John Sassamon

Biography

Orphaned by the epidemics that ravaged New England in the early 17th Century, John Sassamon [born as Wussausmon or Wasassman] was a Massachusett from Ponkapoag who grew up in an English household, possibly the home of Richard Calicot. He accompanied Calicot into service during the Pequot War and acted as an interpreter for John Underhill and his men. Afterward, he may have married one of Sassacus' daughters, a Pequot captive.

As a young man, Sassamon was one of John Eliot's exemplary pupils and assisted him in translating the Bible into Wampanoag. He was the first Native student to attend Harvard College in 1653. Afterward, he served as schoolmaster at the Natick Praying Town but left his post after the death of Massasoit to assist Wamsutta in the transition of government. Following Wamsutta's death, he became Philip's interpreter, scribe, and legal representative. In 1673, his kinsman through his daughter's marriage, Tuspaquin, deeded him land at Assawamspset.

After several instances of inserting his own interests over Philip's, he grew suspicious to the sachem and fled back to Eliot's employ. By 1674 he resided at Nemasket where he served as a minister to the Praying Indians there and taught and preached at Assawamsett and Titicut as well.

At the end of December of 1674, Sassamon warned Josiah Winslow of an potential attack by Philip and expressed a fear that Philip might take revenge on him. Shortly thereafter, he vanished. A week later, his bruised and lifeless body was discovered under the ice at Assawampsett Pond. Three Indians, Tobias, Wampapaqun, and Mattashunnamo were accused, tried, and found guilty. By confessing, Wampapaqun escaped immediate execution by hanging but was shot a month later.

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sassamon
2. "Who was John Sassamon?" < Natick Historical Society >
3. "Introduction to the Body in the Pond: John Sassamon's Murder" (YouTube) https://youtu.be/jx_v786TMOk?si=ysDCvSwtrV_vgk_B
4. https://www.britannica.com/topic/John-Sassamon
5. "Middleborough Historical Museum" on Facebook < link >
6. Lepore, Jill. “Dead Men Tell No Tales: John Sassamon and the Fatal Consequences of Literacy.” American Quarterly 46, no. 4 (1994): 479–512. https://doi.org/10.2307/2713381.
7. Gevitz, Norman. Review of Igniting King Philip's War: The John Sassamon Murder Trial. Bulletin of the History of Medicine 77, no. 4 (2003): 947-948. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/bhm.2003.0167.
8. "Coming Full Circle" (2008) < Taunton Daily Gazette > "Local author Louis Garafalo resurrects the Lakeville of the past in his novel “Sassamon Circle” in order to tell the tale of the Massachusetts Native American and his mysterious murder, which occurred on the placid waters of this quiet pond."
9. "Murder of John Sassoman begins War" < Southcoast Murders & Mysteries > "That the English had dared to arrest, try, and execute, three Wampanoag men was an outrage, and it was probably the most direct and immediate cause of King Philip’s War--which broke out almost immediately after their execution. The Wampanoag considered themselves a sovereign people, and Philip raged that three of his men had been treated as such. In the ensuing aftermath of the death of John Sassamon, thousands of people on both sides were killed, and the Wampanoag nation was almost totally eradicated. This is perhaps the strongest legacy that John Sassamon left behind. Wherever John Sassamon’s true allegiance lay--if he held any at all--it cannot be doubted that he never would have wanted to be remembered for that."
10. "The Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag: The Removal of the Neponsets To Ponkapoag" < link > "Ponkapoag was the second Massachusett “Praying Indian Town” established by Elliot. The first being Natick whose people were similarly chased from their village at Nonantum (now Newton). Their Sac’hem Waban requested and received 2000 acres of the selectmen at Dorchester for what with Elliot’s help became the “Praying Indian Town of Natick.” (References: Daniel Huntoon, Daniel Gookin, Rev. John Elliot)
11. "Chronological Listing Of Historically Important Events at Ponkapoag Plantation" < link > 1655 Eliot begins to plan a second ‘Praying Town’ for the Neponset Indians, writing ‘They desire to make a town named Ponkipog, and are now upon the work’
12. "Did you know the death of a Harvard student sparked King Philip’s War (1675-1678)?" < link > He was the first Native American to study at Harvard.
13. Abbot, John S.C. "Makers of History: King Philip" (1901) < Gutenberg.org > Chapter VI. Commencement of Hostilities. 1675 "There was at this time a Christian Indian by the name of John Sassamon, who had learned to read and write, and had become quite an efficient agent in Christian missions to the Indians. He was esteemed by the English as truly a pious man, and had been employed in aiding to translate the Bible into the Indian language, and also in preaching to his countrymen at Nemasket, now Middleborough. He lived in semi-civilized style upon Assawompset Neck. He had a very pretty daughter, whom he called Assowetough, but whose sonorous name the young Puritans did not improve by [Pg 188] changing it into Betty. The noted place in Middleborough now called Betty's Neck is immortalized by the charms of Assowetough. This Indian maiden married a warrior of her tribe, who was also in the employment of the English, and in all his interests had become identified with them. Sassamon was a subject of King Philip, but he and his family were on the most intimate and friendly relations with the colonists. ..."
14. "https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/1864" https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/1864 "In January 1675, the body of a Christian Indian named John Sassamon was discovered under the ice of Assowampsett Pond, in modern-day Lakeville. Only days before, Sassamon had reportedly informed Gov. Josiah Winslow of an impending attack by Philip’s men. An examination of the body seemed to indicate foul play, and later a Native witness came forward to identify three other Natives as the murderers, at least one of whom had close ties to Philip. For their trial in Plymouth on 1 June, the court established a six-man panel of Natives to advise and (ultimately) concur with the all-English jury’s guilty verdict. The Native men on the panel were almost certainly Christian converts; three of them appear by name in Cotton’s missionary journal. When the court needed “some of the most indifferen test, gravest, and sage Indians” for the job, they undoubtedly turned to Cotton for his recommendations."
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Callicott Richard Callicott (1604–1686) (also spelled "Collacott," "Collicot", "Calicot", "Collacot") was a New England colonist who was a fur trader, land investor, and early leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He also had two Native American servants who became prominent translators in New York and New England. ... Callicott took in several Native American orphans as servants including John Sassamon, who became a notable figure as a missionary and adversary of King Philip.[2]
16. [2] Margaret Ellen Newell (25 November 2015). Brethren by Nature: New England Indians, Colonists, and the Origins of American Slavery. < Cornell University Press. > ISBN 978-0-8014-5647-3. < GoogleSearch > "Snippets: "The teenage Pawtucket Indian John Sassamon, who was a servant in the ... "; "[he] was still seeking to free Sassamon's own sister from servitude. She had been "claimed as his servant" by one John Burge ..."
17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawtucket_tribe The Pawtucket tribe were a confederation of Eastern Algonquian-speaking Native Americans in present-day northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire. They are mostly known in the historical record for their dealings with the early English colonists in the 17th century. Confusion exists about the proper endonym for this group who are variously referred to in European documents as Pawtucket, Pentucket, Naumkeag, Wamesit, or Mystic Indians, or by the name of their current sachem or sagamore.