Brotherton Indians. The name of two distinct bands, each formed of remnants of various Algonquian tribes. The best-known band was composed of individuals of the Mahican, Wappinger, Mohegan, Pequot, Narraganset, etc., of Connecticut and Rhode Island, and of the Montauk and others from Long Island, who settled in 1788 on land given them by the Oneida at the present Marshall, Oneida County, New York, near the settlement then occupied by the Stockbridge. Those of New England were mainly from Farmington, Stonington, Groton, Mohegan, and Niantic (Lyme), in Connecticut, and from Charlestown in Rhode Island. They all went under the leadership of Samson Occum the Indian minister, and on arriving in Oneida county called their settlement Brotherton. As their dialects were different they adopted the English language. They numbered 250 in 1791. In 1833 they removed to Wisconsin with the Oneida and Stockbridge and settled on the east side of Winnebago Lake, in Calumet County, where they soon after abandoned their tribal relations and became citizens, together with the other emigrant tribes settled near Green Bay. They are called Wapanachki, “eastern people,” by the neighboring Algonquian tribes.
The other band of that name was composed of Raritan and other divisions of the Delaware who, according to Ruttenber 1, occupied a reservation called Brotherton, in Burlington County, New Jersey, until 1802, when they accepted an invitation to unite with the Stockbridge and Brotherton then living in Oneida County, New York. In 1832 they sold their last rights in New Jersey. They were then reduced to about 40 souls and were officially recognized as Delaware and claimed territory south of the Raritan as their ancient home. Their descendants are probably to be found among the Stockbridge in Wisconsin.
Citations:
- Ruttenber, Tribes Hudson River, 293, 1872[↩]