Unknown (Unknown) Austin (1660)

Born 1660 in Cape Cod, Plymouth Colony

Descendants

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Biography

This profile represents the mother of Benoni Austin and his purported brother John; and wife of their purported father, William Austin. Some believe that her name was Laughing Water and that she was the daughter of Wamsutta (Alexander) and Weetamoe Wampanoag, and granddaughter of Massasoit, Chief of the Wampanoags (known for his friendly relationship with the first European settlers at Plymouth. We seek reliable documentation of her name, origins and marriage.

Research Notes

That she was a daughter of Wamustta, and that her husband was William Austin (captured by Indians) appears to be based on a query that appeared in the newsletter Austins of America in 1995:

"11-2. Bill Austin, ‘famous Indian Scout’, had a boy William captured by Indians. William allegedly married a daughter of Wamsutta, son of Massasoit and brother of King Philip. William’s sons, Benoni and John, went to Wales, Maine from New Meadows (part of Brunswick, Maine). Seek ancestry and wife of Bill Austin.^[1]

A 1919 book Massasoit of the Wampanoags, by Alvin Gardner Weeks, [Fall River, Mass.] Priv. print. [The Plimpton press], 1919, 306 pages, has been cited as the source for the following descendancy;. NOTE: There is nothing in this work that lists the following family.

Massasoit Wampanoag;

• Sunconewhew (or Sonkanuhoo);
• Mioneaime (or Moanam) (Pokanoket) Tuspaquin;
  • Benjamin Tuspaquin;
    • Benjamin Tuspaquin;
      • Lydia (Tuspaquin) Wamsley;
        • Phebe (Wamsley) Gould
    • Mary Tuspaquin
• Wamsutta (or Moonanam or Alexander ok P) Wampanoag – Weetamo (or Tatapanum) Pocasset;
  • Laughing Water Wampanoag – William Austin;
    • Benoni Austin – Mercy (thompson) Jenkins;
• Metacomet Pokanoket;
• Metacom (or Pometacom) Massasoit = King Philip – Wootonekanuske;
• Unknown Wampanoag;
• Amie (Wampanoag) Assawamset – Tuspaquin;
  • William Tuspaquin;
  • Benjamin Tuspaquin -Assawetough (or Merey Felix) (daughter of John Sassamon);

From Priscilla Eaton, "The Early Descendants of Adrian Frye of Kittery, Maine," in The Maine Genealogist, Vol 34 (Aug 2012), No 3, Pg 127:^[2]

Marcy/Mercy Thomas, b. York 1 April 1712; m (1) (int.) Biddeford, 4 Feb.1731/2, Benoni Asten/Austin, (306), alleged son of William Austin and Wamsutta mother. (307) d. bef. 17 May 1744 when his wife published intentions to remarry. Mercy m. (2) (int.) Brunswick, 17 May 1744, David Jenkins. (308) probably he b. Barnstable, Mass, 22 Sept. 1722 son of Philip and Elizabeth (Clack)Jenkins. (309).

Bill Austin, was a "Famous Indian Scout" had a son William, captured by Indians. William is said to have married a daughter of Wamsutta, who was the son of Massasoit, and brother of King Philip. This assertion was made by Mercy's son Benoni Austin. Other's who knew Benoni often remarked on his some what darker complexion. One commented, "If Wamsutta was not his grandfather, then some other Indian certainly was." (310) William's sons Benoni and John resided in the New Meadows section of Brunswick before removing to Wales, Maine. (311)

NOTE: Footnote #307 and # 311 cite the query from The Maine Genealogist cited elsewhere on this profile! Footnote #310 cites Harry H. Cochrane, History of Monmouth and Wales, Maine (East Winthrop, Mass., 1894), 32 (hereafter cited as Cochrane, History of Monmouth and Wales). That source specifically says:

"Benjaoni Austen ... asserted, with evident pride , that his grandfather was was a brother to King Philip, the celebrated Indian chief who figured so conspicuously in the Indian wars of the 17th century... [the author theorizes that the brother was] Wamsutta, afterwards named Alexander, who succeeded his father [Massasoit] as head of the tribe [and died in 1657]... 'But,' says one who had seen his swarthy skin and straight coal-black hair, 'If Wamsutta as not his grandfather some other Indian certainly was. ' "

Sources

1. ↑ Queries, in Michael Edward Austin, ed., Austins of America, vol 1 (1995), p 11
2. ↑ Also available here: https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/maine-genealogist-the/image?volumeId=55133&pageName=127&rId=72822841