Origin of Shenendehowa
Origin of Shenendehowa
The work of Beauchamp” Aboriginal Place Names of New York State” 1918 concludes that due to the similarity of Shenendehowa and the word Shenandoah they must mean the same. Beauchamp gives Shenandoah an Iroquoian origin and a meaning of “Big Meadow”. This however has no basis in fact. Others claim that Shenandoah is of Algonquin origin and has a meaning of “Daughter of the Stars”. Others are Schinhandowi”the river through the spruce” and Onandagoa “river of the high Mountains” These like Beauchamp are opinions and not fact.
This same myth is perpetuated by Howard Becker who again based on assumptions with no basis in fact gives us “Great Plain” Beckers correspondence with Arthur Parker in which he asks if the word Shenedehowa could mean “Great Plain” is inconclusive. As much as we were led to believe the answer was positive it was not. Parker clearly told Becker he did not know. Present times leads us to the Shenendehowa Central School Districts web site which again perpetuates the same myth and appears not to be interested if the “Great Plains” listed on their site is factual or not. In a recent statement the district claimed to have “conducted extensive research and consulted with Mohawk/Iroquois experts”. They also stated that “we can’t find confirmation” yet they are still giving the origin of Shenendehowa as “Great Plain” on their site. Rather odd for an educational institution.
Historians such as Nathaniel Sylvester in 1878 give us “Shanandoi” as the Indian name for Round Lake. He also gives us “Shanendahora” as the Indian word for Ballston Lake. Of course Sylvester gives us “Tanendahora” as the Indian name for Round Lake as well. In 1858 historian Chester Booth gives us” the territory known as Thenendahowa alias Clifton Park” as well as listing “Thenendahowa” as the Indian name for Round Lake.
What is fact is that it is obvious that we do not have any conclusive evidence as to the Origin of Shenendehowa. The first appearance of the word is in 1703 and 1707 when Nanning Harmansen appeals to Lord Cornbury for his letters of patent for land that he bought from the Indians known as “Shonondehowah”(1703) and “Shonondehaway”(1707) What we also know as fact is that this was not Iroquois land in in 1703 when the word first appears in documentation it was Mohican land. The nearest Mohawk Village was to the west where the Schoharie Creek enters the Mohawk. Though the Mohawk defeated the Mohicans circa 1623 they collected tribute and did not take their land. The Mohicans maintained a presence in Saratoga County until 1753 with a large group living at Halfmoon at the request of Albany until 1696. The dominant Native group in Saratoga County was a mixed group, as large as 1000 at times that maintained a village that went from Stillwater NY along the Hoosick River to Schagticoke NY with a focal point at the Knickerbocker Farm on the Hoosick. It was not until 1753 when the mixed group left the area due to European encroachment that the area became to future historians” The Fruitful Hunting Ground of the Iroquois” and the Native history prior to that time was forgotten and ignored
by richarddorrough@yahoo.com
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The Great Kahoos Falls
The first appearence of Kahoos is on the Danckerts, Justus. Novi Belgii Novaeque Angliae. (New Netherland and New England.) mid-1650’s. It is clearly marked Kahoos with an explanation in Dutch about Kahoos being a great waterfall. The listing on the map of Kahoos is not at the junction of the Mohawk and Hudson but further North at the junction of the Hoosick and Hudson. This is reproduced onother early 1500 maps of the area. What does this tell us. While the Iroquios defeted the Mohicans in 1623 they collected tribute but did not take their lands. The Mohicans and a mixed New England Group of Natives occupied the area of Saratoga County with a large Village at the junction of the Hoosick and the Hudson that was at one time 1000 strong. We know for a fact that a group of these Native Americans were setled at Halfmoon by Albany in 1690 where they remained until 1696.This mixed group at Scaghticoke people remainewd until circa 1750. After 1750 the Mohawks claimed what was left and future historians forgot and ignored these people and made this area”The Fruitul Hunting Ground of the Iroquios”
What we have is the name Kahoos on a dutch map 100 years before the Iroquios on land that was NOT Iroquios but Mohican and domianted by a mixed group with a large village at Schagticoke. These included Pennacooks,Wampanoags,Naraganests,Sokokis,Nipmucs,Mohicans and Abenakis. One band of the Abenakis that lived in the vicinity and were part of this group were the Cowasuck which were also called Cowas,Cohase or Coos,Cohass,Cohoos and Cohassic form the Abenaki word meaning “People of the White Pine”. Documentation confirms that the Cohase were living here.In 1699 a group of Scatakooks wintered at the mouth of the Winoosaki River on Lake Champlain. The Albany Government became alarmed and feared they would lose the buffer at Saratoga/Schagticoke. The bigger fear was that these peoples would go over to join the French at Canada. The Governor appealed for them to return to their home. The group stated that the Onion River or Winooski was “The Place where we formerly dwelled” This confirmed when in 1703 a number of the Scatkooks wanted to go join or went over to the Mohawks. Albany became alarmed when the group informed the Albany Government that they were” Going to join there relatives the Mohawks” The reply was that when” The Group was planted at Scatakook by Governor Andross it was from the Lake Champlain area and the group was not from the Mohawks. There are two similar native place names to Cohoes or Kahoos as listed on the Dutch maps. One ws listed as Cowass(also known as Cohase or Coos) near Deerfield Mass. amd another near Newbury Vt known by the French variant of Koes and also Cowas,Cohase and Coos. This was the original home of the Cowasuck. The Cowasuck are now closley related with the Peenacook and now are known as the Cowasuck Band of the Peenacook -Abenaki People. I would like to note at this time that the Peenacook word Co Che Co means falls or Great falls.The name is broken down as follows
CO (falls) CHE (great) CO (falls), thus Cocheco means ‘falls and great falls’
I offer the above information for consideration as an alternative to the Iroquios “Canoe over a Falls” explanation. This area as always been falsely labeled Iroquios and the origin of the Place names have also been attributed to the Iroquios. A second look is being taken at much of the Archealogical work done in our area due to the work of The New Netherland Project, Charles Gehring and Shirley Dunn I believe that it is time to consider alternative sources and to give the correct Native groups their place in our history.
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