18 Facts About Passaconaway

Passaconaway was a 17th century sachem and later bashaba of the Pennacook people in what is southern New Hampshire in the United States, who was famous for his dealings with the Plimouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies.

The alleged "child of the bear" translation has become a staple in subsequent accounts about Passaconaway, but is linguistically problematic, despite looking plausible.

Passaconaway was widely respected by contemporaneous Native Americans in the New England region, by English colonists, and was taken seriously as a political leader by colonial English settlers.

Colonial records specify that Passaconaway lived at the top of the Pawtucket Falls.

The English were problematic allies at best, and for the rest of his life Passaconaway repeatedly dealt with English transgression, affronts, and challenges to his autonomy.

In 1632, when a Native American murdered an English settler and fled, Passaconaway oversaw his capture and turned him over to colonial authorities.

In 1642, when a rumor falsely claimed that there was an anti-English conspiracy developing among the local Native Americans, a militia was sent to apprehend Passaconaway and seize his guns.

In 1648 the English missionary John Eliot reported that he had gone to Pawtucket Falls, met Passaconaway, and preached to him there.

Whether Passaconaway converted is uncertain - no records indicate it, but legends among English colonists and their descendants maintained that he did.

Passaconaway voluntarily abdicated in approximately 1660 and designated his second son Wonalancet as next sachem of the Pennacook, which announcement was part of a larger speech he delivered urging his people to always keep peace with the English colonists.

Passaconaway was later heroized by non-native New Englanders as a representative of a "good" Indian, largely due to his lifelong policy of nonaggression with the English colonists, the repeated positive comments on his character from English contemporaries such as John Eliot, and he has been commemorated in various places in New Hampshire and elsewhere.

At Massasoit's village, says the folklore, Passaconaway was for the first time in his life unable to bring up a storm.

Local New Hampshire history says that in 1647 John Elliot attempted to speak with Passaconaway but was refused audience again and again before he was finally allowed to talk with the bashaba.

Legend says that after the preacher died suddenly from an illness, Passaconaway decided to step down from his position of authority, announcing before an enormous crowd at the yearly native gathering that his son Wonalancet was now sachem of the Pennacook.

The other most frequently presented image of Passaconaway is a drawing that first appeared in Potter's History of Manchester, and has a somewhat better connection to period-accurate clothing, but the conspicuously displayed bearskin was almost certainly included due to the folk etymology of his name.

Shortly before his death, Passaconaway was granted extensive tracks of land on both sides of the Merrimack as far north as the Souhegan River.

The village of Passaconaway once contained a sawmill, hotel and post office, as well as several farms and homes.

The Daniel Webster Council of the Boy Scouts of America, which serves most of New Hampshire, honors Passaconaway by naming their Order of the Arrow lodge for the sachem.