexoted, and Checkpuchat; to sign The Deed Between the Shinnecock and the Original English Settlers of Southampton in December 13, 1640.
The deed founded the town of Southampton in 1640 in exchange for sixteen coats, three score bushels of corn, and military defense from the English against other hostile Indian groups in New England.1
Early 1880s
Mocomanto, a storied house on Lake Agawam in Southampton, NY, takes its name from one of the nine Shinnecock Indians who signed a deed with Southampton’s settlers in the 17th century. It was Frederic Betts, one of the original summer colonists, who named the shingled Victorian in the early 1880s when he acquired a large parcel on the lake and built six cottages, keeping Mocomanto for himself.
Scholarship
In the 1970s, the Mocomanto Scholarship Fund was established for the benefit of Shinnecock students to attend any undergraduate college.
The scholarship was established by Mrs. Cary Potter. Many Shinnecock people later attended Dartmouth College, an Ivy League institution, which was first established as an Indian School by Eleazor Wheelock, teacher of Samson Occum. The first Mocomanto Scholarship was awarded to Peter Silva, Jr. to attend Southampton College. His mother, Loretta Silva asked Mrs. Cary Potter to establish the trust in the name of Mocomanto for all college-bound Shinnecock Tribal members.
- Gaynell Stone, The Shinnecock Indians – A Culture History Vol VI. 1983 pp. 67[↩]
