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
Commoenapa, written in several forms, was the name of the most southern
of the six early Dutch settlements on the west side of Hudson's River,
known in their order as Commoenapa, Aresseck, Bergen, Ahasimus,
Hoboken-Hackingh, and Awiehacken. Commoenapa is now preserved as the name
of the upland between Communipaw Avenue and Walnut Street, Jersey City,
but was primarily applied to the arm of the main land beginning at
Konstabel's Hoek, and later to the site of the ancient Dutch village of
Gamœnapa, as written by De Vries in 1640, and by the local scribes,
Gamœnapaen. [FN] (Col. Hist. N. Y. xiii, 36, 37.) Dunlap (Hist. N. Y.,
i, 50) claimed the name as Dutch from _Gemeente,_ "Commons, public
property," and Paen, "Soft land," or in combination, "Tillable land and
marsh belonging to the community," a relation which the lands certainly
sustained. (Col. Hist. N. Y., xiii, 234.) The lands were purchased by
Michael Pauw in 1630, and sold by him to the Dutch government in 1638.
Although clearly a Dutch name it has been claimed as Indian, from Lenape
_Gamenowinink_ (Zeisb.), "England, on the other side of the sea."
_Gamœnapaug,_ one of the forms of the name, is quoted as the basis of
this claim; also, _Acomunipag,_ "On the other side of the bay." The Dutch
did substitute _paen_ for _paug_ in some cases, but it is very doubtful
if they did here.
* * * * *
[FN] Jasper Dankers and Peter Sluyter wrote in their Journal:
"Gamaenapaen is an arm of the main land on the west side of the North
River, beginning at Constable's Hook, directly opposite to Staten
Island, from which it is separated by the Kil van Kol. It is almost an
hour broad, but has large salt meadows or marshes on the Kil van Kol.
It is everywhere accessible by water from the city."
Ahasimus--_Achassemus_ in deed to Michael Pauw, 1630--now preserved in
Harsimus, was a place lying west of the "Little Island, Aressick;" later
described as "The corn-land of the Indians," indicating that the name
was from Lenape _Chasqummes_ (Zeisb.), "Small corn." _Ashki'muis,_ "Sea
maize." [FN] (See Arisheck.)
* * * * *
[FN] "The aforesaid land Ahasimus and Aressick, by us called the Whore's
Corner, extending along the river Maurites and the Island Manhates on
the east side, and the Island Hobokan-Hackingh on the north side,
surrounded by swamps, which are sufficiently distinct for boundaries."
(Pauw Deed, Nov. 22, 1630; Col. Hist. N. Y., xiii, 3.) Mr. Winfield
located Ahasimus "At that portion of Jersey City which lies east of
Union Hill, excepting Paulus' Hoeck (Areisheck), . . . generally from
Warren to near Grove Street."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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