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Just back from a trip to Gretna, Pittsylvania County, Virginia. We were there for a family reunion in Altavista, Campbell County, Virginia. Any way, I was in a library and saw a book about Native American Virginia. It had a listing of surnames, and my mother’s maiden was listed, Irby. It said Irby was a surname in the Shocko tribe. That’s all it said. I can’t find anymore info, anywhere, so far. So I stopped in here to see if any of you might know anything. Any clues???
I haven’t heard that one before, though it could be a corruption of one of the obscure tribes. What book what it? Did you note the title nad author?
Richmond, VA is home to “Shockoe Bottom”–a length of “bottom land” along the James River where many commercial enterprises were/are located. Although I cannot remember specifics, it seems that “Shockoe” references the Indian name for the stretch, if not the Indians who were active in and along that stretch of the river. Around Richmond one tribe was the Chickahominy–an Algonquian-speaking bunch–and also the Monacan a little further west. Approximately 30-35 miles upriver where the James and the Rivanna converge was located Rassawek, the capital town of some Monacan/Sioux who were thus known as Rassawek Indians. Searching something on Virginia Indians, particularly anything by Helen Rowntree might be helpful in figuring out who the “Shocko Indians” were/
I would have to guess that it is a corruption of “Shakori”, however I have never seen Irby specifically identified with that small, presumably Siouan-speaking group. Seems to me I have seen Irby identified as Indian on some 1700’s Virginia record, but I’d have to go back and look for it. I believe there is a Shacco or Shocco Creek in the Warren Co., N.C. area today.
Yeah, Shakori, that makes sense.
It’s like the lady who contacted me whose family carries the story they were Mahalia Indians. To me, that’s very convincing evidence they were Meherrin (not to mention the locale of their origins was right, and they always make sure they take their IDs with them into Mexico, if not, they have trouble getting back in). If a tribal name is going to survive all those generations into a foreign language, you’d expect it to be garbled some.
I didn’t write down any info but my mother may have. It was in the local section of the little public library. I’ll have to check with her and see what info she copied fro the book.
Do you remember the name of the library? Maybe we could ask a librarian to do a look up. Maybe there’s something in that book’s bibliography that will be helpful, as to where this info came from.
Shocko was a name of a stream named “from the Indians”, in Pittsylvania Co., Va., per “An Abbreviated History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia” by Maude Carter Clement, 1952. The reference to Shocko occurs in Chapter 2, paragraph 34.
http://www.victorianvilla.com/sims-mitchell/local/clement/mc/abb/02.htm
From Chapter 3, it would appear associated with an area where “The Nottoways and Meherrin were living on rivers of those names, while the Tuscaroras across in North Carolina hunted in Virginia….. Our own friendly Saponees were at Ft. Christiana.”
It’s just a guess on my part, but since streams & rivers often were named after the people found living there, there may well have been a village of people called Shocko but they were probably Meherrin or Saponi (maybe Occaneechee) since the Nottoway lived further east and northeast of this area.
Bill
Additionally,
“The Tu-te-loes also lived upon the Me-her-rin River. This tribe was connected with the Carolina Indians, probably the Cho-wan-ocs.” (from Jefferson’s “Notes on Virginia”, p.97, which was included in “The Conquest of Virginia, The Forest Primeval”, subtitled “An Account, based on Original Documents, of the Indians in that Portion of the Continent in which was Established the First English Colony in America”, by Conway Whittle Sames, 1916.
Bill
If the Shocko name is a corruption of Shakori as Forest suggests, then they were present at Fort Christanna, known as the Stuckenocks. (That name seems to describe the amalgam of Sissipaha > Eno> Shakori.) I’m guessing that this land was settled by whites around 1730s, the stream presumably being named about then. It would be entirely plausible that the Shocko/aka Shakori/ aka Stuckenock Indians were living there in Pittsylvania County, which is I guess, two counties over from Brunswick where Fort Christanna was, along that corridor thick with the Eastern Siouan.
Thanks for that link, Bill. I enjoyed that lady’s writing. She paraphrased Byrd very well. I could really see what she was describing.
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