Askiminokonson (Indian Town) and the Pocomoke–Assateague who stayed (Worcester County, MD, 1671–1742+)

SUMMARYAskiminokonson (Indian Town) and the Pocomoke–Assateague who stayed (Worcester County, MD, 1671–1742+) [Connections: Virginia & Eastern Shore, Nov 5, 2026]

RECORDAskiminokonson, which English settlers called "Indian Town," near Snow Hill, was "the largest Native American settlement in Maryland in 1671" (Maryland Historical Trust marker RM-829) and was "incorporated into another reservation in 1686" (Archives of Maryland vol. 5, p. 479). Pocomoke families began moving north about 1742, "while others cohabited with the Assateague, Nanticoke, and the Choptanks near the Indian River." The Ocean City Museum says a final treaty was signed in 1742 by Assateague and Pocomoke chiefs (Bastobell, John Wittonguis, Jeremy Peake, Rokahaum). It also says the Choptank reserve was bought out in 1798 except for 100 acres divided among "the four or five remaining families."

PATTERNThe people who stayed did not disappear. They merged into the Indian River (Delaware) community, the same community whose people were recorded as "mulatto" and "Black" in the next century (see the Sockum card)

LENS (WW9)Assateague, Pocomoke, Nanticoke, Accomac: one shoreline, with every nation on it later renamed on paper

OPENThe 1798 Maryland act on the Choptank lands and the names of the families who got the 100 acres. How the remaining Pocomoke, Assateague and Choptank families were classed in the 1800–1850 Worcester, Somerset and Dorchester censuses needs deep research. Wikipedia says the present-day Pocomoke Indian Nation is not state-recognized; verify against current Maryland records

SOURCEWikipedia, Askiminokonson; Wikipedia, Pocomoke people; Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum, "The Assateague Indians: What Became Of Them". Primary: Archives of Maryland vol. 5, p. 479; Maryland Historical Trust marker RM-829.