Zerviah (Gould) Mitchell (1807 - 1898)

Born 24 Jul 1807 in Middleboro, Middleborough, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Thomas C. Mitchell — married 17 Nov 1824 (to 22 Mar 1859) in Abington, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States

Died 5 Mar 1898 at age 90 in Lakeville, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

Zerviah (Gould) Mitchell is Notable.

Zerviah was Wampanoag.

Zerviah Mitchell became the first known African-American to apply to Wheaton. It appears that she did so at the request of her parents, and was actually as unenthusiastic about the prospect of attending Wheaton as Wheaton was about accepting her.^[1]

"In May of 1879, three Wampanoag women [photo], Zerviah Gould Mitchell (1807-1898) and her two unmarried daughters, Melinda, aka Teweelema (1836-1919) which means “Bride of the Forest” (Vigers 1983:26), and Charlotte, aka Wootonekanuske (1848-1930), moved from North Abington, Massachusetts to a fifteen acre plot of ancestral land at Betty’s Neck, in Lakeville, Massachusetts..." ^[2]

"In 1857 Wampanoag Indian Zurviah G. Mitchell challenged the commonwealth to have the guardianship program removed, and have four (4) lots of land she claimed in Fall River (Wattuppa Reservation), and requested payment for the timber removed by the guardian, Benjamin Winslow, of the Fall River Indians. Winslow was an opponent of Native equality, claiming that the Natives 'would receive no benefit from the privilege of citizenship...'

On March 31, 1920 the Massachusetts General Court passed a resolution granting annuities... [Zerviah Gould Mitchell's daughters] Teeweleema Mitchell, Wootonekanskue (Charlotte) Mitchell and Zeriah (Mitchell) Robinson were to receive quarterly installments of $300 to "an aged and needy Indian woman of the Wampanoag tribe and residents of Lakeville, Ma. until their death."^[3]

Zerviah: "My object in bringing this work before the public is not only to show that I am a lineal descendant, in the seventh generation, from the great and good Massasoit, whom both the red and white man now venerate and honor, but also to make record of the wrongs which during all these generations have been endured by my race.

"When the pale face first came to these shores homeless and helpless outcasts, in the cold month of December, Massasoit was king and ruler over a large part of Massachusetts, with Rhode Island and part of Connecticut. When their scanty provisions were gone, and they were left in a state of starvation, had they not received timely aid from the noble red man they would have perished then and there. But what has been the reward to Massasoit and his descendants, from the time of the landing of the Puritans down to the present hour? Nothing but deception and neglect. For the past twenty five years I have been seeking redress for the wrongs done to me and mine, by petitioning the Massachusetts Legislature to remove the State's guardianship from my lands, and to pay me for the wood cut there from by their agent Benjamin F. Winslow of Fall River...

"I have come to the conclusion that Massachusetts does not intend to do me justice through its Legislature. There seems to be no law for the Indian. Before going to my grave, I have thought it proper to be heard in behalf of my oppressed countrymen and I now, through the medium of the printing press and in book form, speak to the understanding and sense of justice of the reading public. I do not desire to awaken any zeal that is not according to knowledge, and all the facts that are herein presented relating to my ancestry and myself are undeniably true...

"Imperfect as our description has been, it is all we purpose herein to communicate concerning the personal histories of that noble chieftain the great and 'good old Massasoit,' his greatly abused son Wamsutta, and the grief–stricken, unfortunate Indian queen Weeta-moo, her sad fate and mournful end, save as these shall from necessity be referred to, incidentally, in the biographical sketches of others of their nation fellow sufferers in kindred woes.

"The undersigned is authorized to say that the writer of this book deems himself happy in being her assistant in the work. He feels and has long felt that the whole white race on this continent are vastly indebted to the aborigines of the country—those who once owned and occupied the fair lands of this western hemispheres—and he most cheerfully joins in doing what little he can to cancel that indebtedness." [signed] ZERVIAH G. MITCHELL.

...Daughter of Brister and Phebe Gould was born July 24 1807. She married Thomas C. Mitchell Oct 17/ 1824. He died in East Fall River, March 22, 1859. She now resides in North Abington, Mass., and is the publisher of this book on Indian History Biography and Genealogy. She was educated in the public schools of Abington, and at a private school in Boston and, when a young woman, taught a private school in that city. Thomas C. Mitchell and wife Zerviah Gould had [11] children, as follows..." ^[4]

"Letter from Mr. Winslow. Fall River, Dec. 14th, 1848.

1st. The present condition of the tribe is decidedly poor, but better than in former years, in some respects.

2d. There are no existing laws, that I know of, in relation to the tribe, excepting a Resolve, passed June 9th, 1818, appointing a guardian; no disabilities, except their not being allowed to vote, and I think that to be no disadvantage to them.

