Last Updated on July 29, 2014 by
Meherrin Indians. An Iroquoian tribe formerly residing on the river of the same name on the Virginia-North Carolina border. Jefferson confounded them with the Tutelo. according to the official colonial documents they were a remnant of the Conestoga or Susquehanna of upper Maryland, dispersed by the Iroquois about 1675, but this also is incorrect, as they are found noted under the name “Menheyricks” in the census of Virginia Indians in 1669, at which time they numbered 50 bowmen, or approximately 180 souls 1. It is possible that the influx of refugee Conestoga a few years later may have so overwhelmed the remnant of the original tribe as to give rise to the impression that they were all of Conestoga blood. They were commonly regarded as under the jurisdiction of Virginia, although their territory was claimed also by Carolina. They were closely cognate with the Nottoway.
Citations:
- Neill, Virginia, Carolorum, 326, 1886[↩]