Choptank people

Last updated
Choptank
Total population
Extinct as a tribe
Regions with significant populations
Eastern Shore of Maryland
Languages
Nanticoke
Religion
Native American religion
Related ethnic groups
Nanticoke, Lenape

The Choptank (or Ababco [2] ) were an Algonquian-speaking Native American people that historically lived on the Eastern Shore of Maryland on the Delmarva Peninsula. They occupied an area along the lower Choptank River basin, [3] which included parts of present-day Talbot, Dorchester and Caroline counties. [4] They spoke Nanticoke, an Eastern Algonquian language closely related to Delaware. [5] [6] The Choptank were the only Indians on the Eastern Shore to be granted a reservation in fee simple by the English colonial government. [7] The Choptank were a subdivision of the Nanticoke. [8]

Contents

History

The name Choptank is thought to be from the Nanticoke word tshapetank: a stream that separates, [9] or place of big current. [10]

The Algonquian-speaking Choptank were independent, but they were related in culture and language to the Nanticoke, the larger paramount chiefdom immediately to their south, which was dominant on the Eastern Shore. [11]

The only Indian reservation which the English established in fee simple on the Eastern Shore was the Choptank Indian Reservation in 1669. [12] The territory included what later became the city of Cambridge, [13] the county seat of Dorchester County. The last town in Dorchester County occupied by the Choptank was Locust Neck Indian Town, which they left about 1790. [14]

The U.S. Navy tugboat Choptank was named after the tribe. It served from 1918 until 1946. [15] The towns of Choptank, Maryland, and Choptank Mills, Delaware, [16] are named after the river. Fictional members of the tribe are characters in the early chapters of James Michener's 1978 novel, Chesapeake .

See also

References

  1. ↑ Clark, Patricia Roberts (21 October 2009). Tribal Names of the Americas: Spelling Variants and Alternative Forms, Cross-Referenced. McFarland. p. 10. ISBN   978-0-7864-5169-2.
  2. ↑ Also Ababeve or Abapco. [1]
  3. ↑ "Choptank River Basin" Archived 2011-04-20 at the Wayback Machine , Dept of Natural Resources, Maryland, accessed 18 Mar 2010
  4. ↑ Wayne E. Clark, "Indians in Maryland, an Overview", Maryland Online Encyclopedia, 2004-2005, accessed 18 Mar 2010
  5. ↑ Nanticoke Language, Native Languages of the Americas, accessed 18 Mar 2010
  6. ↑ Nanticoke Tribe, Native Languages of the Americas, accessed 18 Mar 2010
  7. ↑ Wayne E. Clark, "Indians in Maryland, an Overview", Maryland Online Encyclopedia', 2004-2005, accessed 18 Mar 2010
  8. ↑ Swanton, John Reed. The Indian Tribes of North America. pp. 59–60.
  9. ↑ Terry Plowman, "Native Americans of Delmarva" Archived 2013-11-03 at the Wayback Machine , Delmarva Millennium, Vol. 1, 1999, accessed 18 Mar 2010
  10. ↑ Choptank River Basin Archived 2011-04-20 at the Wayback Machine , Dept of Natural Resources, Maryland, accessed 18 Mar 2010
  11. ↑ Wayne E. Clark, "Indians in Maryland, an Overview", Maryland Online Encyclopedia, 2004-2005, accessed 18 Mar 2010
  12. ↑ Wayne E. Clark, "Indians in Maryland, an Overview", Maryland Online Encyclopedia, 2004-2005, accessed 18 Mar 2010
  13. ↑ Cambridge Historical Marker
  14. ↑ "Lower Choptank River Historic Site" Archived 2008-10-11 at the Wayback Machine , Choptank and Tuckahoe River Guide, accessed 18 Mar 2010
  15. ↑ "Choptank" - Naval History
  16. ↑ Placenames - Choptank Mills, Kent County, Delaware, U.S.A. Archived 2009-09-09 at the Wayback Machine
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