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http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/tutelohist.htm
Tutelo. One of the eastern Siouan tribes, formerly living in Virginia and North Carolina, but now extinct. Hale (Proc. ‘Am. Philos. Soc., Mar. 2, 1883) first made it known that the Tutelo language pertained to the Siouan stock, a discovery which, followed by the investigations of Gatschet, Mooney, and J. O. Dorsey, brought to light the fact that a considerable group of Siouan tribes formerly inhabited the piedmont region of Virginia and the Carolinas. The relation of the Tutelo appears to have been most intimate with the Saponi, the language of the two tribes being substantially the same. Their intimate association with the Occaneechi and their allied tribes indicates ethnic relationship. The history of the Tutelo is virtually the same as that of the Saponi. The name Tutelo, although by the English commonly used to designate a particular tribe, was by the Iroquois applied as a generic term for all the Siouan tribes of Virginia and Carolina, being applied more particularly to the allied tribes gathered at Ft Christanna (see Christanna Indians). They are first mentioned by Capt. John Smith in 1609 under the names of Monacan and Mannahoac, with
Many subtribes, occupying the upper waters of James and Rappahannock rivers, Va., and described by him as very barbarous, subsisting chiefly on the products of the chase and wild fruits. They were at constant war with the Powhatan Indians and in mortal dread of the Iroquois. Lederer, in his exploration from Virginia into North Carolina in 1670, passed through their territory and mentions the names of Nahyssan (Monahassanough) and Sapon (Saponi). In their frontier position at the base of the mountains the Saponi and Tutelo were directly in the path of the Iroquois.
Unable to with stand the constant attacks of these northern enemies, they abandoned this location some time between 1671 and 1701, and removed to the junction of Staunton and Dan rivers, where they established themselves near their friends and kinsmen, the Occaneechi, occupying two of the islands in the Roanoke immediately below the forks, the Tutelo settling on the upper one. How long they remained here is unknown; it is certain, however, that in 1701 Lawson found the Saponi on Yadkin river, N. C., and says that the Tutelo were living in the neighboring mountains toward the west, probably about the headwaters of the Yadkin. At this time, according to Lawson, the 5 Siouan tribes, the Tutelo, Saponi, Keyauwee, Occaneechi, and Shakori, numbered together only about 750 souls. Soon after Lawson’s visit they all moved in toward the white settlements, and, crossing the Roanoke, occupied a village called Sapona town, a short distance east of the river, about 15 miles west of the present Windsor, Bertie county, N. C. Soon after this they removed and settled near Ft Christanna (see Christanna Indians, Totero).
In 1722, through the efforts of the Colonial governments, peace was finally made between the Iroquois and the Virginia tribes. In consequence the Saponi and Tutelo some years later moved to the north and settled on the Susquehanna at Shamokin, Pa., under Iroquois protection, later moving up the river to Skogari. Their chiefs were allowed to sit in the great council of the Six Nations. In 1763 the two tribes, together with the Nanticoke and Conoy, numbered, according to Sir Wm. Johnson, 200 men, possibly 1,000 souls. In 1771 the Tutelo were settled on the east side of Cayuga inlet, about 3 miles from the south end of the lake, in a town called Coreorgonel, which was destroyed in 1779 by Gen. Sullivan.
The last surviving full-blood Tutelo known was Nikonha, from whom Hale obtained the linguistic material by which he determined the relation of the tribe to the Siouan stock. He died in 1871. It is believed there are still a few mixed-bloods in Canada, but the last one who could speak the language was John Key, or Gostango (‘Below the Rock’), whose Tutelo name was Nastabon (‘One Step’), and who died in 1898, aged about 80 years (Chadwick, People of the Longhouse, 19, 1897; Boyle in Ann. Archmol. Rep. Ontario, 55, pl. xviii, b, 1898). Lawson describes the Tutelo as “tall, likely men, having great plenty of buffaloes, elks, and bears, with every sort of deer amongst them, which strong food makes large, robust bodies.” Nevertheless the evidence is clear that they were cultivators of the soil and relied thereon to a large extent for subsistence. The photograph of Nikonha, given by Hale, shows a face full oval in outline and large features of an almost European cast, ‘evidently,” says Hale, “not individual or family traits, as they reappear in the Tutelo half-breeds on the Reserve, who do not claim a near relationship to Nikonha.” On the other hand Zeisberger, who visited the remnant of the tribe while settled at Shamokin, speaks of the village as “the only town on the continent inhabited by Tuteloes, a degenerate remnant of thieves and drunkards.” Lederer describes the Nahyssan chief as an absolute monarch, and the people as tall, warlike, and rich. In their temples, or medicine lodges, they had large quantities of pearls, which they had taken in war from more southern tribes. Their tribal ensign consisted of three arrows.
