“To See Justice Done Them” Wappinger Sachem Old Nimham and the Native Proprietors of Dutchess County

In the summer of 1762, Wappinger sachem Daniel Nimham, best known for his later participation in the American Revolution, made his first official claims before the governor of New York, proclaiming Native rights to land in colonial Dutchess County. However, the controversy over these lands did not begin with Nimham’s formal declaration. In retracing this history, an earlier chapter emerges in the struggle between Natives and newcomers over Wappinger lands that had been going on for generations. This presentation by Wappinger scholar J. Michael Smith will focus on the life and times of Daniel Nimham’s grandfather, Old Nimham, or Sackoenemack and the strategies used by Wappinger leaders to defend their homeland in the early-eighteenth-century Hudson River Valley; and to help find their way in an increasingly changing world.

PLEASE NOTE: The Thursday Night Speaker Series is Proudly Sponsored by the Fort Montgomery Battle Site Association. Seating is by reservation only. Call (845) 446-2134 to Register. Suggested Donation: $5, FMBSA Members $3

Image Credit: Michael Keropian Sculpture of Chief Daniel Nimham