Footprints of the Red Men: Indian geographical names in the valley of Hudson's river, the valley of the Mohawk, and on the Delaware: their location and the probable meaning of some of them.Ruttenber, Edward Manning
History
Footprints of the Red Men: Indian geographical names in the valley of Hudson's river, the valley of the Mohawk, and on the Delaware: their location and the probable meaning of some of them.
Ruttenber, Edward Manning
Indians of North America -- New York (State); Names, Geographical -- New York (State); Names, Indian -- North America
Cataconoche, given as the name of the Great Neck bounding Smithtown on
the east, has been translated by Dr. Tooker from _Kehte-komuk,_ "Greatest
field," later known as the Old Man's Field, or Old Field.
Yaphank, Yamphank, etc., a village in Brookhaven, is from Niantic
dialect in which _Y_ is used for an initial letter where other dialects
employ _L, N_ or _R._ Putting the lost vowel _e_ back in the word, we
have _Yapehánek,_ in Lenape _Rapehánek,_ "Where the stream ebbs and
flows." The name is written Yampkanke in Indian deed. (Gerard.) The name
is now applied to a small tributary of the Connecticut, but no doubt
belongs to a place on the Connecticut where the current is affected by
the tide. (See Connecticut.)
Monowautuck is quoted as the Indian name of Mount Sinai, a village in
the town of Brookhaven, a rough and stony district on what is known as
Old Man's Bay, a small estuary surrounded by a salt-marsh meadow. The
name seems to be an equivalent of _Nunnawanguck,_ "At the dry land." Old
Man's Bay takes that name from the Great Neck called Cataconche,
otherwise known as the Old Man's Meadow, and as the Old Field. "The two
neckes or hoeces (hooks) of meadow that lieth next beyond the Old Man's
Meadow"--"with all ye privileges and appurtenances whatsoever, unto the
Old Field." Presumably _Man's_ was originally _Manse_ (English),
pronounced _Mans,_ "the dwelling of a landholder with the land attached,"
and called _Old_ because it was the first land or field purchased. (See
Cataconche.)
Connecticut, now so written and of record _Connetquoit,_ etc, is not the
name of the stream to which it is applied, but of the land on both sides
of it. It is an equivalent of _Quinnituckquet,_ "Long-river land," as in
Connecticut. (Trumbull.) _Quinnituk,_ "Long river"; with locative _-et_
or _-it,_ "Land or place on the long-river." The stream is the outlet
of Ronkonkoma Lake, and flows south to Fire-place Bay, where the name is
of primary record. There were two streams to which it was applied; one
is a small stream in Islip, and the other, the largest stream on the
island, as described above. In old deeds it is called East Connecticutt.
Fire-place is now retained as the name of a village on Bellport Bay, and
its ancient locative on the Connecticut is now called South Haven. [FN]
* * * * *
[FN] There were two places bearing the name of Fire-place, one on the
north side of the island on Gardiner's Bay, and one on the south side.
The latter is referred to here.
Minasseroke, quoted as the name of Little Neck, town of Brookhaven,
probably means "Small-stone land" or place--_Min-assin-ohke, r_ and _n_
exchanged.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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