To this is affixed the marks of Ackeamong and Jacob, James Coffin and Stephen Coffin, 6th of March, 1681.
Witnessed by William Worth and Richard Pincom (Pinkham), and acknowledged on the same date before William Worth, magistrate.
It does not appear, however, why the order of the Court made in 1672, was not carried out until 1681—a period of nine years.
Potconet must therefore, have died before March 6th, 1681, or his sons could not have made the above agreement; if, indeed, he was not dead before 1672, when Akeamong made his first claim.
Some confusion has arisen as to the standing of Nanahuma, who signed the first Indian deed with Nickanoose. Mr. H. Barnard Worth[12] says: ... “They (the English) obtained a deed, dated June 20th, 1659, from the Sachems Nickanoose and Nanahuma, of a tract comprising the section of Nantucket west of Hummock Pond.[13] George Nanahuma was the sachem of the Indians that lived in this section but Nickanoose held some sway over him, and joined in the conveyance.” With this I am in perfect accord, with the exception of Mr. Worth’s using the definite instead of the indefinite article, as indicated in boldface in the above quotation. I believe that it should read thus: “Comprising a section of Nantucket west of Hummock Pond”; and further, “George Nanahuma was a sachem of the Indians, etc.” The force of this will be seen presently.
[12] Bulletin 3. Vol. II, p. 112. Nantucket Historical Association’s Publications.
[13] The western half of Nantucket was sold by Wanackmamack, February 20th, 1661.
There is no deed to prove who was the legitimate sachem, if any existed, of the Western section of Nantucket, but a section west of Hummock pond apparently belonged to Nanahuma, viz: the neck which bears his name, part of the woods to the north of it, and he possibly may have had a proprietary interest in the large plain further west. I think this view is borne out in the “first Indian Deed.”
In this deed “the plain” is evidently immediately west of Nanahuma’s Neck from the use of the word Acamy in the deed (“on the other side of the water”), and its locality is further fixed by the description of its position, which agrees almost mathematically with its exact actual position.[14] I am sorry to differ from Mr. Worth when he says: “the deed of Nanahuma indicates that at the time he was sachem over the west end of Nantucket.” It might as truly be said that the co-signer was sachem over the west end of Nantucket, which we know he never was.