Chief Katonah

Chief Katonah was a Native American Munsee sachem for all Wiechquaeskeck in the Greenwich, Stamford, and Bedford area, from whom the land of the town of Bedford, New York was purchased.^[1] The hamlet of Katonah, New York, located within Bedford, is named for him. He was Sachem of Ramapoo. The Ramapoo Sachemdom was part of the Tankiteke Chieftaincy of the Wappinger Confederacy, of the Mohegan group of the Algonquian.^[2]

Chief Catoonah's mark.

Chief Katonah, was the sachem of the condensed remnant tribes at Ramapoo. He lived in the area in the late seventeenth century. Records show that in 1708 the Ridgefield settlers petitioned the General Assembly at Hartford to remove the Indians at Ramapoo. Katonah sold the Ramapoo lands of 20,000 acres for 100 Pounds Sterling to the "Proprietors of Ridgefield". His name appears on land deeds up to 1743. The Remnant tribe of the Ramapoo scattered to the North and West.^[3] Chief Catonah was the son of Onox and the grandson of Ponus.^[4] Catonah had a brother named Onox. Catonah was the successor to Powahay, also a grandson of Ponus.^[5] Catonah's daughter married Sam Mohawk alias Chicken Warrups.^[6] Tapgow, son of Ponus, signed many land deeds in Northern Jersey including the Schyuler Patent or Ramapo Tract Deed in 1710 in North Jersey.^[7][8]

Map of Ramapoo Tribe 1625

Legend has it that he died of grief after his wife, Cantitoe, sometimes known as Mustato,^[9] and their son, Papiag, were killed by lightning. Chief Katonah is said to be buried with his wife and son in Katonah's Wood, off Rt. 22. The Chief, as the story is told, is said to be buried beneath a giant boulder, and his wife and son are buried beneath two smaller immediately adjacent boulders. This is recounted by William Will's poem Katonah.^[10] Cantitoe was said to be a Pompton Indian.

In 2007, Martha Stewart Living applied for a trademark on the Katonah name for a line of furniture. Members of the Ramapough Lenape Nation who are descendents of Katonah joined forces with the Town of Katonah to oppose it.^[11]

1. ^ John Alexander Buckland, "The First Traders on Wall Street", Heritage Books, 2002, p 201
2. ^ Duncombe, Frances Riker. "Chapter 1: Explorers, Settlers, Indians." Katonah: the History of a New York Village and Its People. Salem, MA: Higginson Book, 1997. 1-13. Print.
3. ^ John Alexander Buckland, "The First Traders on Wall Street", Heritage Books, 2002, p 203
4. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=FulEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA67&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U3DeTWNfKhE6xhsxEQj9p1R8-T7aA&ci=45%2C836%2C832%2C301&edge=0
5. ^ http://www.ramapoughlenapenation.org/wp-docs/Norwalk.pdf p 67
6. ^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bearse/frank6.jpg
7. ^ http://books.google.com/books?ei=b2RITe6mAZHEgAev3YWWBg&ct=result&id=6TvzAAAAMAAJ&dq=memerescum&q=taphow
8. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=FulEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=norwalk.&hl=en&ei=tJpITYzJJZGcgQecubTeBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Mahackemo%2C%20Noxanowe&f=false, p. 36
9. ^ Duncombe, Frances Riker. "Chapter 1: Explorers, Settlers, Indians." Katonah: the History of a New York Village and Its People. Salem, MA: Higginson Book, 1997. 1-13. Print.
10. ^ Duncombe, Frances Riker. "Chapter 1: Explorers, Settlers, Indians." Katonah: the History of a New York Village and Its People. Salem, MA: Higginson Book, 1997. 1-13. Print.
11. ^ Murphy, Tim. "Chief Katonah's Descendants Oppose Trademarking Name", http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E2DA1030F930A35755C0A9619C8B63 June 2007

External links

• How Katonah Got Its Name
• Geological History of the Gorge
• Chief Katonah's Descendants Oppose Trademarking Name

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Name	Katonah, Chief
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