Native American Archives - Westport Historical Society

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Jenny ONeill

SOME NATIVE-AMERICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONNECTIONS OF THE WAINER FAMILY

Written and researched by Richard Gifford This research is ongoing. Please contact Westport Historical Society with comments/questions. GENEALOGICAL TABLES (SIMPLIFIED) — Individuals with Biographical Entries in Boldface Type QUEBBIN-WAINER Dorcas (—) married Nathaniel Quebbin Resided: Slocum’s Neck, Dartmouth –Margaret Quebbin married (—) Wainer Resided: Division Road, Dartmouth —Michael Wainer (ca1748-1815) m. 3) […]

Posted on April 9, 2021 by Jenny ONeill

John Stevens of Annibon Island and Westport, Massachusetts

Written by Betty Slade, 2021 This is the story about John Stevens, an African man who came to America in the mid-19th century not as a slave but as a free man, married a Native woman and raised a family in Westport Point. He arrived just before the Civil War in Westport Point, Massachusetts. He […]

Posted on June 18, 2020 by Jenny ONeill

Native American Place Names associated with locations in Westport MA

This map was compiled from information in the collection of the Westport Historical Society. We welcome corrections and comments. The map dates from 1871. Acoaxet (Accohquesse, Acokus, Cockset) – Place of the small hill or the land on the other side of the little land Cocoest Davol Pond, Westport Harbor Contesawaocsetor […]

Posted on June 12, 2020 by Jenny ONeill

Native Americans in 19th-century Westport

“Like the fleeting years and days, Like all things that soon decay, Pass the Indian tribes away.” (Daniel Ricketson, History of New Bedford, 1858) This lamentation was written by Daniel Ricketson, local historian, in 1858. Was Ricketson unaware of the many Native Americans living at the time in Dartmouth, whose ancestors had survived war and […]

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Jenny ONeill

Wampanoag Families of Westport by R. Andrew Pierce

Native Americans of Dartmouth and Westport A Presentation by R. Andrew Pierce Westport Historical Society January 13, 2018 Select Bibliography Akin, Benjamin of Dartmouth, Mass. Account Book. Ms 204, Dubois Library, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. Boston Evening Post, 26 May 1738, story about Dartmouth squaw killing her infant daughter, she was committed to Bristol […]

Posted on December 28, 2017 by Jenny ONeill

Captain Pardon Cook of Westport

The best-known citizen of Westport is Paul Cuffe, a master mariner with African and Indian roots who rose to prominence as a captain, ship-builder, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and advocate for civil rights and school integration. Less well known is Pardon Cook, also an accomplished master mariner from Westport, who commanded more whaling voyages than any other […]

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Jenny ONeill

Over view of Native American presence in Westport

Westport’s recorded histories contain numerous references to Native American settlement and activity areas and the existing archaeological record for the town supports this presence. Native people who utilized Westport’s abundant natural resources most likely remained in the area well into the historic period, especially given the slow and highly dispersed colonial settlement within the present-day […]

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Jenny ONeill

Contact and Pre Contact Period

Contact Period (1500–1620) The first documented accounts of Native and non-Native interactions along the shores and harbors of Old Dartmouth (the original territory from which Westport was subdivided) indicate that these areas were inhabited by Native American groups affiliated with the Wampanoag tribe (Denison 1879; Ellis 1892; Howland 1907). The MHC (1982) notes a large […]

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Jenny ONeill

Recent Archaeological Excavations at the Waite-Kirby-Potter Site

This project was supported by Community Preservation Act funds granted by Westport Community Preservation Committee http://www.westport-ma.com/cpc/index.html Project work completed by Christa M. Beranek and Katharine M. Johnson Fiske Center for Archaeological Research, University of Massachusetts Boston Introduction The Waite-Kirby-Potter House has long been considered important as one of Westport’s oldest buildings, and it is depicted […]

Posted on December 1, 2004 by Greg Stone

Westport Roads

Westport Roads We drive them all the time, but rarely give a thought to the roads of Westport. And yet they are of historical interest for a number of reasons. A quick glance at the map on p. 23 of A look at Westport through four centuries (available through the Historical Society or at Partners […]