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/keyauwee/keyauweehist.htm
Keyauwee. A small tribe formerly living in North Carolina, affiliated with the Tutelo, Saponi, and Occaneechi. Nothing retrains of their language, but they perhaps belonged to the Siouan family, from the fact of their intimate association with well known Siouan tribes of the east. In 1701 Lawson (Carolina, 1714, 87-89, repr. 1860) found them in a palisaded village about 30 miles north east of Yadkin river, near the present Highpoint, Guilford county, N. C. Around the village were large fields of corn. At that time they were about equal in number to the Saponi and had, as chief, Keyauwee Jack, who was by birth a Congaree, but had obtained the chieftaincy by marriage with their “queen.” Lawson says most of the men wore mustaches or whiskers, an unusual custom for Indians. At the time of this traveler’s visit the Keyauwee were on the point of joining the Tutelo and Saponi for better protection against their enemies. Shortly afterward they, together with the Tutelo, Saponi, Occaneechi, and Shakori, moved down toward the settlements about Albemarle Island, the five tribes with one or two others not named numbering then only about 750 souls. In 1716 Gov. Spotswood of Virginia proposed to settle the Keyauwee with the Eno and Sara at Enotown on the frontier of North Carolina, but was prevented by the opposition of that colony. They moved southward with the Sara, and perhaps also the Eno, to Pedee river, S. C., some time in 1733. On Jefferys’ snap of 1761 their village is marked on the Pedee above that of the Sara, about the boundary between the two Carolinas. With this notice they disappear from history, having probably been absorbed by the Catawba.
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/siouan/occaneechihist.htm
Occaneechi. A small tribe of the eastern Siouan group formerly residing in south Virginia and northern North Carolina. Their history is closely interwoven with that of the Saponi and Tutelo, and there is historical evidence that their language was similar. The first known notice of the Occaneechi is that of Lederer, who visited them in 1670. They then dwelt on the middle and largest island in Roanoke river, just below the confluence of the Staunton and the Dan, near the site of Clarksville, Mecklenburg county, Va. Their fields were on the north bank of the river, where they raised large crops of corn, having always on hand as a reserve a year’s supply. Between the date of this visit and 1676 they were joined by the Saponi and Tutelo, who settled on two neighboring islands. In 1676 the Conestoga sought shelter with them from the attacks of the Iroquois and English. They were hospitably received, but soon attempted to dispossess their benefactors, and, after a battle, were driven out. Being harassed by the Virginians and Iroquois, they left their island and fled south into Carolina. In 1701 Lawson found them in a village on Eno river, about the present Hillsboro, Orange county, N. C. They combined later with the Saponi, Tutelo, and others. They were cultivators of the soil and traders. We are assured by Beverley that their dialect was the common language of trade and also of religion over a considerable region. They divided the year into the five seasons of budding or blossoming, ripening, mid-summer, harvest, and winter. They were governed by two chiefs, one presiding in war, the other having charge of their hunting and agriculture. Ceremonial feasting was an important feature of their social life. Their tribal totem was a serpent.
Vance,
Thank you so much for sharing all this info. I’ve been awfully sidetracked from doing any research for about three weeks now and have been suffering from lack of any interesting tidbits from here. So I really appreciate you taking the time to share all of this. Love & light, Lynella. 😀
thanks Lynella.
This website, and has taught me a great lesson. When genealogy resources are hard to come by, check out historical resources. They seem to go together hand in glove.
So now I am a history junkey, and I know I can believe historical documentation. I always harp on 3 variables, time, surnames, location. History can tell us 2 of these three — time and location — when and where Indian tribes lived in a certain location.
If you check out that accessgenealogy site — it has most of the information a person might need as to times and locations that various Indian tribes lived in certain areas.
vance
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