3d. The present system of guardianship seems to be adapted only to the relief of those most needy, as far as their physical wants are concerned; I think it might be improved by a limited appropriation, to be expended by the guardian, for specified purposes, instead of leaving it at his discretion; and that he be instructed or directed by the Legislature, what course to pursue in regard to cultivation, or improvement of the lands of the tribe.

4th. I think the tribe would receive no benefit from the privileges of citizenship, if conferred upon them.

5th. The land is held, both in severalty, and in common, some four or five acres, to each of four families, and the remainder is held in common; the whole amount of territory, is about one hundred and ninety acres. I suppose the whole territory to be public property, and to belong to the State, as it was conveyed to the province of Massachusetts Bay, by one Daniel Wilcox, and afterwards, in the year 1701," it was ordered, that the Indians be accommodated with a settlement for a plantation upon said lands, to be holden by them of his Majesty's goverment, within this Province, during the pleasure of the government." There is no other property of any kind, that I know of; no source of income, excepting the small amount obtained from their woodlands, which are held in common.

6th. There are seven who have been supported in part at the expense of the State, at an average cost of about forty dollars each, per year; the present mode of supporting them is probably as good as any I could suggest. I do not see any way in which pauperism can be diminished.

7th. The tribe, I think, have not suffered, in any respect, from contact with the whites, otherwise than by depredations committed upon their woodlands, in former years, by some of their white neighbors..." ^[5]

Family

Zerviah married in Abington, Massachusetts 17 Oct 1824 Thomas C. Mitchell.^[6] He died in 1859. Children:^[7] Children:^[8]

1. Jane W. Mitchell, b Boston 15 Apr 1827; d North Abington 28 Mar 1840
2. Zerviah G. Mitchell, b Charlestown, 17 Jun 1828; m 14 Nov 1854 Joseph C. Robinson. One still-born child 1860.
3. Levina, b 1830; d 1841
4. Deloris B "Chic-Chic-Chewee" Mitchell, b North Abington, 31 Aug 1834; d June 1875.
5. Melinda "Teweeleema" Mitchell, b North Abington 11 Apr 1836;
6. Thomas C Mitchell, b North Abington 17 Nov 1838; drowned 1859.
7. John B Mitchell, b North Abington 17 Apr 1841; lost at sea 1870
8. Lydia A Mitchell, b 21 Oct 1843
9. Emma J Mitchell, b North Abington 2 Jun 1846; m 1 Jan 1873 Jacob C Stafford; two children:
   1. Helen G Stafford, b 31 Oct 1873
   2. Alonzo C Stafford, b 5 Jun 1875
10. Carlotte L "Wootonkanuske" Mitchell, b North Abington 8 Nov 1848
11. Alonzo H Mitchell, b North Abington, 1 Sep 1850

Sources

1. ↑ "Wheaton College: '1846 Zerviah Mitchell becomes the first African-American to apply to Wheaton'"
2. ↑ "Historic Iroquois and Wabanaki Beadwork" (IMAGES: handcrafts and Family Photos')
3. ↑ Massachusetts State Archives. (1920). "HOUSE No. 1519".
4. ↑ "'Indian History, Biography and Genealogy: Pertaining to the Good Sachem Massasoit of the Wampanoag Tribe, and His Descendants,' by Ebenezer Weaver Peirce; Z.G. Mitchell; Printers: David Clapp & Sons; Boston, Mass., USA; 1878, pp. iii, 216."
5. ↑ "Report of the commissioners relating to the condition of the Indians in Massachusetts,' F.W. Bird; Massachusetts Commissioners to Examine into the Condition of the Indians in the Commonwealth; 1849, p. 80."
6. ↑ https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Plymouth/Abington/Images/Abington_M086.shtml
7. ↑ Mitchel, Indian history, biography and genealogy, p 218
8. ↑ Some may be found listed in the Abington Vital Records, p 141

See also:

• "Massachusetts State Census, 1865," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DB57-T6W?cc=1410399&wc=M6PX-3TG%3A27785301%2C27785302 : 1 June 2018), Plymouth > Abington > image 61 of 122; State Archives, Boston.

• "Wikipedia: 'Massasoit'"

• "Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head: 'History and Culture'"

• "Wikipedia: 'Wampanoag People'"

• "Fall River Indian reservation', by Hugo A. Dubuque; Fall River, Mass., USA; 1907.

• "Recollecting Nemasket: 'Native American Nations: Massasoit's Children's Children'"

• "Micheline's Blog: 'King Philip’s War', by Micheline Walker; Sept. 20, 2015"

• "YouTube: 'King Philip's War'", by Anatole Brown

• "Find A Grave: 'Zerviah Gould Mitchell'"

• Madigan, Mike. (2016. Jan 8). 'The Daughter of a King'. online: South Coast Today.