When Historic Northampton formulated the slavery research project, we aimed to record all evidence of slavery we found during the 1600s and 1700s for people of color (Native, Black, or mixed-ethnicity non-White people). The experiences of Black and Native enslaved people were similar: they were forcibly removed from their own people, their movements were constrained, and they were forced into labor. However, the circumstances under which they became enslaved could be very different. Most of the enslaved Black people in this time period were immigrants who had been forcibly captured in Africa and transported, or the direct descendants of Black people born into slavery. Few came to this region willingly, even fewer regarded this place as home. Enslaved Native people, in contrast, had been captured during warfare, or forced into service as punishment for a crime or payment for a debt. Their relationships to their surroundings were radically different, since they were enslaved in their own homelands. If they escaped, they were already in familiar territory, and hopeful of reuniting with their Native kin.
Boston
Boston appears in the 1728 will of Ebenezer Strong, where he is referred to as “my Indian Slave Named Boston, Alias George,” indicating that he was one of the Native people enslaved in Massachusetts. Strong, a ruling elder of the Northampton church, transferred the ownership of Boston to his wife, Hannah Clapp Strong, along with one third of his estate (1728 will of Ebenezer Strong, Hampshire County Probate Records).
The reference to these two names is intriguing. Perhaps Boston was this man's preferred name, and George was the name given to him by his enslavers. George might have been a baptismal name, since Native people who converted to Christianity often took on new Christian names.
Another possibility is that “Boston” was his place of origin, or a name borrowed from his tribal relations, since Boston was a familiar name among Nipmuc people in the 1700s, either as a first name or a surname. For example, a Nipmuc woman named Sarah Burnee (1744-1824) married a Wampanoag man named Boston Phillips (birth date unknown-1798), and their daughter was named Sarah Boston (c. 1780-1837) (“Burnee, Sarah, 1744-1824,” Native Northeast Portal; Stephen Mrzowski, The Sarah Burnee/Sarah Boston Farmstead, 2015).
Boston was also a popular name among people of African descent. There is one other Northampton court record that mentions a man named Boston in 1752, but since this Boston was referred to as a “negro,” it likely refers to a different person.
The reference to these two names is intriguing. Perhaps Boston was this man's preferred name, and George was the name given to him by his enslavers. George might have been a baptismal name, since Native people who converted to Christianity often took on new Christian names.
Another possibility is that “Boston” was his place of origin, or a name borrowed from his tribal relations, since Boston was a familiar name among Nipmuc people in the 1700s, either as a first name or a surname. For example, a Nipmuc woman named Sarah Burnee (1744-1824) married a Wampanoag man named Boston Phillips (birth date unknown-1798), and their daughter was named Sarah Boston (c. 1780-1837) (“Burnee, Sarah, 1744-1824,” Native Northeast Portal; Stephen Mrzowski, The Sarah Burnee/Sarah Boston Farmstead, 2015).
Boston was also a popular name among people of African descent. There is one other Northampton court record that mentions a man named Boston in 1752, but since this Boston was referred to as a “negro,” it likely refers to a different person.
Robin
A man named Robin, described as an “Indian servant to Nathaniel Clark, killed by the Indians,” is recorded in the Northampton death records as having died on August 28, 1667. It is not clear whether he was enslaved or indentured. He was probably not employed as a domestic worker, since Clark was later compensated for Robin’s death.
Robin was killed and scalped by a raiding party of Mohawk warriors from eastern New York Colony. The more detailed death record states, in part: “Robin, an Indian Servant to Nathanell Clark, was killed by the Indians August 26, 1667. And the Jury gave in their verdict that he had his mortall wound in the head. . .And the skin of his head was taken” (Register of the Deaths in Northampton, 4).
An account in the History of Northampton, Massachusetts, notes that Mohawk attacks were frequent in 1667. Robin “was killed in the meadows during the summer. He was shot while riding his horse. . .About the same time many cattle and swine were destroyed in the meadows by the same party of Indians,” taking away portions of their flesh. A complaint was made to the General Court, which demanded restitution from the Mohawk for these acts.
