My curiosity in my Indian heritage began in my childhood.
When I was a child both family, friends and strangers made
comments about my Indian features. I have five other
siblings but none of them have the physical features of an
Indian. To this day strangers stop and ask me if I’m part
Indian. I always answer yes. The next question I'm
asked is “What tribe?” I found this one question difficult
to answer because my ancestors came from many different
tribes. Both of my parents have an oral history of Indian
heritage. My father’s maternal ancestors lived in modern day
Calhoun County, West Virginia since 1760. When my father
passed away this year he was buried in the Cooper Family
Cemetery. The first person to be buried there was King Hiram
Cooper. My mother's maternal ancestors can be
traced to Northumberland County, Virginia.
I attended the Melungeon Heritage Association Fourth Union
and it was at this Union that led me to locate the missing
pieces to my mysterious Indian heritage. Dr. James Nickens
presented a lecture about the Indians of Virginia. After his
lecture I had the honor of meeting Dr. Nickens. He said that
I resembled Machywap an Indian chief of one of the Virginia
Tide Water tribes. He mentioned the Northern Neck of Virginia being
crucial to finding the history of the Indians. Dr.
Nickens advised me to check the records of Northumberland
County, Virginia in the years 1652-1719.
The Northern Neck of Virginia is a phrase used to
describe the four counties located at the end of the
northernmost peninsula on the
Chesapeake Bay. Those counties are Northumberland,
Lancaster,
Richmond and
Westmoreland. The Virginia Tide Water Indians
dwelled there in peace until they were forced from their
lands in the seventeenth century. The first
successful English colony was the beginning of a multitude
of Europeans to the shores of Virginia. The Virginia Indians
suffered the consequences of the masses that came to settled
and to plant tobacco plantations. To grow the tobacco the
English needed to strip the land of all trees and
vegetation. In the process the Indians lost their means of
survival. The magnitude of the deforestation drove the
Virginia Indians into the interior where they encroached
upon other Indian Nations' lands. Some of the displaced
Indian tribes merged together for strength and safety. But
it was to no avail, the Europeans out numbered the Indian
population. Add to that the difference in weapons left the
Indians defenseless. Eventually the surviving Indians were
forced from their lands and driven to the west and
made to live on Reservations. But some of the Indians
avoided the "Trail
of Tears" by escaping to the isolated high ridges of the
Appalachian Mountains where their descendants remain to this
day. After decades of searching for my vanished Indian
heritage I am jubilant to announce that my quest has become
a success and rewarding in many ways. The conclusion
of my hard work over the years has resulted in my enrollment
as a descendant in the Wicocomico Indian Nation. I
hope that the lost descendants of the Virginia Indian tribes
will reach out to reclaim their ancestors who once inhabited
Virginia centuries ago.
I would like to thank Dr. James Nickens for helping me find
my people.
Helen Campbell
Wicocomico Indian Nation
By Al Byrd
The Wicocomico Indian Nation of Northumberland County VA
is attempting to find descendants of three
historic tribes of Northumberland County, the Wicocomico
Tribe, Cekacawon Tribe and the Cuttatawomen Tribe. The
Cekacawon and Wicocomico merged on or about 1652/55 at
the direction the Northumberland Assembly. The
Cuttatawomen is believed to have merged about 1659. The
three tribes were called Wicocomico. They were relocated
from the vicinity of the Little Wicocomico River to
South of the Great Wicocomico River, between Dividing
Creek and Indian Creek. (These tribes were formerly part
of the Powhatan Empire). We have documented the last
Tribal Chief, King William Taptico from his death to the
present. After his death his wife changed the name to
Tapp. Another Great Man of the Wicocomico was
identified, John Vesey. (most of the Indians had taken
on English names by the late 1600s and earlier 1700s)
The following is from the order books of Northumberland
County October 19, 1713.
Complaint being made to this board by John Vesey
Chief Man of the Wicocomico Indians that one Richard
Ball of Northumberland County for several years
detained as a servant, one George an Indian of that
Nation under pretence of a Contract made with
his Mother also an Indian, contrary to the Acts of
Assembly then in force and because the said George
departed from his service, hath now sued the mother
of the said George for entertaining him and
threatens others of the same Nation with the like
prosecution to their great disturbance. It is
ordered that the said Complaint be referred to Mr.
Attorney General to consider the Acts of Assembly
alleged by the Complaints and if he find cause to
prosecute the said Ball for the penalty therein
contained and take such legal action measures as he
shall be (deem) fitt to prevent the said Indians
from any unjust vexation at Mr. Balls suit.
My 8th great grand father was King William Taptico, the last
Tribal Chief of the Wicocomico Indians of Northumberland
County. When he died in 1719, the English did not appoint
another Chief, the English in turn was able to take
over the tribal land. The English law was, when a tribe
vacated their land or the tribe no longer
existed, the English could then patent the land. So when
William died , the English took the land. William's wife,
Elizabeth Taptico settled his estate and changed the family
name to Tapp and moved to Spotslvania. I'm trying to find
out if there are other folks in Northumberland that
are descendents of the Wicocomico Indians, or have
family names that are connected to the Wicocomico Indians.
Currently the only known name is Tapp. Tapp was shortened
from Taptico. King William Taptico died in 1719. We will
also list names of various Wicocomico Indians that were
mentioned. Some names may be a clue to a persons Native
American Heritage. However keep in mind that many of the
Indians changed their Indian names to the name of an English
friend, or an English employer, or if they were slaves or
indentured servants to the names of the English that owned
them. We also have to keep in mind of the possibility that
many of the tribes merged with the larger tribes in Virginia
and some may have crossed into North Carolina and joined the
Cherokees. Currently Virginia has nine tribes that survived
the colonization of Indian land., Eastern Chickahominy,
Rappahannock,
Mattaponi, Upper Mattaponi,
Monacan,
Nansemond, Pamunkey and
Wicocomico. As we have stated previously, it is
our intent to reestablish the Wicocomico Indian Nation.
There are hundreds of Wicocomico descendants through out the
United States that were disenfranchised because of the
English Colonists failure to appoint or allow the hereditary
heirs take reign of the Wicocomico Nation when King William
Taptico died in 1719. If the natural process had been
allowed to take place, the Wicocomico may very well have
remained in existence with out a break. Also we
have declared with proof that we have the following family
names, Tapp/Taptcio Veazey / Vesey , Nordas, and Mosco. and
maybe Curtis, Robert(s) John(s) Peter(s) If any one is
familiar with the name Vesey please contact me.
If any one is related or a descendent, I would like to hear
from you. We have Incorporated the Wicocomicos and brought
them back to life.