Two years later, twenty pounds of leather was placed in the custody of the County Court, to be apportioned to those who suffered losses: £7 worth to residents of the town of Northampton, £8 to Hadley, and £5 to Springfield. All of the leather was given to Simon Lobdell, a Springfield shoemaker who converted it into shoes and apportioned them among the claimants: Joseph Parsons, Joseph Leeds, Thomas Mason, Enos Kingsley, and the heirs of Nathaniel Clark (who died in 1669). Clark’s heirs received £3.10 worth of Northampton’s share in payment for Robin’s death (Sylvester Judd Manuscript, Northampton I, 209; James Russell Trumbull, History of Northampton Massachusetts, Vol. 1, 178-179).
Robin was killed and scalped by a raiding party of Mohawk warriors from eastern New York Colony. The more detailed death record states, in part: “Robin, an Indian Servant to Nathanell Clark, was killed by the Indians August 26, 1667. And the Jury gave in their verdict that he had his mortall wound in the head. . .And the skin of his head was taken” (Register of the Deaths in Northampton, 4).
An account in the History of Northampton, Massachusetts, notes that Mohawk attacks were frequent in 1667. Robin “was killed in the meadows during the summer. He was shot while riding his horse. . .About the same time many cattle and swine were destroyed in the meadows by the same party of Indians,” taking away portions of their flesh. A complaint was made to the General Court, which demanded restitution from the Mohawk for these acts.
Two years later, twenty pounds of leather was placed in the custody of the County Court, to be apportioned to those who suffered losses: £7 worth to residents of the town of Northampton, £8 to Hadley, and £5 to Springfield. All of the leather was given to Simon Lobdell, a Springfield shoemaker who converted it into shoes and apportioned them among the claimants: Joseph Parsons, Joseph Leeds, Thomas Mason, Enos Kingsley, and the heirs of Nathaniel Clark (who died in 1669). Clark’s heirs received £3.10 worth of Northampton’s share in payment for Robin’s death (Sylvester Judd Manuscript, Northampton I, 209; James Russell Trumbull, History of Northampton Massachusetts, Vol. 1, 178-179).
SOURCES
This list includes the sources cited for these names, plus a few other useful sources for learning more about regional Native peoples and histories. Please note that many primary colonial records and 19th century town histories, having been influenced by racial and cultural bias, may contain errors, stereotypes, and misinterpretations. The secondary sources included here offer more accurate and appropriate insights into Native experiences and perspectives.
Primary Source Records
Judd, Sylvester. [no date]. “Northampton” in Sylvester Judd Manuscript, Massachusetts Series. Forbes Library, Northampton, Massachusetts.
Hampshire County Probate Records, 1660-1889, Hampshire County Courthouse, Northampton, Massachusetts.
Native Northeast Research Collaborative. 2019. Native Northeast Portal. On-line at: https://nativenortheastportal.com/about
Register of the Deaths in Northampton: from the First Settlement of the Town in 1653 to August 1824. Northampton, Massachusetts.
Secondary Source Records
Mrozowski, Stephen, ed. 2015. The Archaeology of Hassanamesit Woods: The Sarah Burnee/Sarah Boston Farmstead. Boston, MA: Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research, University of Massachusetts Boston. On-line at: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1012&context=fiskecenter_pubs
Trumbull, James Russell. 1898. History of Northampton. Volume I. Northampton, MA: Gazette Printing Company. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/historyofnortham00trum/page/434/mode/2up
Primary Source Records
Judd, Sylvester. [no date]. “Northampton” in Sylvester Judd Manuscript, Massachusetts Series. Forbes Library, Northampton, Massachusetts.
Hampshire County Probate Records, 1660-1889, Hampshire County Courthouse, Northampton, Massachusetts.
Native Northeast Research Collaborative. 2019. Native Northeast Portal. On-line at: https://nativenortheastportal.com/about
Register of the Deaths in Northampton: from the First Settlement of the Town in 1653 to August 1824. Northampton, Massachusetts.
Secondary Source Records
Mrozowski, Stephen, ed. 2015. The Archaeology of Hassanamesit Woods: The Sarah Burnee/Sarah Boston Farmstead. Boston, MA: Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research, University of Massachusetts Boston. On-line at: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1012&context=fiskecenter_pubs
Trumbull, James Russell. 1898. History of Northampton. Volume I. Northampton, MA: Gazette Printing Company. On-line at: https://archive.org/details/historyofnortham00trum/page/434/mode/2up